Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

February 2, 2010 – David and Darcy Are Reunited

This is Dave with my dispatch from the Mawenzi Gate and sadly, the conclusion of my amazing Lemosho trek. The air down here is warm, humid, and rich with oxygen and my body and soul are very, very happy. Earlier today Julius and I had breakfast, left Mawenzi Camp and trekked for several hours enjoying the sounds, beauty and serenity of the tropical rainforest. It was truly exquisite.

At Mawenzi Gate, my wife Darcy and I were reunited, which was wonderful!!! Angel and the crew greeted us and a huge celebration party broke out. The entire expedition team sang Swahili songs for at least 15 minutes, attracting attention from everyone at the gate. Then Angel and Julius presented me with a hand-painted canvas congratulating me on my summit; a very nice touch! After a fabulous hot lunch, a cold beer, and a few good mountain stories about our expedition team, we said our good-byes and headed for Arusha. It was a bittersweet moment.

I would like to compliment Berg Adventures, Angel, Wally, and Leila for organizing a superb five-star mountain expedition and cultural tour for Darcy. The nine day Lemosho Route must surely be one of the best routes on the mountain, offering superb vistas of Kilimanjaro, great challenges at the Lava Tower and Barranco wall, and excellent food and camps. Julius and his team were awesome and we had such a great time, laughing, telling stories, and learning Swahili. And now Darcy and I are busy sharing stories about our separate adventures and getting ready to begin our safari tour.

PS. We descended about 4 vertical km in the last 24 hours and my "going-down-the-mountain" muscles are most unhappy again!

PPS. I gave Julius my iPod this morning, thinking maybe it would relax him and slow down his pace but to my dismay, it gave him turbo-boost and he hiked even faster than yesterday!!!

Hakuna Matata!

Ba Ba Daoud!