Montag, 24. September 2018

Sansibar - more hectic than expected


Hey there,

I landed at Sanisbar airport the day after my return from the Kilimanjaro. Instantly I experienced the the hectic tourism minted lifestyle of that island. The first obstacle are the “official taxi companies” in the airport waiting hall, which try to push you into taking their “fair” prices. I pushed myself through that and immediately was surrounded by a herd of cab circling me like a wounded Warthog in the Serengeti.
These drivers weren’t less pushy and tried to persuade me with a weird mix out of intimidation and benevolence. I was annoyed by my cab driver quite a lot but as soon as we finished the pricing it was quite nice to talk to him in the car.

I drove up to Stonetown, which is a UNESCO world heritage city since 2000. This town has direct access to the beach and promised a laid back lifestyle. I have to say that it didn’t charm me that much. It was quite packed and at every corner someone tried to sell some spices or other souvenirs. I actually just wanted to find a calm café and relax for a while.

fishermen leaving for the night


After watching the sunset at the beach I decided to go for a stroll through the city and headed to the famous night market. The market itself was quite cool and offers a huge variety of spices, herbs and local food.


inside Stone Town

After the first night I was considering going to the famous islands close to Stone Town (Prison Island etc.). I still wasn’t feeling relaxed at Stone Town and the thought of spending another night at that place didn’t really please me. Talking to some backpackers in front of my hostel I met Daniel who wanted to share a taxi up to Nungwi. That sounded like the perfect plan for me and I decided to leave Stone Town. As a general rule of thumb I always try to leave a place as soon as I don’t feel comfortable anymore. Of course there was still plenty to see in Stone Town but at that moment it just wasn’t right for me.

On our way up to Nungwi, which promised a more relaxed beach lifestyle, we went to a spice village. A lot of spices are farmed on Sansibar and it became known for its famous tours. The spice tour itself took up to 2,5 hours and was definetely worth it. It was surprising to see the huge variety of spices in their growing form. Some were impossible to guess and especially the cinnamon surprised me in its diversity in regards to the different smell of the leafs, roots and its bark.
Spice Man

In Nungwi the two days were quite alike. I relaxed on the beach, had good local food and in the evening we went to the local club “Coccobello”.





laid back beach life at Nungwi


The second day Daniel and I went for a snorkeling tour early in the morning. The boat was packed and the service unnecessary unfriendly. Luckily a group from Luxembourg made the trip quite humorous. All in all we were both a bit disappointed of that highly promised snorkeling adventure.









My last stop on Sansibar was at Paje. This place is popular for all its watersport activities. Hence I only had one day left before my return flight to Vienna I decided to spend the last day on the beach.






With this post I will close this chapter of my trip to Tansania. I have to say that my experience in Tansania was amazing. I loved the diverse landscapes and especially the hospitality of the people. Altough Tansania can be quite touristic at some places it still offers untouched places if you look for them. I most certainly will come back looking!



Thank you for reading!
Best wishes,
Vince


Sonntag, 23. September 2018

Kilimanjaro 2018


Dear readers,

The Kilimanjaro is with 5895 meters above sea level the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world. Around the city Moshi a lot of tourists gather to pursue their goal on climbing to the roof of Africa. I have to say that it was never a dream of mine or something that I once wrote on my bucket list. I like hiking in general but it had never occurred to me to climb the Kilimanjaro before this summer. A week before I left for Tansania I already started riffling through some hiking experiences of the Kilimanjaro in general. In most blogs people account of their long term preparations, special training programs, the gigantic costs of up to 6000 dollars and huge checklists what to buy before this adventure. At that point I was not quite sure if it would be possible to do this track without preparation of any kind. After some consideration I decided to book nothing in advance, buy no equipment at all and gather my own impressions in regards to the pricing once I reached Moshi.

Picking a proper tour operator:
I read in an article that up to 90 % of all the Kilimanjaro tours are booked overseas. That basically means that a big chunk of the money that is spend goes directly to the companies that resemble the middle man in that deal and often are located outside of Tansania. Most of them offer a complete package that includes accommodation, transfers and flights. It is self explanatory that these packages can mount up to high digits and do not constitute the most cost effective version.
I can only recommend that if you can afford a day or two (which is perfect for acclimatization anyhow) to arrange everything from Moshi (1 hour drive from the Kilimanjaro airport). The multitude of companies on site is enormous. The Kilimanjaro is the biggest attraction in Moshi and there will always be a company that can arrange the whole adventure within one or two days.

