My incredibly short work week is already over. Thursday is Madagascar’s Independence Day, so in the spirit of francophone culture, everything shuts down tomorrow. Because of the tides this week, we were able to do morning dives on the exterior, outside the barrier reef, both yesterday and today. Monday’s site was called Cathedral, named for its towering, coral-covered stone arches. The current was much stronger than I’m used to, which made my first-ever underwater photography trial rather interesting. For every good picture I took, there are three pictures of half a fish or person. This morning, we dove at Dippy, a giant, mountain-shaped reef structure with the biggest fish I’ve seen yet. We were working on benthic point outs but were distracted by two huge moray eels, several lion fish, a scorpion fish, and a banded cleaner shrimp. Quite a dive for our area of the country. I feel confident about all the benthic species we record for survey purposes: distinguishing between soft corals, hard massive coral, submassive, digitate, encrusting, tabular, foliose, invertebrates, various algae, tunicates, corralimorphs, gorgonians, etc.
Alice, another volunteer intern, Niall, the real intern, and I are catching a taxi brousse to Tulear at 6:00 tomorrow morning to buy food and supplies for our extended weekend adventure. If all goes as planned, which it rarely does in Madagascar (especially on holidays), we’ll be on another taxi brousse by mid-morning for a pleasant twelve-hour ride to Ranomafana. Rahn-oh- mah-fah-nah is one of Madagascar’s rain forested national parks, established by a Duke University professor in 1991 to protect a species of lemur found that was thought extinct. Now, there are at least seven species of lemurs in the park, two of which are nocturnal. For two or three days, depending on the transportation situation, we’ll explore the forest, the local museum featuring park history and science, as well as the natural hot springs that exist in the village a few kilometers south of the park. As neither Niall nor Alice speaks any French or Malagasy, I’ll be serving as Official Trip Translator. I hope we don’t end up on a boat to Mozambique.
To mouse lemurs, giant giraffe beetles, and long taxi brousse rides...I’ll be back by 7:00 on Monday morning, Malagasy time (9:00 a.m.).
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Seagrass Surveys et Le Spectacle
Before I begin, a fun anecdote: Five minutes ago, three middle-aged men showed up at our backdoor to introduce themselves. They own a house 200 meters down the beach and come here for vacation each year. Rather enthusiastically, one of them asked about Reef Doctor and said that he was interested in partnering for some community projects in Mangily, a town just to the north of Ifaty. He also mentioned that he works for a surfing company and pulled out a business card to give us. He’s the CEO of Ripcurl.
On a slightly less exciting note: seagrass. Woo! Reef Doctor partners with the University of New Hampshire and Seagrass Net to contribute to an international data base of seagrass information. Seagrass growth/depletion is monitored for two purposes: the plants prevent sedimentation on coral reefs (which kills coral), and the seagrass also serves as breeding grounds for juvenile marine species. Reef Doctor began conducting these surveys in October of last year, so we’re still gathering baseline data. Two weeks before each survey, we plant light sensors to monitor environmental conditions leading up to the date of data collection. On Thursday, we planted underwater sensors underwater around the bay in preparation for a quarterly survey to begin in a few weeks. Finding skinny metal pegs in large beds of seaweed is...like a game...of...Where’s Waldo?. Except not as fun, but the surveys themselves should be interesting.
Land ahoy! We’ve been busy above the water as well. Yesterday was a day to remember; le spectacle took place. For months, Stephan, the environmental education officer, had been preparing for an all day affair including a play and an art contest at the school in Ifaty. Hundreds of students and villagers from surrounding towns came to Ifaty to see L’Ocean, complete with a giant, rolling, plaster turtle and a juggling clown. The play’s theme focused on marine conservation. The kids had a blast; we were exhausted.
On Friday morning, we went for a hike in the spiny forest led by our night guard, Le Bon, meaning “The Good” in English. We saw a species of giant baobab, which exists only in Madagascar, as well as several other endemic plants and birds. Le Bon showed us one plant that the women use to clean between their legs; after you use it, you become a virgin again. The plant can be purchased at your local witch doctor’s shop. Speaking of which(es), local legend has it that at full moon, witches come and poop on all the village roofs, which are all made of reeds. Guess what tonight is. I’m sleeping in my rain jacket.
