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We all slept really well, getting 9 hours sleep! We were woken at 6.30 by Nasuru who brought us hot mugs of tea to our tents. We packed up our bags and then had a breakfast of maize porridge which was filling enough but then was followed by egg, sausages and toast.
After feeling like we were already there was then a small panic as we realised most of us had forgotten our sun cream but Tarryn and Tom came to the rescue and once was were all covered we set off. The going today was instantly tougher than yesterday, it was much hotter and was constantly up a steep incline with no flat to allow us rest. We were following Paul today who set a much faster pace than Charles.
At our first stop it also hit us how tough our porter's job was, there were 21 of them walking with us and 3 guides. They carried large bags on their heads as well as back packs, many of them were only wearing trainers or old boots with loose soles, they were dripping with sweat and overtook us within the first 2 hours despite having to take down camp and catch us up. The porters were varying in age from low twenties to the oldest being in his mid-sixties!
As we climbed higher the landscape changed, trees became shorted and thinner and much sparser with smaller plants and heather becoming more prominent.
When morale dipped with had a good sing a long (possibly to the annoyance of other walkers on the mountain). The path got thinner and steeper. At one point we walked along a sheer drop to one side, made even more frightening by watching a porter ahead of us scale along this with a massive bag balanced on his head leaving him with only one hand to hold on. We all made it across safely but had no rest.
As we got higher I became aware that it was much more difficult to catch my breath and I was much more breathless than I would be walking up this incline at home. As the pace remained fast and I became more and more aware of my breathing I began to worry about the altitude if I was already struggling at this height how would I be at the top? I got more and more aware of my breathing causing me to panic more, I asked to stop but Paul pushed us on. This resulted in me having a minor panic attack half the way up a steep incline. I had to stop and Charles gave me a very reassuring pep- talk comparing me to a Rhino (in a good way I think referring to their strength rather than their looks). Strong like rhino became our tag line for the walk after this, along with pole pole (slowly slowly). I recovered quickly and it turned out we were only 20 minutes from camp so made it with no more dramas.
It had been really dusty today and we were now at 3450m. Most of us were feeling affects from this altitude with headaches. We had a lovely hot lunch of chicken spaghetti and had a nap. We then took a short walk without our bag packs higher than camp to try to help acclimatise us.
After an afternoon snack of popcorn and chicken legs our headaches were clearing and we falt much better. We had all faced the fear of the long drop toilets, these were 20 meters from where we camped. We were aware of the altitude as if you walked this distance at a normal pace by the time you got there you were breathless and lightheaded. Not a good feeling if you are about to squat and strain as one team member found out nearly passing out in this position. Everyone has managed a bowel movement though today (apparently an important part of acclimatisation along with lots of farting).
We can see Kibo peak from our camp tonight, it was often obscured by cloud but once it cleared we could see the snow topped peak and it didn't feel too far away. Maybe we could all do this! Morale was high.
We went to sleep feeling upbeat. This feeling lasted less than 30 minutes for another team member and I as we both developed diarrhoea and abdominal cramps which continued throughout the night. Made more unpleasant but the distance to walk to the toilet and having to pace yourself despite being desperate to get there quickly . I think it's safe to say in the early hours of the morning we both thought our Kili climb might be over. Ruth came to the rescue having brought a whole host of medication and after antibiotics, antiemetic's and Imodium our stomachs settled but we were both exhausted, nauseous and not looking forward to the next days walking.
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Nicky Apart from the mental image of the long drop , I loved the bit about being 'strong like a rhino.'