What is a proper price?
I went up and down the Kilimanjaro in a total of 6 days. I idiotically booked for 7 days without realizing that the 7th day is not an additional day for acclimatization on the way up but is actually for a stop on the way back down, which wouldn’t have been helpful for me at all. Once I was up on the mountain all I wanted and especially needed was to go down as fast as possible.
It is important to know that the entry fees of the park alone surmount to 825 dollar for 6 days. Additional costs include the salaries for the crew and money for the food. It is also necessary to know that tips for the whole crew is expected and in any case desperately needed.
Due to the history of exploitation, especially in regards to the porters (people that carry the entire equipment – up to 30-40 kg each) there are official programs put in place that look after fair treatment as well as working conditions. If you want to make sure that your operator treats his employees well you can make sure that these guidelines apply to your operator.
So to pick a price you can justify for yourself you should consider the points above and consider the toll that the whole crew is taking upon themselves just to provide you with a successful summit.
Which route to take?
There are a couple of routes to choose from which vary in their scenic views, the sleeping arrangements and in the difficulty of the climb. I decided to take the popular Machame route which is one of the more scenic ones that also entails camping in a tent on the way up. It felt to me like the obvious choice due to its level of adventure.

Preparations:
Hence I only brought one long sleeve, one long trousers and hiking boots with me I had to rent the entire gear. That wasn’t a problem at all. Most tour companies have all the necessary things in storage and actually know best what is needed. Before the track I was still staying at the “We travel hostel” in Moshi (one of the best hostels I have ever been to). It was a little bit annoying that I met so many people the days before that had just done the hike. Hearing for the 10th time how tough the summit night is and what other equipment you definitely need to bring wasn’t really helpful in getting mentally prepared. I think in general that comparisons with other people are not quite helpful but drawing a comparison with an endorphin pumped stranger who just returned from the Kili and of whom you basically know nothing about can be quite off putting.

Medication:
A really popular choice among hikers is the med “Diamox”, which can be taken as a prophylaxes during the hike. It helps the body to keep more oxygen within your system and can be quite helpful for the adventure. I don’t know exact numbers but it seemed to me that the majority of hikers take it in advance. Nonetheless I decided against taking it. First of all I wanted to use this opportunity to test my body and see how I will be able to deal with the elevation differences. Another good reason for not taking it as a prophylaxes is the fact that if you still get the “acute mountain sickness” (AMS) despite taking the Diamox you basically robbed yourself of the most efficient treatment of the AMS. Of course there are other options out there but risking the most promising cure just out of precaution seemed like a unnecessary risk to me.

The track itself:
We started at an elevation of 1500 meter and our goal was to reach the peak of 5895 meters after six days. I was accompanied by Michelle from the USA and our complete team entailed two guides, one cook and six porters for carrying the gear. We decided to travel as light as possible and refrained from bringing to many luxury items.
The general plan is to climb high and sleep low. That means that on most days we walked up to a certain elevation, stayed up a little while and then went back down to have a good night rest at a lower elevation. That way the body has enough time to adapt to the elevation changes and makes it less likely that problems occur.
Another key factor for a successful summit is to go as slowly as possible. The famous “Pole, Pole” saying (slowly, slowly) resembles the whole approach to this experience. The guides lead the way with a slow trot which took me while to adapt.
of to Kilimanjaro

The hiking experience:
On the first two days we passed the thick rainforest which made the climate quite pleasant. We weren’t able to spot wildlife along the way but the whole atmosphere of this vivid landscape resembled a complete contrast to what was lying ahead of us.

Rainforest

First camp

Mount Meru in the back


Due to the popularity of the Machame route at peak season the route was quite frequented. Usually there was always a queue of porters in front of us. At some days it was a little bit annoying to always be enclosed in a queue of people but the scenic views make up for the traffic jams.


first clear view of the Kilimanjaro


After leaving the rainforest behind the vegetation grows slimmer by the day. Especially in the tundra rocks and small bushes are basically the only element of variation.

