2600m?

So I climbed a mountain the other day. Someone said Mount Uluguru was 2600 meters high, but that may or may not be true.

I found out the morning of (Sunday) that we were indeed set to go, where to meet, and when. Unfortunately, I had not yet asked my host parents if I could go because I hadn't seen them much last week, I was waiting for more details about it, and we'd had a guest over the night before. It was also the day they decided to sleep in and skip church. So there I was wondering what to do, wanting to go climb the mountains but not wanting to wake them up, asking my little brother what to do and not getting much help from him. Eventually I was able to tell the house girl that I wanted to go for the day and she said I could go.

So I met up with the group of my good friends and our guides, Julia's host brothers, and we got on a daladala (small bus/van/overcrowded vehicle) that was the sweetest ride ever. Not only did it have a sparkly samurai fish painted on the back and spoiler wings on the top, but the inside was pink and padded with a long mirror running along the middle of the ceiling. And then there was a plastic crystal-like gear shifter. Amazing. In town we bought some buns and PB for lunch and then headed up the mountains near town.

After three hours and a stop in a stream to cool off, we stopped for some lunch in front of an old haunted looking house overlooking the city through the canyon. Then we trekked on, this time much steeper and into the forests to the top for another three hours. They kept telling us it was only 30 min, 15 min, etc. even though it took longer and longer and we had to stop repeatedly to catch our breath. By this time, we had all run out of water and were rationing our last few sips for ourselves, sweating profusely and becoming delirious out of thirst. We also hired an extra guide, who was trotting up the mountain wearing a flannel button-down shirt, nice slacks, and the pointed men's dress shoes that are oh-so-popular here in Tanzania. He picked carrots for us in the farms growing along the mountain sides while we huffed and puffed up the mountain without water.

Finally, we curved around the back of the mountain and arrived at the top overlooking everything opposite the city. It was incredible to look out over the mountain range in all directions, completely natural and covered in green forests. The only mountain taller than Uluguru was a pointed rocky one behind it, jutting out from the rest of the majestic mountains.

On top of the mountain is a radio tower and a handful of men who guard it for a week at a time. They offered us ugali (a stiff mashed potato like thing made out of corn flour that Tanzanians eat with their hands and dip in spinach or beans; eaten in place of rice) when we arrived at the top, but all we wanted was water. We guzzled down the water they offered us, not caring whether or not it was boiled or safe (though it did taste like charcoal, at least) and lay there on the grass until our thirst was quenched. I took a little nap in the sun and then ate some ugali with spinach and beans and finished off another peanut butter sandwich.

By 5:00 we were headed back down the mountain, hoping we'd be back in town by dark, 6:30pm. What a joke! We took a different route, this time much steeper and more slippery, so we half slid half jumped/ran down the mountain, getting a few cuts and bruises here and there. Our guide in his pointy shoes, however, stayed perfectly clean far ahead of us, chuckling at our inefficient mountain climbing skills.

Eventually we ended up walking along a ridge that slowly sloped downward toward the city. We walked along in the tall grasses overlooking the canyons and mountains on either side of us and the sunset behind the mountains to the left. Eventually we came upon a tiny village, where we bought two large bunches of bananas and snarfed them down. They were the most delicious bananas I've ever had.

As we continued on, the light dwindled and the city down below began to light up. It was gorgeous. We kept hoping we were almost down, but soon it became dark and we pulled out our cell phones with flashlights on them. Our legs became jelly-like as we slowly made our way down through the paths. Water had again run out and thirst set in. We watched the stars and the fireflies as we waited for the slower ones, whose legs had started to object and refused to walk downhill any longer. We also worried about our families and texted them continuously giving them new estimates of when we'd be home. By 8:15 we had arrived at the road and by 9:00 we found the car that was waiting to take us home because daladalas don't run that late at night.

So we all made it home okay, gulped down glassfuls of clean refrigerated water, and sank into bed. I'm still sore today but it was totally worth the effort. What an adventure!

Next time, I'm bringing four Nalgenes full of water.