Last night I didn't sleep well... well, I went to sleep right away at 10, but woke up at 1 to use the bathroom and then couldn't go back to sleep so I did my best to read in bed. At 4 I tried to go back to sleep and finally it was morning, so at some point I dozed off. Not sure why - thinking it's nerves.... again, not sure why, but so it is.
This morning we went up to the 4th floor balcony and were able to see our mountain in the distance in all it's snow topped glory. We took tons of pictures (surprise) and I'd love to share them, but I can't get either of the computers to cooperate, so it seems there will be 1million photos all at once upon my return. Hakuna Matata (no worries). After a fresh fruit breakfast and some chilling on our balcony, we met up with John (the guy from yesterday who we promised could take us on a tour today) and took off to another waterfall. We were going to go to some caves and a coffee plantation until we learned it was $5/pp for each entry... and we are way to cheap. He took us through "the bush" and passed some more hidden homes. It's amazing how one home can be made out of sticks and mud and another out of concrete- and the only way you'd know these homes even existed is if you were walking through the jungle, as there are no roads, just foot paths. We passed by guava and peppermint plants, a goat and her newborn baby and finally came to the waterfall path entrance. The way down was steep and we used the bamboo and stick railing to ensure we didn't trip or slide down the dirt "stairs". Thankfully, we had better foot attire today than yesterday - as I'm not sure flip flops would have been a wise choice.
The waterfall was the same one as the one "the boys from the video" had gone to (for those of you who watched it - it was the falls near the swimming hole where the kid told them it was deep, but it wasn't). We had to cross over rocks in the water to get closer and this time Sally, Sam and Heidi followed the traditional way instead of forging out on their own, and we all made it safely. After some pictures near the falls, another group came upon us so we headed out to the swimming hole. It was quite cold to get in, but we all eventually braved it and enjoyed hanging out in the middle of a jungle (rainforrest?) for a bit until our guide said it was time to leave and we got out to dry off then head back up the steep slope (of course we don't know why we had to get out - if there was some unspoken time limit, but when in Tanzania....)
We came back to the hotel to start thinking about what it was we wanted to pack - and we've realized that as a group, we could surely take over the world.... we have sooooo much stuff! The time for our briefing with the guide has changed 3 times... last night we were told 1pm, this morning we were told btwn 4-5 pm, when we got back from our adventure, we were told 5:30... around 6 we were told they would contact our guide and let us know what time he'd be here.... at 7 I went to the desk, the guide had just arrived, and he said we'd meet after dinner... so now the briefing is at 8:45. Then we'll pack up and go to bed as we start our climb tomorrow... leaving here around 7am (we think).
Weds (stateside) will be the big night... starting at 4pm (thurs. at midnight for us) we will head up to the summit. dad - I'll try to send you a text from heidi's phone saying we made it.
Then we'll be back here on Friday and I promise I'll give you all an update that we are safe and sound.
Only 3 minutes left on the internet here, so I have to send (takes a while). I love you and can't wait to share this experience!
Click for Pictures
(Here's Sally's website: http://www.sallywootton.co.uk/ if you want to read her accounts as well.)
This morning we went up to the 4th floor balcony and were able to see our mountain in the distance in all it's snow topped glory. We took tons of pictures (surprise) and I'd love to share them, but I can't get either of the computers to cooperate, so it seems there will be 1million photos all at once upon my return. Hakuna Matata (no worries). After a fresh fruit breakfast and some chilling on our balcony, we met up with John (the guy from yesterday who we promised could take us on a tour today) and took off to another waterfall. We were going to go to some caves and a coffee plantation until we learned it was $5/pp for each entry... and we are way to cheap. He took us through "the bush" and passed some more hidden homes. It's amazing how one home can be made out of sticks and mud and another out of concrete- and the only way you'd know these homes even existed is if you were walking through the jungle, as there are no roads, just foot paths. We passed by guava and peppermint plants, a goat and her newborn baby and finally came to the waterfall path entrance. The way down was steep and we used the bamboo and stick railing to ensure we didn't trip or slide down the dirt "stairs". Thankfully, we had better foot attire today than yesterday - as I'm not sure flip flops would have been a wise choice.
The waterfall was the same one as the one "the boys from the video" had gone to (for those of you who watched it - it was the falls near the swimming hole where the kid told them it was deep, but it wasn't). We had to cross over rocks in the water to get closer and this time Sally, Sam and Heidi followed the traditional way instead of forging out on their own, and we all made it safely. After some pictures near the falls, another group came upon us so we headed out to the swimming hole. It was quite cold to get in, but we all eventually braved it and enjoyed hanging out in the middle of a jungle (rainforrest?) for a bit until our guide said it was time to leave and we got out to dry off then head back up the steep slope (of course we don't know why we had to get out - if there was some unspoken time limit, but when in Tanzania....)
We came back to the hotel to start thinking about what it was we wanted to pack - and we've realized that as a group, we could surely take over the world.... we have sooooo much stuff! The time for our briefing with the guide has changed 3 times... last night we were told 1pm, this morning we were told btwn 4-5 pm, when we got back from our adventure, we were told 5:30... around 6 we were told they would contact our guide and let us know what time he'd be here.... at 7 I went to the desk, the guide had just arrived, and he said we'd meet after dinner... so now the briefing is at 8:45. Then we'll pack up and go to bed as we start our climb tomorrow... leaving here around 7am (we think).
Weds (stateside) will be the big night... starting at 4pm (thurs. at midnight for us) we will head up to the summit. dad - I'll try to send you a text from heidi's phone saying we made it.
Then we'll be back here on Friday and I promise I'll give you all an update that we are safe and sound.
Only 3 minutes left on the internet here, so I have to send (takes a while). I love you and can't wait to share this experience!
Click for Pictures
(Here's Sally's website: http://www.sallywootton.co.uk/ if you want to read her accounts as well.)
No comments:
Post a Comment