Recruitment

The following is how today is described on the info page of the tour company (G-adventures) that I used to climb Kili:

"DAY 1 ARRIVE MOSHI,  Dec 7

Arrive in Moshi and make your way to the hotel. Attend a pre-departure meeting with your guide scheduled for the evening."

I wake up to a sunny morning, but it will not stay that way. I walk around the colorful garden and discover cool shady corners to read your book or chill-out. Unfortunately I don’t have that kind of time. I am here to make it to Uhuru peak, the summit point of Kili.

Before leaving Karibou hostel, I meet the owner, a Spanish woman called Mama Sam. She has 4 children in Spain. My guess is that’s the reason they call her "mama", she is a strong woman in her 50s. She writes down the name of a bungalow place in Zanzibar for me to stay, in case I go to Zanzibar. The place is called Black Moon. That morning, I also meet a couple, Jo and Sam, who will do the Machame route to summit on the same dates that I will do it. Who knows, maybe we are in the same group.

I take a taxi to Springland hotel and settle in. This is our starting point. I do some laundry which will not dry until next morning. The weather is very humid and hot, but still cloudy and rainy at times. I take the shuttle van to Moshi to walk around a little more and to eat at the Indian restaurant called Milan’s. 

Of course a walk is not a walk in Moshi unless it is accompanied by a fly-catcher.  One follows me to the fruit and vegetable market and then really sticks to me until he becomes annoying. When he loses all hope, he asks me for money for helping me take photos in the market. 

I say I didn’t ask him for any help in anything, that he is wasting his valuable time with me because I will not buy anything from him, that he should find another tourist that may.. nothing helps, so I walk into a supermarket and wonder around the aisles for a while to get rid of him, but I can’t. He is stil there, right behind me. As I approach the place to take the shuttle back, he finally goes away. He must have an invisible marked territory, like dogs do. You know how they bark and chase you to a certain corner and once you go behind that line, they stop barking, watch you walk further away for a short while, and turn back to walk leisurely to their watch tower.

Back at the hotel, I meet my group. Yes, I am on the same group with Jo and Sam that I met earlier at Karibou. The others are Anna and Meg who are younger sisters of Sam, Andy, close friend of Sam's from college, and Andrew a sweet Scottish guy in his early 30’s, the only other person that meet the rest for the first time. Our guides arrive, Isa 1 and Isa 2. We meet and talk about the climb for a while. They hand us a lot of forms. We hand each other the forms as we fill them out. That’s when I realize that everyone (except Andrew) is half my age! This will be a challenge..

I rent a 4-season sleeping bag from the hotel rental shop and buy a big heavy-duty bag to wrap my bag with. We have dinner together and go to bed.