Keep your fingers crossed,
Annalise
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Live in Ifaty (ee-FAHT-ee)
After much pestering of the Air Madagascar office, my bags arrived on Friday afternoon. Anne, one of the Reef Doctor staff, and I headed to the taxi brousse station to finally depart for Ifaty. Taxi brousses are...an experience. I was wedged into a seat that spanned approximately one meter (yes, I'm using the metric system) between Anne and an elderly woman in a sarong with a chicken. But good news! The total trip cost 3,000 ariary (about $0.90) and I had a breeze throughout the drive since the taxi was a semi-covered livestock truck. After passing an overturned coal truck in the desert, repairing one flat tire on our own vehicle, and an amusing three hours, we arrived safely at the Reef Doctor base...just in time to see the sunset on the horizon.
I settled into my reed hut over the weekend and enjoyed time meeting the staff and other volunteers, all of whom are delightfully interesting. There’s Bernie from Australia, Leighton, Claire, and Emma from the UK, Niall from Ireland, Alice from New Zealand, Nicholas and Stephan from France, Christina and Nadi from northern Madagascar, and then Anne, Shawn, and myself representing the red, white, and blue. There’s also Maurine, a Peace Core volunteer who lives in the village, who spends a lot of time with us. She and Christina organize and preside over Ifaty’s newly created women’s organization.
Alice and I share a hut about 15 meters (yes, metric is here to stay) from the shoreline. The other living huts as well as the main house are scattered along the water in front of the IHSM (a division of the University of Tulear) with which Reef Doctor partners. The actual village is about a 3 minute walk up the north beach. The bathroom is a hole protected by a reed wall on three sides, as is the shower, minus the hole. At bathing time, we draw slightly saline water from a well using a small bucket, dump that water into a larger bucket, carry the larger bucket to the shower, and then use a small cup for showering. Exercise and cleansing, all in one.
We eat rice. For breakfast, we eat it sticky with sugar. For lunch, we eat it with a variety of beans. For dinner, we eat it with vegetables. I bought some Nutella in Tulear that I’ve been hiding under my mattress. All the people here are nice...until it comes to sugary foods. Our living arrangements aren’t exactly ritzy, but we live like royalty compared to the entire village of Ifaty.
I started my training on Monday morning by studying a series of lectures on Malagasy culture and economics, local marine ecosystems, as well as Reef Doctor’s history, current projects, and plans for the future. The organization began only 8 years ago; we have growing room to be sure. Already, I feel like I could write a novel on the economic state of the Tulear region (which includes Ifaty); Tulear is the poorest region of the country, but I’ll save it for a later date. Reef Doctor is working intensely within the Ifaty and surrounding communities on too many issues to be discussed at once. Much more to come on that.
Monday afternoon, I logged my first dive in Africa. Transitioning from PSI to Bars and from feet to meters has been an added fun, thus far. I did a routine skills review in 22 degree Celsius water, which is roughly the temperature of the springs in Florida. This ain’t no Caribbean. 5 mm suits are a blessing. Yesterday and this morning, I worked on benthic and invertebrate identification as well as completing two point out dives in the Bay of Ranobe. I’m learning the name, purpose, and nature of flora and fauna that I’ve generally swam right by in the past. I should be knocking out surveys (with a bit of help) by the end of next week. Since we’re in a bay protected by a barrier reef, we have to roll with the tides. (Not to be confused with “Roll Tide,” which we do not say here nor anyplace else.)
I’m learning a great deal of marine science, Malagasy culture, and about NGOs in Africa. The tides won’t allow us to dive on Friday, so we’re planning a hike through the spiny forest, where two of the thirty resident species of lemurs can be spotted. The generator just got shut off for the night, so my battery is waning.
To Millepora, Heliopora, and Tubipora musica...
(To fire coral, blue coral, and organ pipe coral...)
