Kilimanjaro re-post: Day 6 on the Mountain- on the way down

Day 6- On the way down the Mountain- September 7, 2010

We woke up this morning feeling much better. Turns out I had no problem falling asleep. As soon as I laid my head down, I was out despite the noise. We woke up to singing as well.

We still had an extra day on the mountain that we could use but we were both anxious to get off the trail so we decided to descend a day early. Our guides were pleased—they would still get paid and this meant that they would be able to get home to their families earlier. We ate breakfast and started getting camp all packed up.

Gordie brought me amazing pineapple for breakfast. 

 I wanted to get some pictures with our whole team. 

The whole Team!

We got everything loaded up and then hiked the rest of the way down. Going down the trail wasn’t super eventful. Honestly, I don't remember much. I listened to a bunch of podcasts and focused on my footing. It didn’t take nearly as long as going up since downhill is faster and because going up we took a much longer route so that we didn’t get too high too quickly. We had to weave our way around the mountain and up so we could get used to the altitude. There was no need to do that going down—it was much more of a straight shot. We were almost to the end and I was tired. My feet ached badly and my knee throbbed worse than ever. I was limping slightly when we walked through the gate, officially finishing the hike. It felt so good. I found a bathroom (with a toilet! A real one!) and splashed water on my face and neck. I also looked in the mirror for the first time and saw quite the sight. My face was dirty, red, and wind burnt. My hair was a dry frizzy mess since I had kept it under scarves and hadn’t combed it for a week. I looked pretty scary. I suddenly got really excited to take a long hot shower.

We got into another rickety bus to go back to our hotel. Again, I watched transfixed as I stared out the window at the scenes of the Mountain town of Moshi. I pulled out my camera to try to capture what I saw in video form but  obviously it doesn’t do the sight justice. 





Small children in their school uniforms lined the road and waved and called to us as we passed. I waved back. People were gathered around their small homes and they watched us as we passed. It was beautiful up there. 





I suddenly felt so grateful for such an amazing experience. I think I must have been a little delirious but I felt like I recognized these people. I just felt a great love for the people and places in Africa. 

On the ride home. Tired but satisfied. 

So the rest of my journal is pretty uneventful. I'll fill in the holes. We stayed in Arusha for a few more days before going home. We went to the markets and bought some cool things for family and friends back at home. When it was time to go to the airport, I was very anxious to get back home. I wanted my bed and my friends and my clothes and my shampoo and my food.