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ON THE WEB
| ISSN 0856-9135; No. 00228 |
July 13 - 19, 2002 |
ON THE WEB
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Cajoled to Climb KilimanjaroBy lute wa lutengano A friend of mine is trying very hard to convince me to attempt climbing the roof of Africa Mount Kilimanjaro. Every time I meet him, the talk is about my being lazy and refusing to join him in another climbing expedition. The other Saturday, I again met this friend, whom I can only reveal that he comes from the land of Tanga ku-Nani. I had gone to the famous Channel O beer counter at the AICC Kijenge Club to unwind my brain, which as you all know tightens up between Monday and Friday. He was at it again. "You lazy bones," he said, "why do you allow yourself to be so lazy. People travel all the way from Hiroshima and Uruguay to come and climb this great mountain. And you don't bet an eyelid that you have never been up there." Enough is enough! I decided to take him home where, to his surprise, he found that I had three certificates issued by the Kilimanjaro National Parks Authority (KINAPA), certifying that I have been up there three times twice at Gilman's Point and once at Uhuru peak itself. He is still shocked by this news. But to prove to him that I climbed the mountain in the early 90s I will narrate below my experience on my maiden climb. Since the early 80s I had been escorting hundreds of people from all over the world to Marangu, at the foot of the mountain and flagged them off as they began the arduous climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. I would then hang around at Marangu and the neighbouring Mwika, Mamba and Samanga villages, for the better part of the week, guzzling substantial amounts of mbege (local brew) or kapa mringa, as the Chaggas would call it, while waiting for my climbers to come down. I actually became very popular in that part of the country, because twice a year, I would repeat the event and with a lot of pomp. In the year 1990 I invited my journalist friend, Lusekelo, who as a masochist, loves torturing his body by, among other things, scaling mountains. I wanted him to join a group of VIPs and diplomats I had assembled for the expedition up the mountain. He promptly arrived at Marangu and we spent the best part of the evening, kapa mringaring. We were under the influence of the local mringa when we woke up the next morning. As usual I escorted the group of climbers to the KINAPA gate and was bidding them bye, when Lusekelo interjected "why don't you escort us to the first hut up the mountain at Mandara. It is just two or three hours away from here and the scene on the way up is unbelievable." I soon found myself sauntering up towards Mandara hut at a leisurely walk in the company of Lusekelo. Actually it was so leisurely we even had time to drink one or two beers on the way. The tropical rain forest with its lush green foliage, rich birdlife and flowering vegetation made me feel as if I am walking through a world of enchantment and mystery. The exotic and colourful butterflies fluttering along the way added an element of paradise to the mystery. Some ice-cold spring water flowed down the many streams we crossed on our way to Mandara hut. After almost two hours of unsurpassed enjoyment we came across an opening surrounded by some temperate thick forest. In the centre there were several eye-catching timber huts which could not be out of place in the Alps ski resorts in Europe. We had reached Mandara hut. I sat down with Lusekelo. Drank a beer and was about to bid him goodbye when he pleaded, "Lute why don't you attempt to climb this great mountain. The experience you had today is nothing compared to what lies up there where the mountain meets the sky. After all you don't have to go all the way. You can terminate the climb wherever you feel you have had enough." I thought about it for a few minutes and decided, "why not? After all this is an adventure." As I did not come along with climbing gear - the warm clothes and boots a porter was sent down to KINAPA gate to collect them. The following morning we would begin the climb to the next hut, the Horombo Hut. (Next week the climb begins). |
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Last modified:
July 12, 2002. Webmaster: WDJMallya |