Annalise
Thursday, June 12, 2008
salama from tulear...again.
my bags didn't arrive yesterday, but i was assured at the airport that they would make it on today's flight. i called the tana airport this morning to confirm that they would arrive today and am proud to say that i engaged in my most coherent french conversation to date. unfortunately, the person at the other end of the line informed me that today's flight "est annule a cause des problemes techniques." translation: the flight was cancelled. translation: maybe my bags will come tomorrow. who knows? tonight will be my third night in tulear. i can't catch the taxi to ifaty until i have my bags. fortunately, the luggage delay has afforded me some great opportunities thus far.
last night, i stayed with stephan's family just outside the city. he's reef doctor's head environmental education officer and a rather interesting man. he has a wonderful family: a malagasy wife who cooks the best food i've had in africa, and 2 awesome kids, a 5 year old girl and a 3 year old boy, who are fluent in both french and malagasy (or at least, up to little kid standard). stephan is an ex-parisien and refuses to be associated with france in any sense of the word. come to think of it, he also hates the entire continent of europe, as well as the united states, as well as all forms of organized government. he has the best unkept full beard and dreadlocks i've ever seen and is always up for a great conversation. after the other reef doctor staff left me at his house, he smiled, sat down, and informed me that the events of 9/11 never took place. so began our conversation. despite our not so subtle different views on practically everything, we got along wonderfully. he's one of the most intriguing people i've met. ever. i spent the afternoon helping him prepare props and backdrops for an educational play to be put on at the school in ifaty next week. he's quite an artist. i'm quite good at sanding wood. he played a bootleg, homemade documentary that he somehow obtained during dinner that offered oodles of information on how the american government staged each event on 9/11. indeed, to each his own. his family is unbelievably hospitable, and the kids gave me a malagasy lesson in exchange for one in english.
other points of interest:
1. i found a local man today sporting a uga baseball hat. i was tempted to ask him for a picture, but i decided he wouldn't find it as amusing as i did. but go dawgs! you're represented even here.
2. i rode in a pousse pousse for the first time today. endless entertainment and unbelievably cheap. i paid 600 ariary, or roughly 50 cents for a 15 minute ride back to stephan's house.
3. i found (or was shown) a cafe owned by a french canadian in the center of town. i ate there twice today. best chocolate milkshake of my life.
4. FOR ALL MY KILI BUDDIES! our endless game of discussing the ideal american meal exists elsewhere, and it has a name here at reef doctor: food pong. i'm really good at it because i had so much practice in tanzania. also, the ketchup is good here. really good. almost like heinz.
5. one of the reef doctor staff, anne, is from charlotte, nc. home away from here! two southern girls in madagascar.
maybe tomorrow's the day. the sooner i get to ifaty, the sooner i start my survey and reef education classes. one final point: we need siesta in america.
last night, i stayed with stephan's family just outside the city. he's reef doctor's head environmental education officer and a rather interesting man. he has a wonderful family: a malagasy wife who cooks the best food i've had in africa, and 2 awesome kids, a 5 year old girl and a 3 year old boy, who are fluent in both french and malagasy (or at least, up to little kid standard). stephan is an ex-parisien and refuses to be associated with france in any sense of the word. come to think of it, he also hates the entire continent of europe, as well as the united states, as well as all forms of organized government. he has the best unkept full beard and dreadlocks i've ever seen and is always up for a great conversation. after the other reef doctor staff left me at his house, he smiled, sat down, and informed me that the events of 9/11 never took place. so began our conversation. despite our not so subtle different views on practically everything, we got along wonderfully. he's one of the most intriguing people i've met. ever. i spent the afternoon helping him prepare props and backdrops for an educational play to be put on at the school in ifaty next week. he's quite an artist. i'm quite good at sanding wood. he played a bootleg, homemade documentary that he somehow obtained during dinner that offered oodles of information on how the american government staged each event on 9/11. indeed, to each his own. his family is unbelievably hospitable, and the kids gave me a malagasy lesson in exchange for one in english.
other points of interest:
1. i found a local man today sporting a uga baseball hat. i was tempted to ask him for a picture, but i decided he wouldn't find it as amusing as i did. but go dawgs! you're represented even here.
2. i rode in a pousse pousse for the first time today. endless entertainment and unbelievably cheap. i paid 600 ariary, or roughly 50 cents for a 15 minute ride back to stephan's house.
3. i found (or was shown) a cafe owned by a french canadian in the center of town. i ate there twice today. best chocolate milkshake of my life.
4. FOR ALL MY KILI BUDDIES! our endless game of discussing the ideal american meal exists elsewhere, and it has a name here at reef doctor: food pong. i'm really good at it because i had so much practice in tanzania. also, the ketchup is good here. really good. almost like heinz.