our guides: Amadeus and Hunter




the whole crew 


this part was the most fun for myself - it involved some real climbing


ramp into the clouds



Hunter, Amadeus and Michelle



The beautiful sunsets above the clouds:
What made this trip so unforgettable for me were the amazing sunsets above the clouds. I think the pictures speak perfectly for themselves.
Once again Mount Meru




the fog made this impression unforgettable





Loosing appetite on higher elevation:
Another thing every hiker warned me about was the fact that a lot of people lose their appetite on higher elevations. That didn’t really happen to me. Albeit my stomach got upset due to the food after the first day which made me lose my appetite for that particular dish, which unfortunately was served every single day …
Also quite remarkable was the taste of the oranges. These were basically the only sweet food we got served in these six days and they tasted simply fabulous. I will probably never have such good oranges in my life ever again.

so tasty

The Base camp: 
The Barafu Camp lies at a elevation of 4673. Here we had a short nap of 4 hours before we prepared for the summit.

winter is cuuumming

Barafu Camp 

here we started the summit in the night



The summit night:
one of the few pictures

Despite my upset stomach I didn’t experience any other problems on the first four days. Luckily I was in decent physical condition before I left for this hike and the altitude started to affect me only on the last day. Therefore I decided to describe the last day in a little bit more detail.
At 11 p.m. we woke and got ready for the toughest part of this journey. We started from the base camp (4673 meter) and the goal was to reach the Uhuru peak (5895 meter) shortly before sunrise. After putting on two layers of socks, 5 layers of pants and 6 layers of tops I felt ready for the summit. It was an amazing experience to start the steep summit in the middle of the night with headlamps providing the only element of orientation.
The summit went well for the first couple of hours. We were trotting at our usual sloth like pace but the air was much harder to breath. The increasing altitude and the degrees up to – 15 did their part on that behalf.
At the elevation of approximately 5300 meter I started to experience the first symptoms of the AMS. The days before I drank at least 4 liters of water each day to prevent myself from getting headaches but on that day this technique didn’t really help. We paused for a short while, drank the sweetest ginger tea you can imagine and then continued our quest. The headaches released a little bit but suddenly I felt a intense tingling sensation in my whole body. I do not kid when I mean whole body. From that moment on I began drinking water like a lunatic. The headaches grew nonetheless. At an altitude of 5400 I felt dizzy and disoriented. I was still able to think properly but I couldn’t form clear sentences. I was still able to pronounce some simple words but finishing one whole sentence was just not possible anymore. After tripping over a couple of times I decided to sit down for a while. I requested some oxygen out of the tank and waited for nearly 20 minutes. I was still not feeling much better but I was starting to get really cold. It is not the smartest thing to sit down that long. I lost a lot of heat.
My memories of the next hours are not quite complete. My condition basically grew worse with each meter. I remember how depressing it was that the body itself felt strong enough to climb higher but on the same time it seemed nearly impossible to speak out one complete sentence.
At that time I decided that I will walk until “Stella point” – 5756 meter elevation and start my descent once I reached that part. The complete summit would have been until 5895 but in this condition I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the view from up there anyways.
luckily this picture was taken by my guide - wasn't able to look up in the camera anymore :D

Also there are no pictures of that last night/day. Once I started my descent I walked quite fast and didn’t make a stop until I reached an elevation of 5000 meters. It is unbelievable how fast the body adapts to the altitude once again. The dizziness and disorientation were completely gone. The headache was still pounding but not as intense as before. It baffled me at that moment how big a difference 500 meters of elevation can make.
I took a one hour nap (the headaches didn’t allow more) and walked straight down towards the main gate. I finished my descent of the Kilimanjaro at 18 p.m. In total I was nearly 17 hours on my feet that day.

all happy to be back at normal altitude

Conclusion:
Looking back I have to say that I would instantly chose to do this hike again. I would even do it if I would know that the AMS would hit me this hard again. It was most certainly not pleasant at that moment but it was immensely valuable to have made this experience. The decision to not go completely for the summit seemed quite obvious at the moment I crawled up to Stella point. But it felt so weird to go down 500 meter and practically feel fit enough once again to go back up. Having that thought at that time was actually quite tough. Nonetheless I still think that I made for myself the right decision.
As soon as we reached Moshi in the evening, we said our goodbyes to our amazing crew. It is really remarkable how they are able to carry all that stuff up the mountain. One porter even got sick on the hike and had to go back. The others had to carry even more weight.
Arriving at the “We travel hostel” I took my first, well deserved shower after one week. On the Burning Man I once went without a shower for nearly one week but the dust basically served as a preserver back then. This time the shower felt even more amazing!
On my next and final post I will write about my experiences on Sansibar.
Until then, take care and best wishes,
Vince