There are so many stories to tell and the road less travelled is a story unto itself. Who knew one of the scariest parts of our climb would be the bumpy 3 hour bus ride on the dirt road to the Rongai Route that very few climbers take. The beginning of the Rongai Route is located near the Kenyan/Tanzanian border. Penina was sitting in front of me on the bus ride. She is the Clinical Assistant at the Pamoja Tunaweza Center, training to be a doctor. She manages health problems of the women at the center and runs HIV tests and does HIV counselling. Penina leads classes for local school girls to educate them on what HIV is, how it is transmitted and how to prevent it. Penina was getting very nervous on the bus ride. We both had a window seat and it seemed at any moment we could get a flat tire or go off the road. We held hands for support during the most precarious parts of the ride.
After the wild bus ride we arrived safely at our destination: the trail head of the Rongai Route. Karen Yeates chose this route because we are a very large group and she knew we could have the trail almost completely to ourselves. From the trail head we can look out over Kenya to a mountain range and a crater in the distance - an incredible sight. Many porters were lined up hoping to be chosen to perform the arduous task of carrying our gear up the mountain.
According to www.roughguides.com Tanzania's best asset is its people: friendly, welcoming, unassumingly proud and yet reserved – you'll be treated with uncommon warmth and courtesy wherever you go, and genuine friendships are easily made. We experienced this throughout our trip, but particularly when we were so unbelievably well-cared for by the porters and guides on the mountain thanks to Bushmen Expeditions.
Working as a porter is a very tough job. They have little money for gear and often arrive inadequately outfitted for the climb. One of the porters was wearing flip flops and a T-shirt and sweatshirt for warmth. In order to get this low paying and challenging job they need money for transportation to the trail head and money to bribe the guides who will choose them. It seems almost comical now that we spent a lot of time this morning weighing our bags to keep them under 15 kilograms since the porters climb with our backpacks and an equal amount of weight on their heads and shoulders. They do not get much food to eat and they work so hard. We could not climb the mountain without their assistance. Some of the porters smell of alcohol (a preclimb celebratory drink perhaps?) and look poor and worn out, but very happy to have work.
With only our day packs on our backs, the porters pass us on the trail as we make our way through flowering fields of potatoes and banana trees. We hiked through some light afternoon showers which washed some of the dust off of us and we arrived at our first campsite just after dusk. We were not prepared to set up our tents in the dark, but set up quickly with the help of our porters, guides and a small group of Germans who had already set up camp and had flashlights to help us out. We had a cozy first night inside our tents at camp 1 where there was still plenty of oxygen to breathe which was apparent by the lush vegetation surrounding us. The background noise on this night was much the same as the others to come, once we were settled into our tents we could hear the melodious chatter in Swahili of the porters preparing for the next day, relaxing and socializing now that we were taken care of. It reminds me of motherhood - take care of the little ones and then take care of yourself - I felt like I was being mothered - it was a welcoming feeling.
One of our guides is Samson Lauwo. He climbs the mountain 3x/month and has been working as a guide for 9 years. He is the grandson of Yohani Kinyala Lauwo who was only eighteen years old when he became the first guide to lead a westerner up Mount Kilimanjaro in 1889. Samson's grandfather was chosen because he was a hunter who spent much of his time on the mountain and knew it well. The mountain was much harder to climb because there was not enough equipment and was lots of snow from 4000feet. People used to sleep in caves, but this is no longer allowed since some porters were killed when a cave collapsed and porters have died from hypothermia, so they must sleep in tents. In 2006 when two women from Colorado were climbing Kili, they saw the deaths of porters on the moutain first hand and decided to do something to help prevent future deaths and they formed The Porters Association in Moshi. Porters can now get assistance with equipment for the climb. Unfortunately a lot of porters don’t know about the association, but with time word will spread. If porters are able to move up to work as assistant guides, they learn about the ecosystems on the mountain, how to perform a rescue and how to summit. Most porters do not summit.
According to Samson, in the Chagga language, Kilimanjaro is known as Kilemakyaro pronounced chalem charo which translates as 'Impossible Safari' Much of what is known about the mountain has come from western writers, but Samson wants people to know the Chagga people know first hand all about the mountain.
When Samson's grandfather turned 100 years old, Tanzania National Parks gave him a home and recognized his accomplishments over his lifetime with a plaque at the trail head. Samson's grandfather died at the age of 125 in 1996. He had several wives and one of them recently died and was honored with funeral service with 1000s in attendance.
Last week the second wife of his grandfather died. Now is a good time to tell you about funerals in Tanzania. The bodies are not preserved so when someone dies, the funeral and burial takes place the next day. Anyone who has had any contact with the individual attends the funeral to send the spirit off to a good place. The women stand on one side, the men on the other and they sing in a lovely call and response fashion to and with each other. It is a full day of sending off the spirit of the decesased. Tanzanians have a strong faith that the spirit is going to a a better place of love and they will all be together one day so this is not a sad day. Samson’s great great grandfathers wife’s funeral was attended by 1000's and everyone views the body. All things come to a complete stop for funeral attendance - meetings are cancelled, clinics are closed - you get the picture.
Samson is one of ten children, but now in his family people are becoming educated and family planning is taking place. Samson has one wife and 2 children. Samson said this makes it easier for women to inherit property when there are not so many wives and it improves the lives of women and children. This makes it easier for all the children to be cared for and loved as well.
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