5. one of the reef doctor staff, anne, is from charlotte, nc. home away from here! two southern girls in madagascar.
maybe tomorrow's the day. the sooner i get to ifaty, the sooner i start my survey and reef education classes. one final point: we need siesta in america.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
je suis a tulear, madagascar.
bonjour, mes amis!
i made it to tulear, madagascar, about an hour and a half taxi ride away from ifaty, my destination. i flew from moshi to nairobi to johannesburg to antananarivo to fort dauphin to tulear. pas de probleme, but my luggage is currently somewhere between johannesburg and tana; i just hope it's not in the indian ocean. i've been wearing the same outfit for 4 days. i'm just getting comfortable.
i met a few intriguing people in transit. one was an afrikaan man from johannesburg who is a pilot for a company that has a contract with the united nations. he was returning from a 2 month job in southern sudan flying refugees and u.n. representatives around the country. i heard some unbelievable stories. in the tana airport, i met a zimbabwean with a phd in marine sciences and economics. he's the director of an organization similar to reef doctor that's based about 17 hours south of tulear. he taught me quite a bit about both his organization's and reef doctor's relations with the local tribes and government.
shawn, one of reef doctor's staff, met me at the tulear "airport," from which he and i, along with the zimbabwean and one other guy from paris, piled into a tres petit taxi and headed to a hotel. we ate at a local spot called top secret and were all able to order our third choice meal. they seemed to be a little short of...everything. t.i.a....this is africa.
shawn and the zimbabwean, garth, headed to a meeting this morning with some locals from 12 villages located up and down the coast. they have a 21 hour taxi ride ahead of them, all in the interest of setting up a rotational fishing schedule in and around the bay of ranobe. they agreed that the outlook was not yet too bright. they seemed most concerned with simply picking up the 40 villagers along the way. garth said successfully collecting all 40 would be a feat in itself.
i'm headed back to the airport pour trouver mes bagages. bon chance a moi!
i made it to tulear, madagascar, about an hour and a half taxi ride away from ifaty, my destination. i flew from moshi to nairobi to johannesburg to antananarivo to fort dauphin to tulear. pas de probleme, but my luggage is currently somewhere between johannesburg and tana; i just hope it's not in the indian ocean. i've been wearing the same outfit for 4 days. i'm just getting comfortable.
i met a few intriguing people in transit. one was an afrikaan man from johannesburg who is a pilot for a company that has a contract with the united nations. he was returning from a 2 month job in southern sudan flying refugees and u.n. representatives around the country. i heard some unbelievable stories. in the tana airport, i met a zimbabwean with a phd in marine sciences and economics. he's the director of an organization similar to reef doctor that's based about 17 hours south of tulear. he taught me quite a bit about both his organization's and reef doctor's relations with the local tribes and government.
shawn, one of reef doctor's staff, met me at the tulear "airport," from which he and i, along with the zimbabwean and one other guy from paris, piled into a tres petit taxi and headed to a hotel. we ate at a local spot called top secret and were all able to order our third choice meal. they seemed to be a little short of...everything. t.i.a....this is africa.
shawn and the zimbabwean, garth, headed to a meeting this morning with some locals from 12 villages located up and down the coast. they have a 21 hour taxi ride ahead of them, all in the interest of setting up a rotational fishing schedule in and around the bay of ranobe. they agreed that the outlook was not yet too bright. they seemed most concerned with simply picking up the 40 villagers along the way. garth said successfully collecting all 40 would be a feat in itself.
i'm headed back to the airport pour trouver mes bagages. bon chance a moi!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
19,340 feet above sea level is breathtaking. Literally.
Jambo from Moshi, Tanzania! I made it in one piece. My flight arrived the night of June 1st, and I was supposed to meet a shuttle at the airport to take me the 50 km to our hotel to meet the UGA group. Alas, traveling presented one of its usual twists, and I found myself sans shuttle. I hired a local taxi driver named John, and he gave me my first Swahili lesson on the way to the hotel. I was joyfully greeted by Sarah and Addie and then informed that we were beginning our climb the next morning at 8 am, instead of the following day. I had less than 10 hours to unpack, organize, and repack; then we were off. Before I recap the adventure, I'd like to say that climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've ever done in my life...and it was phenomenal.
