Day 8 - Mweka Camp, Mweka Gate, Moshi

Facts

Starting altitude (Mweka camp) = 3,100 m

End of hiking altitude (Mweka gate) = 1,980 m

Moshi altitude = 890 m

No of hrs walking = 2 hrs

Distance covered = 15 km

I had a very good sleep which proved to me that the fact that I was waking up numerous times in the previous nights was because of the altitude. After the breakfast, we took a photo with the whole crew, the porters, the cook and the guides. Once the photo was taken, all of them started singing for us. I just loved it, absolutely love it! It was too surprising, so I didn't have the time to go and find my camera. Luckily Eitan had his and took the video of the second song. That is the one I liked, "Kilimanjaro... Hakuna matata...". That is the one Gideon and the other guides were singing during the summit climb throughout the night. Here is the link to the song:

     Click here to see the video of the song, "Kilimanjaro... Hakuna matata..."

In the song they say the name of all the camp sites and also all our names. The lead singer calls Eitan "Tony" again and that makes us laugh... :)

Mweka camp - with the porters and the guides

After that, we started walking towards Mweka gate. It was another 2 hours downhill walk, through a muddy road. This was a killer for my knee which was already in pain from yesterday's 6 hours downhill! Ryan and Eitan went ahead in full speed, followed by Scot. I was the last one. I didn't want to go as fast as them, since I didn't want to damage my knees any more than what it was. I was happy with own pace anyway. Apart from my knee problem, the road was so muddy and so slippery that I couldn't go any faster even if I wanted to. Actually I'm surprised how I managed to stay on my feet till the end. I slipped a few times and just managed to keep my balance.

After some time Wilibard caught up with me and we had good conversation about various topics, about Tanzania, education also about the hike. He asked me if there was something I wasn't happy with. I said the only thing I could think of is that it would've been nicer to have been introduced to the porters much earlier. He told me he has started off as a porter, then a cook and now a guide. He is 28 years old and he was desperately looking to find a job in another country particularly in Dubai. I think we were chatting for about 45 min when Gideon joined us. Wilibard said he will go ahead and Gideon stayed behind with me. I had a very nice conversation with Gideon too. 

At one point I asked him if he liked his job. He looked at me intensely and said with a serious tone, "No Mojgan, I don't like it!". He said that in such a tone that cut through me. He said the job is very difficult and that he has been doing it for 6 years. He is 31 years old. I asked him if he was thinking of leaving it and doing something else. With a smile and confidently he said, "Yes, I already have a plan!". He said he is saving his money and hopefully after 2 years he can leave the job and go back to the college. He said he wants to be an animal doctor. :) I sincerely wish he could make it. This was all a reminder to me that not every one has easy access to the basic and simple things in life. 

I asked about his family. He said they are 9 brothers and sisters, but 2 of his brothers have passed away. One of them by accident and another one by Malaria about 3 years ago. He was 42 years old. I was shocked to know that still people out here are dying of Malaria!

After 2 hours of walking we arrived at Mweka gate. I had not been looking forward to it, as I knew seeing that gate meant the end of the trip. So the sight of it gave me a sad feeling. At the gate, we signed the registry book and got our "Gold certificate". We then drove back to the hotel. I could not believe that my trip was already over.

After not having a shower for 8 days, you could imagine the state we were all in. I did not even want to see my greasy hair and was wearing my hat to cover it up. So the first thing we all did was jump into the shower and I think that was the best shower I've ever had! :) As we had planned, we waited in the garden for the guides and the porters to come. This was to give them their tips and also me and Eitan gave them some of our clothings. I also gave them my boots. I was emotional (ok, I'm exaggerating here a bit! :) ) to part with my boots. They have been with me to the hills of England & Wales, mountains of South France, all around Latin America, and... in the past few years. It was time to replace them, so I thought I'd rather leave it here, where someone can actually make use of it. They all turned up apart from 3 of them. I was disappointed to see that Gideon hadn't come either.

Tonight will be the last night I'll be sleeping under the African sky and breathing the African air..... I'll be flying back to Dubai tomorrow...  :(