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March 1

End of the Kilimanjaro Climb

I didn't sleep very well, because a strong wind shook my tent noisily all night. Breakfast was brought to my tent at 7 AM. I had eggs and bacon with water melon and cucumber, and skipped the dry bread. I didn't see Tobias this morning. He may have got an early start. The new porter came for me at 8:00, and I followed him down. Porters are quite fast, especially downhill. Some of them passed us running. My porter had a light load, carrying a small rucksack plus a bag of dishes in one hand and an empty water jug in the other. He slowed down when he got too far ahead of me, which happened mostly when I stopped for pictures. There was a kind of white cottony "flower" all along the trail.

Burned Landscape

Kibo from the Saddle

We passed a lot of people going up. Much of the route on the way down to Mandara Hut passed through a burned area. All the bushes were charred, but the grass was green. We passed the small crater I had seen yesterday from Horombo, and I saw a couple of spots where fires were still smoking. Kibo and Mawenzi were still occasionally visible to the rear. The route continued gently downhill across the rolling green (but charred) countryside, until we entered the forest just above Mandara Hut, where we stopped for a break. Below that hut, the trail passed through forest and soon widened into a road. We started seeing women and children again, meaning the gate was close. The road became paved, and we quickly arrived at the entrance gate, at 12:25. Someone took my picture with the sign pointing out distances to various places along the Marangu route.

I looked in the shop at the entrance briefly, but didn't buy anything. The guide for the American group on my route said Tobias was around, and I went to find him. He had me sign in, and brought me my certificate for climbing Kilimanjaro as I sat in front of the shop eating the green orange from my lunch. I would skip the butter sandwich, egg, and overripe banana. I learned from the certificate that my guide's name is actually spelled "Thobias". I tipped him $70, and he seemed happy with this. (Shah Tours had suggested $50 - $100.) He took me to meet the porters. I gave the other porters who had accompanied me on the route $15, the maximum suggested by Shah Tours, and the new porter for just the last day 5000 Tanzanian shillings, or about $8.

Group Photo

There was some discussion, and Thobias told me that Richard and the new porter were not happy with their tips, so I gave them each an additional 5000 shillings. Tipping is not really something extra at Kilimanjaro - it is expected, and some porters are said to demand their tips before the end of the trip. Shah Tours had told me not to pay anything before the end, to discourage this bad habit. They should have suggested bigger tips for the porters, however. Now that everyone was happy, they carried my bags down to the waiting van, and we took group photos. I also gave the other porter, who had not complained, an extra 5000 shillings as well.

We drove back to the hotel through Marangu. There was a short section of a nice paved road, but the rest was dirt, with lots of construction, until close to Moshi, where the road became paved again. Thobias came back to the hotel, and we said goodbye there. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up, then went down to the porch to wait for the office to open. I met a Canadian who was about to start the Marangu Route with a mostly British group. We sat and talked, and I had a Coke. The receptionist brought me a comment form to fill out, and showed me the items for sale at the reception desk. I bought a couple post cards and a Kilimanjaro t-shirt, for $13 including the postage.

I wrote the post cards and filled out the comment form, saying the staff did a fine job, but mentioning that the hard, dry bread was inedible, and that there was a real problem with garbage and fecal matter around the campsites. I also mentioned that they should suggest bigger tips for the porters.

A large French group wearing hippo t-shirts arrived. The office opened at 6:30, and I retrieved my valuables, and asked about getting to Arusha tomorrow, so that I could go on a safari. The man said it would be difficult because there was a new regulation, effective today, that required all cars in Tanzania to have speed governors installed, but that most vehicles didn't, including all of Shah's. He said he would get me a ride to downtown Moshi, and I could probably find a bus there: they run regularly as they fill up. This would be preferable to a taxi, which would be expensive, and maybe hard to find due to the new law. We would discuss this further in the morning.

I went to my room and tried to think of a way to pack my Kilimanjaro certificate without mangling it on the rest of the trip. I came up with the idea to enclose it in several maps and tape it to the inside back panel of my backpack, where a plastic sheet and aluminum stay provided a rigid surface. Dinner was served at 7. I had ordered a steak, as before. Dinner again started with avocado vinegarette, followed by soup. Then I received a pair of fried, breaded steaks with boiled potatoes, greens and carrots. Shredded pancakes with jam, arranged into a kind of a nest, was served for dessert. There were at least two other large tables of people. The hotel was a lot fuller tonight than last time I was here. During dinner, an older, plump man, apparently Indian, who I believe is Mr. Shah, came to my table and asked how the climb went. He said I could have a ride with him to Arusha at 7 AM tomorrow, and he would inform the kitchen to have my breakfast ready at 6:30.

I returned to my room and packed, and went to bed at 11:00, after purifying some water. I had an upstairs room this time, down a corridor near the dining patio. There was a large velvet tapestry of dogs playing poker onthe floor behind my bed. Some people were singing and clapping hands outside somewhere as I went to bed.

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