Kilimanjaro - part two -Local Colour & Calabash

After lunch a couple of us struck out for the local village to check out the night spots for later. "Jambo" " Jambo" "Jambo" everyone that we passed called out this cheerful greeting as we began to appreciate the poverty that surrounded us. The contrast between our designer trainers and their assorted shoddy footwear, mostly flip flops with paper thin soles was no more marked than the contrast between the smartly dressed children at the village school and the vast majority of cherubic children too poor to attend.(Australians please note flip flops is the quaint pommie expression f0r thongs)

Sitting in a local's hut with its dirt floor and the walls papered in pages of Time magazine from 1979 our own preoccupation with bigger and better houses seemed very shallow. Still with the amount he charged us for the Calabash of banana beer he will soon be in a position to improve his condition!! (The calabash tree produces large spherical fruits, up to 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter, the hard shells of which are useful as bowls, cups, and other water containers when hollowed out.)

Later that night, in fact for most of that night the banana beer reaped its revenge again and again and again - no wonder the locals all looked so thin.

BA or British Airways as it was probably called then is amongst the finest training organisations in the world and it showed in the preparation taken by Donna, Alan & Gareth. My problem of the night before was solved instantly with a tablet followed by a vitamin replacement programme. Later in the day JJ was also to benefit as his bleeding leg was delicately treated with antiseptic wipes, he had been trying to catch a monkey. Don't ask or tell David Attenborough!

Apart from Jon's wildlife adventure, day one was a pleasant start to our trip as we climbed up to 9000 feet. (nb for 'climb' think gentle stroll upwards) The children that we passed wanted pens, sweets, chocolate, pennies but if none of these were available a watch or camera would do. If ever you go to Tanzania take a couple of gross of biros - we wished we had. The kids had to settle for Lucozade Sport Glucose tablets, no doubt causing their parents some concern unable to explain their suddenly hype-active offspring!

By 9000 feet the price of beers and Coca Cola had trebled and we could hardly wait to see how much they would be at 15000.

Occasionally, we would pass actors from horror movies like "The Undead" , " Tales from the Crypt" and "Days of the Living Dead". Tanzania's film industry had clearly been hiding its light under a bushel for far to long. Later we were to learn first hand that these were not actors but climbers who had made it to the top. "I no longer feel like a human being, I have no body" explained a Swedish woman. At this stage the beach in Mombasa sounded like a much more attractive alternative.

Whilst having dinner Arnold Schwarzenegger's twin crawled past on his knees - the sight of his wrecked body had JJ and I sprinting back down the hill, Mombasa bound. The BA crew leapt into action, captured we were huddled into our cell measuring 8' x 8' with guards stationed on the two spare bunks.

Day Two had been a pleasant prospect after a couple of beers but this feeling of well being had completely dissipated by breakfast, when we started to climb up through thick rain forest, fifty foot trees covered in moss. It was a long, long day. Six and a half hours may not seem that long, but trekking from 9000' to 12000' under a blazing sun that made short work of Factor 25 and even Alan's baby sun block makes it a very long day. The lack of sleep did not help but the continual sucking of our Glucoze tablets kept us going as we tried not to think what they were doing to our teeth.

Apart from the rain forest and ridges and ravines covered with heather and rocks and a brief terrifying glimpse of the peak the scenery was rather uninspiring and wildlife consisted of a few lizards and brightly coloured birds - not a Giraffe to be seen. Certainly no herds of Wildebeast.

Horumbo huts were a welcome sight and we almost broke into a run only to find accomodation that made the previous nights seem quite sumptuous. Eight of us crammed into the hut, simultaneously removing our boots, the local striped back mice made a hasty exit! It may have been the altitude, it might have been the diet including the delightful millet porridge - whatever - its affects were such that the mice did not return and Donna vowed never to share a confined space with seven men.

How many get to the top, can Donna stand the smell - this and more will be revealed in part three...............................