Kilimanjaro - My Journey to the Roof of Africa

Amsterdam to Moshi, Tanzania

Saturday, January 5, 2013

First order of business in Amsterdam was to buy a new pair of reading glasses since I managed to break mine at the end of the first flight. I was pleasantly surprised when I had to pay for the new glasses. They cost less than $7, much cheaper than back at home. There was nothing left to do but lay down on a double seat and try to get some sleep. I don't know if I slept at all but just laying down for an hour and a half was helpful enough.

It's after 7am now (LA time) when I'm writing these words and I'm on the way to Kilimanjaro now. We've just crossed the Mediterranean Sea and are flying over Africa at the moment (Egypt to be exact). We've had our first hot meal (I'm not sure there will be a second one on this flight) which was really big. We have more legroom on this flight and lots of empty seats so it is much more comfortable than my previous flight was. There is a girl sitting in the isle seat in my row but there is nobody between us. It looks like half of the people on this airplane are going to Tanzania to climb Kili. I'm really exhausted now from the lack of sleep so I'm going to try to rest a little bit.

I managed to dose off twice on this flight which helped a little bit. I alternated between reading, watching TV, walking around the cabin, snacking, sleeping, and more snacking. We did get another hot meal that they labeled light meal. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the mountains (Meru and Kili) from the air since we arrived in pitch dark.

We landed after 11 pm local time (around noon LA time). I was exhausted from the long journey. It took a while to stand in line to get the visa but once I got to the window it was a very quick process. All they wanted is $100. No forms to fill out, no visa pictures required. I did have to stand in another line where they checked my passport and took my fingerprints. Yup, you read it right. All of my ten fingers got printed electronically. By the time I was done with all this, my luggage was going around in circles on the conveyor belt. I quickly collected it and headed for the exit where I found my new friend, Allen, holding up a sign with my name on it. I was very relieved to see him and, as it turned out, he felt the same way. Sometimes clients simply don't show up and he waits there for hours for nothing.

He brought me to the Mountain Inn in about an hour. We spent that hour chatting and getting to know each other. Allen is 26 years old and he is a driver for Shah Tours. Besides picking up passengers at the airport, he also drives the safaris. He dropped me at the hotel at around 1am. My room is basic but pretty nice. No complaints here. There are two single beds with mosquito nets and a huge bathroom. They even provide toiletries and towels which I'm not accustomed to in these developing countries. Perhaps, I shouldn't have brought all these supplies with me. I decided to use my own towel though. After emptying my big backpack and organizing everything in the garderobe (or whatever that furniture is called), I took a shower, brushed my teeth with treated water and went to bed at 2am.