Day One: We had an hour bus ride into the national park to reach the base of the mountain. I took pictures of every woman on the street with a basket on her head and every smiling child who chased our bus, while all of my co-climbers laughed. Old news to them. It's amazing how quickly you can integrate into another culture. We registered ourselves and waited for climbing permits and then set off on a 4 hour hike through the rain forest. The constant theme of climbing Mt. Kili is "POLE POLE," which means "slowly" in English. The slower you climb, the less likely you are to suffer from altitude sickness. We only carried day packs with water and our cameras, while the incredible porters lugged up all the gear and food. Every time a porter passed me on the trail with a friendly "Mambo!" and a smile, I felt like I was cheating. The porters are the unsung heroes of all mountaineering. To combat altitude sickness, most of us took Diamox, which has two interesting side effects: tingly fingers and toes (and face, in my case) and an increased need to urinate. We slept at Mandara Hut, and I had to get up 5 times in one night. It was worth it just to look at the stars; I've never seen so many.
Day Two: Our group of 21, our guides, our porters, and my two new Dutch friends who we met at the base of the mountain (both of whom are named Bert), set off for Horombo Hut. About an hour into the hike, we emerged from the forest into a semi-arid landscape...and we caught our first glimpse of the summit. A new enthusiasm took hold of the group when we could suddenly see where we were going. The view from Horombo Hut was unexpected: we were looking down over the clouds. Talk about bizarre. Horombo Hut was by far the most homey; Cabin 48 was where it all went down. B Lee, Addie, Sarah, Connor, Chris, and I jammed out on Chris's portable iPod speakers before bed. We came to an agreement on a theme song of the whole hike: "Pillz" by Gucci Man. Between Diamox, Cipro (for traveller's diarrhea), laxatives, Malarone (anti-Malaria meds), Advil, Midol, Tylenol PM, Albuterol, Benadryl, and any other substance known to the medical community, someone in our group was taking it. It's amazing how quickly you bond in only 6 days. One of our group members (who will remain anonymous) received a standing ovation at lunch for his first BM in 21 days. We were so proud. Kili brings people together.
Day Three: I woke up feeling a little sick, but I felt better after some water and Diamox. The third day was Acclimatization Day; we hiked up in elevation about 1,000 feet to the Zebra Rocks and stayed for a few hours before descending back to Horombo for lunch. After dinner and a spades tournament (congradulations Addie and Dave), I wrapped up in my warm gear and layed under the stars for almost an hour. I've never seen so many in my life. I made my own constellations and reflected on Isaiah 40:26, "He who brings out the starry host by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
Day Four: We shifted into our third landscape: moon-like desert? We trekked for 7 hours (very "pole pole") up to Kibo Hut, our final stop before summiting. The altitude attacked a few people, but all 21 of us made it to Kibo. (Some don't make it this far.) I forced down a little dinner (I lost my appetite on Day One) before we all crawled into our sleeping bags to nap at 7 pm. I started to feel ill, and I never fell asleep.
Day Five (Kind Of): The porters woke us up at 10:15 pm to begin our death march. We piled on our warm gear, switched on the headlamps, and started upward. I made it approximately 50 yards before I started to black out and dry heave. Looking back, it was comical. I, along with 5 or 6 others, fell out of the pack one by one in the first few minutes. Despite my whining and whimpering, our guide Joseph and one of the porters refused to let me go back down. They stripped off some of my gear (I overheated) and set me back on my feet. I set off "pole pole" toward the lights ahead of me, wondering why they wanted me to die. I caught up fairly quickly and started to feel slightly better. We walked, and we walked, and we walked. For 7 hours. Through the whole night. We walked. And it was freezing. And dark. And we couldn't feel our fingers. Or our toes. Or our faces. And I wanted to cry. Get the picture? We, or at least I, complained about that much. We all brought our iPods to jam out on the endless upward climb, but apparently iPods stop working above 15,000 feet. We all got error messages when we turned them on. Lame, Macintosh. Lame.
At about 6:30 am, just as the sun began to rise, we reached Gillman's Point, which was thought to be the summit for a number of years. From Gillman's, it's a 1.5 hour hike to Uhuru. I didn't even stop for a picture because I knew I'd fall asleep and probably die there. It might have made a good book. We continued on as the sun rose, and I was blown away by the sheer beauty of our surroundings. No camera could capture this. In addition to revealing the landscape, the sun brought a much needed warmth to our fingers and toes. Even once I saw the sign at Uhuru less than 50 yards away, I had to take 3 breaks on the way there. I dropped my book bag and poles once I made it and was greeted by B Lee taking a video of everyone's reaction. Here's how our conversation went on film.
