My middle daughter, Staci, is on her quest to hike from the Indian Ocean to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro! I'm along for support, to see something new, get some hiking in, and to also climb the mountain. Staci is writing a blog about her adventures, hiketoclimb.com She has a better camera, and will be walking every step of the journey. I'll have my cell phone camera, and will be doing plenty of hiking to help get in shape for the Mount Kilimanjaro climb which is scheduled for mid-January. Primarily I will be a supporter.
It's a long series of flights to get from LA to Mombasa, Kenya. Chris Weedon dropped us off Friday night, November 21, at 9:00 p.m. at LAX. We landed at Mombasa Airport in Kenya at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 23rd.
It wasn't as bad as it sounds because the clocks moved forward 11 hours as we headed east. There were no grueling layovers, and connecting flights went smoothly. A couple hours at Dulles Airport in Washington DC, a couple more in Addis Ababa Airport in Ethiopia, and finally about an hour at Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania where we didn't get off the plane, were reasonable. The leg between Dulles and Addis Ababa was a long twelve or thirteen hours. Staci got some sleep, I didn't sleep much.
Our planned pickup by Tony, our driver who will be our support throughout, went smoothly, as did our movement through health screening and customs.
I have seen glimpses of third world poverty before, on parts of Mexico and on a trip through Fiji, but the trip through Mombasa was eye-opening. This is one of the most populated cities of Kenya, and certainly the poorest place I have ever seen.
The drive south to Diani Beach, about an hour was fascinating. Diani Beach is a nice place. It's a tourist destination and had a comfortable feel. At one point we were stopped at a police roadblock and the policeman came straight to me speaking Swahili. It took a bit for him to grasp that I was clueless as to what he was saying, and Tony was able to reassure him so we could proceed.
Upon reaching Diani Beach the exhaustion had set in. Tony, and his wife Steph, had lined up a perfect cabinette for us in Diani Beach. It had amenities like showers, flush toilets, and electricity. There was no WiFi and only spotty cell service. We walked down to the beach and saw the Indian Ocean just at the bottom of the yard. The white sands and the beach were beautiful.
Staci and I both went to bed early. The next day was for continued planning and preparation for the adventure.
NOVEMBER 24-Preparing
It was time to take care of finances. Tony took us to the bank. They limit the daily amount one can withdraw here from each account. Staci has the power of a debit card and a credit card that work. I ran into the problem that MasterCard debit card wasn't OK in the bank. It will mean more coordinating, and a bit of a hassle.
As we were going through the community of Diani Beach there was an incredible police presence along the main road. Tony said the President (Kenyatta) or Deputy President of Kenya was coming. While we were inside shopping a motorcade came by with about ten cars. Tony said you couldn't tell which one the politician was in.
It was odd to have security at the grocery store. To enter the store we were wanded. A women checked Staci and a man for me. We showed our pocket knives after they buzzed, but we were still let in. I guess we didn't look like much of a threat.
We got all we could think of for the hike, then went back to the cabinette. We worked out more details of the adventure with Tony and Steph, and got to meet and enjoy their eight year old son, Joe. What a nice family.
Staci nor I could sleep. We were both up from about 2:30 a.m..
NOVEMBER 25-We're Off
Staci at the beach
Tony got a local young man, Moshi, to walk with us this first day. Moshi's English was very poor. Swahili is by far the predominant language.
It was incredibly hot and humid. Moshi and Staci did fine, but as the day progressed I struggled. It turned out Moshi took a turn that wasn't the most direct route. It made for an extra long day. I was wondering if I could make it to the destination, the Kidango Gate of the Shimba Hills National Park.
Then, on this remote two track dirt road (they're all dirt roads) came a Toyota Land Cruiser police car. I was laying down, exhausted, as Moshi and Staci talked to the two policemen.
Unlike on the PCT where I walked footstep to footstep the whole way, my goal here is just to make it, and not bother hiking every step. However, I did expect to need to catch a ride and skip some of the hike the very first day! I just didn't want to slow down Staci's progress. We don't know exactly how far we hiked, but I did maybe 20 miles, and Staci probably did 25. Not a lot in PCT standards, but a lot in these conditions.
The policemen had met Tony at the Kidango Gate where Tony was waiting for us. I gladly accepted the officers offer for a ride forward to Kidongo Gate in a police car. I would not be doing this hike footstep to footstep, that's Staci's goal, not mine.
Kidongo Gate is a remote entrance to Shimba Hills National Park (sometimes called Wildlife Reserve). Kidango Gate is similar to an old fashioned Forest Service compound. Seven Kenya Wildlife Service employees live there. They were wonderful. We camped on their lawn. We had trouble with our stove so they sat up a jeeko(sp?) for us to cook on. It's sort of a portable campfire ring for burning small wood, looks kind of like a Dutch oven with holes.
There was a young, about one year old, boy living on the compound. Everybody there was raising him. He was adorable. We couldn't figure out who his parents were. This Wildlife Service outpost has the feel of one big family.
Staci's hike is totally out of the frame of reference for the people here. Folks were/are so fascinated and helpful.
