Kilmanjaro Part 5a

August 24, 2009 (Day 4 on the mountain)

Today is another relatively easy hike in the sunny weather. Heading from Fischer Camp across to Lava Tower. We’re still in high desert. Although the shrubs get shorter and shorter as we move up. But Kili is finally getting close and we’re beginning to feel like we’re now at the base of it. We move pole pole, slowly slowly, and stop about half-way to wait for Papa to catch up (he’s stayed behind to supervise the cleaning of the camp).

Our break is at the crossroads of two trails, the Barranco route, which almost everyone is taking, and the Western Breach (also known as Arrow Glacier), which is the route we’re taking. Both trails now briefly merge and continue on together to Lava Tower, but then most people continue around the mountain. We will go to Lava Tower and go up the mountain.

For now, we sit. We chat with Macho. We practice our Swahili and Chagga with the passing guides and wagum. And we shock all of them with our limited Chagga. They all ask Macho how these wazungu learned Chagga and how long we have been here. Apparently by the end of our climb, we have a minor reputation on the mountain as the dada wazungu that know Chagga (or so our guides tell us). But it is fun to surprise them all and make them laugh (mostly with our bad pronunciation). We don’t really mingle with the other hikers, Papa has asked us not to and Papa knows best. After a bit, he catches up to us and we head up to Lava Tower.

Lava Tower is, well, a Lava Tower. An ideal camp though since you can do a mini climb to the top of the tower and then camp at the base. ‘Climb high, sleep low.’ This is what Papa has in mind for us. We get to the tower, and as it’s late afternoon we vote to skip lunch. All we want is some more water, a protein bar, and then we want to climb the tower. An easy enough plan. But first they have to fetch and then boil the water. This problem is compounded by a brisk breeze that has picked up which is making putting up tents, any tents, a challenge. We try to help a bit, realize we’re in the way, and make for the large lava boulders ringing our campsite to lay out and play lizard to absorb their heat. We catch up with journals and generally laze a bit.

As the three of us are lying in the sun on one of these boulders, a hiker pops around the corner. He looks up at us and calls ‘Amy Laywas?’ He is clearly asking us a question, but is met by blank stares as we all try to decide what language he is speaking. An accented ‘Are you Amy Laywas?’ Confused looks on our faces. He continues ‘Amy Laywas from New York. 28. Actor?’ At this point we figure out he’s talking about me. At all of the major camps, we have had to sign in so they know who’s on the mountain and when (presumably to find us if we fall and die), and this hiker is clearly reeling off what I’ve been writing down.

Me: ‘Yes, I’m Amy Lewis, from New York.’

Him: ‘Amy!’ Turning and yelling over his shoulder ‘I found Amy Laywas! It’s Amy!’

Around the corner we hear a chorus of ‘Amy!!’ and 3 other hikers round the bend. There is a flurry of introductions. ‘This is Lisa, she makes wine.’ ‘Red wine!?’ ‘Anita, the designer.’ Etc. Etc. We learn that the first hiker is named Christian. He apparently saw my sign-in at Shira 1 Camp and decided he wanted to meet Amy Laywas the actor from New York. So he and his friends have been asking every hiking group they see on the trail ‘Amy Laywas?’ And now they have found me.

We catch up a bit. Christian and his friends are all Spanish or German or a combination of the two. They’re trying to do their planned 8 day trek in 4, so are moving along quickly. They’re taking Barrancu Route, as most are. By now, Macho and Papa have noticed we are breaking one of the cardinal rules of the trail. Macho comes over to keep an eye on things (I’m not entirely sure who they don’t trust, these new men or their crazy wazungu). He quickly breaks in and tells us the water is ready and we should go hike, now, thank you.

There is a round of brief and relatively awkward farewells, under the watchful eye of Macho, and they take off. After a few minutes, into the silence, Anita asks ‘So you got his e-mail?’ No. I hadn’t. Somehow that hadn’t happened, nor had he gotten mine. After berating myself for stupidity and lack of sense, Anita, Lisa and I immediately start speculating how I can track him down knowing only his first name, Christian, and the name of his guide, Robinson.

‘Well Papa must know Robinson, the guides all know each other, he can find out.’

‘Yeah but Papa may not want to help, he didn’t want us talking to them.’

‘What about Mike Taylor, he knows everyone (this is not an exaggeration)?”

‘Or facebook?’

‘Or the other logbooks?’

Sigh. It would have been much easier just to ask.

To be continued...

Photos: Lisa as Lizard. The trail to Lava Tower. The crew singing for us in the morning.