B: Annalise! How does it feel?!
A: I've had to throw up for, like...(attempts to look at watch)
G: (moves the camera to Chris because I'm taking too long)
A: (in the background) 5 hours.
B: (moves the camera back to me)
A: (turns in a circle and looks around) THIS IS AWESOME.
When she asked Sarah how the top was, Sarah said she was hungry. We were delirious. There's no way to internalize or even describe Uhuru. Absolutely breathtaking. Standing on top of the highest point on the entire continent of Africa, looking down on a crystal blue sky over Kenya and Tanzania. Giant ice walls to the left. Low lying snow-filled valleys to the right. Everything below you. You're on the roof of Africa, but talk about humbling. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience. I'll never forget that moment.
It took us about 4 hours to hike back down to Kibo Hut. It was miserable. Enough said. I took a half-hour nap and then we hiked halfway down Kili to home sweet home, Homboro Hut. I've never slept so well in my life.
Day Six: All the way down. When we emerged from the trail, Dr. G offered Sarah and me 10,000 shilingi (roughly $9) to do it again. I told him he couldn't give me 100,000,000 shilingi to do it again. It was unbeatable. We had a celebration champagne toast at dinner. Well deserved, I think.
The group left last night for the US. All alone (but not at all lonely), I decided to play some international relations. The two Dutch Berts, myself, a girl from Canada doing research, a girl from Australia teaching physics, and two other Dutchmen went to a local club to watch a "football" match. We discussed American politics, and more importantly, why Americans don't care about soccer. Made for an interesting evening.
I'm off to the airport! Three days of traveling to reach Ifaty, Madagascar. Kili to Nairobi. Nairobi to Johannesburg. Johannesburg to Tana. Tana to Toliara. Toliara to Ifaty. Headed down from 19,000 feet to sea level, but still on top of thw world...
Annalise
Day One: We had an hour bus ride into the national park to reach the base of the mountain. I took pictures of every woman on the street with a basket on her head and every smiling child who chased our bus, while all of my co-climbers laughed. Old news to them. It's amazing how quickly you can integrate into another culture. We registered ourselves and waited for climbing permits and then set off on a 4 hour hike through the rain forest. The constant theme of climbing Mt. Kili is "POLE POLE," which means "slowly" in English. The slower you climb, the less likely you are to suffer from altitude sickness. We only carried day packs with water and our cameras, while the incredible porters lugged up all the gear and food. Every time a porter passed me on the trail with a friendly "Mambo!" and a smile, I felt like I was cheating. The porters are the unsung heroes of all mountaineering. To combat altitude sickness, most of us took Diamox, which has two interesting side effects: tingly fingers and toes (and face, in my case) and an increased need to urinate. We slept at Mandara Hut, and I had to get up 5 times in one night. It was worth it just to look at the stars; I've never seen so many.
Day Two: Our group of 21, our guides, our porters, and my two new Dutch friends who we met at the base of the mountain (both of whom are named Bert), set off for Horombo Hut. About an hour into the hike, we emerged from the forest into a semi-arid landscape...and we caught our first glimpse of the summit. A new enthusiasm took hold of the group when we could suddenly see where we were going. The view from Horombo Hut was unexpected: we were looking down over the clouds. Talk about bizarre. Horombo Hut was by far the most homey; Cabin 48 was where it all went down. B Lee, Addie, Sarah, Connor, Chris, and I jammed out on Chris's portable iPod speakers before bed. We came to an agreement on a theme song of the whole hike: "Pillz" by Gucci Man. Between Diamox, Cipro (for traveller's diarrhea), laxatives, Malarone (anti-Malaria meds), Advil, Midol, Tylenol PM, Albuterol, Benadryl, and any other substance known to the medical community, someone in our group was taking it. It's amazing how quickly you bond in only 6 days. One of our group members (who will remain anonymous) received a standing ovation at lunch for his first BM in 21 days. We were so proud. Kili brings people together.
