Magic, ... a snapshot of an amazing journey... (Heidi)

On the fifth day, as I stumbled out of the dinner tent in the evening, my eyes looked up to the sky. Time stood still... with the shadow of Kibo looming behind me in the dark... I witnessed the most amazing starry sky I’ve ever seen.
And as I looked on in awe at the Milky Way and all these stars, I understood that Kilimanjaro had just cast its last part of its spell over me and I completely surrendered to its magic.

It had been coming for a long time;  making my way through the lush, green jungle; looking over the hilly landscapes that reminded me of Slovenia; climbing cathedral point and finding myself above a carpet of cotton wool clouds; climbing Barranco wall... it all had been a build up to that starry sky.

From that moment on, my eyes were constantly searching for those snow capped peaks and so it was that I found myself at summit camp, hidden in my sleeping bag, quietly listening to music before we would head out at midnight to Uhuru Peak.

It was a very cold night with a clear sky but as magical as Kibo was, it was treacherous at the same time; demanding my full concentration on the feet in front of me and the little circle of light cast by my headlamp. The few times I glanced aside, I was quickly drawn back to the feet in front of me.

And so I walked behind our guide Nico, who was softly singing in Swahili creating a calm atmosphere.  At 5300 meters I was overcome by sudden nausea. I heard Darline say; Sit down, from that I understood she too had glanced aside J I did sit down... deep breaths and I felt someone lifting my pack of my back. I felt better quite quickly and we continued up to Stella point. Lights dancing in front of us and behind us snaking their way up to the top.

The higher we went, the harder it became but I remained very calm and focused on my breathing. As the horizon started to color pink and orange, I knew the sun was coming and I witnessed the most amazing sunrise but my fingers were so numb I could not take any pictures.

Stella point was in view but the progress was slow, we could only take a few steps at the time before we had to rest. I also knew from thereon it was still one and a half hour to Uhuru peak, I was well prepared mentally. Incidentally Stella point is where many people give up, it is such a steep climb to get there and so little air that when you realise you still have so far to go, you have to dig very deep to overcome that point.

But nothing was going to keep us from reaching Uhuru peak, not nausea, not lack of oxygen, only being told we can’t continue for health reasons but that didn’t happen. Slowly, pole, pole we got  closer and closer to Uhuru peak, my eyes welled up but crying and walking at such high altitude did not go well together. So I told myself to man up and hold it together till we got there, when I put my head on Darline’s shoulder and cried.

As I sat down on a rock, in my dust ridden clothes, with my broken fingernails, unwashed hair and chapped lips I felt as pure as ever as I gazed at the perfection around me.

Today as I was driving along the highway, I found myself looking for those snow capped peaks and with a smile I remembered that starry night...
 I kept a very detailed diary of the entire trip but I wanted to try and convey a little bit of the magic we experienced. To those who are thinking of going there, don’t hesitate. Live your dreams.

I dedicate this post to Darline, who shared a very intimate journey with me and was the perfect companion. It was as if we were Ying and Yang in perfect unison. I am sure that Kilimanjaro’s magic will stay with me forever.