Day 1: Machame route from Aishi Machame hotel - Kilimanjaro National Park's Machame gate - Machame camp.
9.2 kilometers, 1221 meters in altitude gain, total time 4 hours 22 minutes "pole pole" = slow
We traveled to the start of the Machame route just a few kilometers from our hotel, and the green, lush, tropical surroundings were clearly due to fertile grounds. The tropical foot areas on Kilimanjaro are nourished by the rivers and streams flowing from the mountain and bringing water from the top of Kilimanjaro. Coffee plantations and especially the renowned Kilimanjaro Coffee grows rife here.
Our driver and guides picked us up with G2G station wagon from the hotel, which afforded us time to peek out of the windows observing what life is like in Moshi, Tanzania. Kilimanjaro national park's gates were open, and we drove in and parked in the parking area. Our guides handled the park fees payments and documentation at the park's office while we prepared our backpacks, ensuring enough water for hydration in the visitor section. No plastic water or cold drink bottles are allowed on Kilimanjaro, and we later realized there had been a drive to clean up and keep Mt Kilimanjaro clean. It was at the visitor's section where we met other hikers from across the globe who also started their Kilimanjaro expedition, and they made full use of the time by enjoying their lunch packs. The G2G adventures team indicated that we would enjoy our lunch en route as they had prepared lunch packs.
The first few steps on Day 1 of our Kilimanjaro trip on the Machame route felt unreal. All the preparation preceding that moment of walking next to my friend as we so often have done in practice to realize the dream of standing on the highest point in Africa, Uhuru peak. The planning, packing, saving, praying, and dreaming. The first day's hike was a 9.2-kilometer hike from the Kilimanjaro National Parks Machame Gate entrance to the Machame camp. The pace set by Benni, our guide, was very slow, "pole pole" at 2.1 km/h, and the total hiking time for day one at 4:22, easy hiking terrain under foot with an elevation gain of 1221 meters. "Make sure you take regular sips of water" this was emphasized more and more as crucial advice to combat the effects of higher altitudes because H2O contains the "O" for oxygen, right? Valuable advice from friends who have climbed Kilimanjaro successfully was, "Don't be a cloud by trying to go too fast the first couple of days. Do not overtake your guide; stick to their pace. Drink regular sips of water; it helps combat altitude sickness. And take your own toilet!!!" Excellent advice, and we listened.
As we approached halfway and just as I was starting to feel hungry, we saw a table covered with a red and white tablecloth and two chairs to the right of the single track we were walking on. To our surprise, it was our crew that prepared lunch for us. Blown away to sit comfortably and enjoy a warm, delicious meal in Tanzania's national park. We started with avo sandwiches, followed by cucumber soup and, as a finale, spaghetti. Wow wow! Humbled by how much we were spoiled. And this was just the start...
Our porters, who stayed close to the lunch area, helped with packing up; the rest of the crew were already at camp and putting up tents and our eating area. With a maximum load of 20 kilograms, the porters carry all we need, our large backpacks and the toilet on their necks, heads, or backs, in record time to the next camp. They are the heroes, and we tried to cheer, greet, feed, and encourage the porters throughout the trip with admiration and gratitude. Our daypacks were nowhere close to the weights they carried. Not even a fifth of their load.
Walking the final stretch to Machame camp, we listened to Benni and August sharing their heritage. The Chaga tribe has lived at the foot of Kilimanjaro for many years; green banana and chicken stew is a favorite dish, they are renowned for their entrepreneurial skills and business savvy, and they pick a leave/plan if they have wronged someone and want to ask for forgiveness. If a person who has been wronged receives such a plant, they have to forgive the person, or the chief gets involved, and the repercussions are real. For example, one of the repercussions is that it is a male that does not accept the forgiveness plant, then he cannot ask for a woman's hand in marriage from that tribe.
We saw interesting plants—the elephant trunk flower. One observation was the lack of bird songs, crickets, and scuffling in the bushes by smaller animals.
We reached our first camp and were invited to wash in a small bucket of warm water, of course, wipes "aloe scented," and after that, popcorn and hot beverages. Donning an extra layer of clothing for the night soon became a habit before we fell asleep under the African star-filled sky.
So day 1 came and went like the blinking of an eye.
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