Day Three: I woke up feeling a little sick, but I felt better after some water and Diamox. The third day was Acclimatization Day; we hiked up in elevation about 1,000 feet to the Zebra Rocks and stayed for a few hours before descending back to Horombo for lunch. After dinner and a spades tournament (congradulations Addie and Dave), I wrapped up in my warm gear and layed under the stars for almost an hour. I've never seen so many in my life. I made my own constellations and reflected on Isaiah 40:26, "He who brings out the starry host by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
Day Four: We shifted into our third landscape: moon-like desert? We trekked for 7 hours (very "pole pole") up to Kibo Hut, our final stop before summiting. The altitude attacked a few people, but all 21 of us made it to Kibo. (Some don't make it this far.) I forced down a little dinner (I lost my appetite on Day One) before we all crawled into our sleeping bags to nap at 7 pm. I started to feel ill, and I never fell asleep.
Day Five (Kind Of): The porters woke us up at 10:15 pm to begin our death march. We piled on our warm gear, switched on the headlamps, and started upward. I made it approximately 50 yards before I started to black out and dry heave. Looking back, it was comical. I, along with 5 or 6 others, fell out of the pack one by one in the first few minutes. Despite my whining and whimpering, our guide Joseph and one of the porters refused to let me go back down. They stripped off some of my gear (I overheated) and set me back on my feet. I set off "pole pole" toward the lights ahead of me, wondering why they wanted me to die. I caught up fairly quickly and started to feel slightly better. We walked, and we walked, and we walked. For 7 hours. Through the whole night. We walked. And it was freezing. And dark. And we couldn't feel our fingers. Or our toes. Or our faces. And I wanted to cry. Get the picture? We, or at least I, complained about that much. We all brought our iPods to jam out on the endless upward climb, but apparently iPods stop working above 15,000 feet. We all got error messages when we turned them on. Lame, Macintosh. Lame.
At about 6:30 am, just as the sun began to rise, we reached Gillman's Point, which was thought to be the summit for a number of years. From Gillman's, it's a 1.5 hour hike to Uhuru. I didn't even stop for a picture because I knew I'd fall asleep and probably die there. It might have made a good book. We continued on as the sun rose, and I was blown away by the sheer beauty of our surroundings. No camera could capture this. In addition to revealing the landscape, the sun brought a much needed warmth to our fingers and toes. Even once I saw the sign at Uhuru less than 50 yards away, I had to take 3 breaks on the way there. I dropped my book bag and poles once I made it and was greeted by B Lee taking a video of everyone's reaction. Here's how our conversation went on film.
B: Annalise! How does it feel?!
A: I've had to throw up for, like...(attempts to look at watch)
G: (moves the camera to Chris because I'm taking too long)
A: (in the background) 5 hours.
B: (moves the camera back to me)
A: (turns in a circle and looks around) THIS IS AWESOME.
When she asked Sarah how the top was, Sarah said she was hungry. We were delirious. There's no way to internalize or even describe Uhuru. Absolutely breathtaking. Standing on top of the highest point on the entire continent of Africa, looking down on a crystal blue sky over Kenya and Tanzania. Giant ice walls to the left. Low lying snow-filled valleys to the right. Everything below you. You're on the roof of Africa, but talk about humbling. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience. I'll never forget that moment.
It took us about 4 hours to hike back down to Kibo Hut. It was miserable. Enough said. I took a half-hour nap and then we hiked halfway down Kili to home sweet home, Homboro Hut. I've never slept so well in my life.
Day Six: All the way down. When we emerged from the trail, Dr. G offered Sarah and me 10,000 shilingi (roughly $9) to do it again. I told him he couldn't give me 100,000,000 shilingi to do it again. It was unbeatable. We had a celebration champagne toast at dinner. Well deserved, I think.
The group left last night for the US. All alone (but not at all lonely), I decided to play some international relations. The two Dutch Berts, myself, a girl from Canada doing research, a girl from Australia teaching physics, and two other Dutchmen went to a local club to watch a "football" match. We discussed American politics, and more importantly, why Americans don't care about soccer. Made for an interesting evening.
I'm off to the airport! Three days of traveling to reach Ifaty, Madagascar. Kili to Nairobi. Nairobi to Johannesburg. Johannesburg to Tana. Tana to Toliara. Toliara to Ifaty. Headed down from 19,000 feet to sea level, but still on top of thw world...
Annalise
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