Kilimanjaro & Meru - Page 6

Shira Camp 1 (3610 m) - Shira Camp 2 (3850 m)

It was icy cold in the morning. But that changed quickly with bright sunshine. It's not far to Shira Camp 2, but since our good guide always wants to take us higher than the camp, we make a trip to Cathedral Point at 3872m. We walked for a couple of hours on dusty paths to the foot of Cathedral Point. There we put down our backpacks and walked up the steep, rocky path. At the top we had wonderful panoramic view of the valley, the Machame route and the Kibo crater. We always walked in groups of four, with Chief-Guide Richard and Assistant-Guide Eric always in front and behind us respectively. And Eric talked Swahili to Richard non-stop, until then I thought Manu talked a lot 🙂.

The path today was easier than usual, we could often walk side by side, which is rarely the case here. So there was also time to chat. Our guide Richard also worked as a porter for several years before he underwent various training courses to become a guide. Assistant-Guide, Chief-Guide, Tour-Guide are probably the stations. Of course, we also wanted to hear special experiences from him. Besides various VIPs, he accompanied to the summit like Elton John's team or the former Chelsea owner Abramovich, there were also extreme people: An Irishman who walked barefoot and half-naked to the summit with Irish beer or a 91-year-old woman. This one was already on top with Richard at the age of 86, went up again at 91 and said she'd be back when she was 100. And many more, he should write down his own experiences 🙂.

On the way we saw a helicopter landing pad and some strange vehicles with one or two motorbike wheels bolted on. I said to Richard that with the rocky paths it takes forever for a casualty to reach the landing site with the carts. I should see it live, I wouldn't believe how fast it goes, he says with a laugh. An unobstructed view of the ever-growing Kibo crater awaited us at Shira Camp 2 and Mt. Meru greeted us again in the reddish evening light from afar.

We had more time to talk to other tourists today, as the Machame Route meets the camp. Some were only here for a short acclimatisation and then walked back down one camp. There was also a good-humoured group of medical students who were doing their internship in Tanzania. We had already met 2 medical students on their internship at the lodge. It was very interesting to listen to them, and we really appreciated it, when you decide to step out of your comfort zone for your training.

We saw many guides and porters sitting in the sun and talking on the phone. Richard explained that the telephone connection goes all the way to the summit, and showed us where some of the masts were the following days. At home on the internet I came across the news: "Tanzania sets up high-speed internet on Mount Kilimanjaro". Wow, Mount Everest would already have its own Wi-Fi connection. For emergency supplies, mainly. A magnificent play of colours of clouds heralded the cold night.