Coming down the mountain...Days 5 and 6

Sorry for the delay in posting but as most of you know September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and so I came back to a very busy schedule.  Last week was the last week of the month and so we had a lot going on.

OK, back to the mountain.  So as I mentioned in the last post, victory and rest were short lived.  Once we got an ounce of energy back in us, it was time to come down the mountain.  I don't think I have ever been so tired in my life...literally exhausted.  At one point, my legs fell our from under me.  Joseph was holding me up.  My hero.  Then, the true diva came out in me.  I was done.  I had a small fit or something (anxiety attack).  I just wanted down that mountain and it seemed like the end was so far away.  I felt like everyone else was making it down the mountain but I wasn't moving at all.  Joseph called for reinforcements.  Two very sweet porters helped me the rest of the way down.  I put an arm around each of their neck and down we went.  I made it to camp. I heard something about lunch but I don't think any of us ate...we were all too tired and we knew we had a long hike ahead of us.  My stomach wasn't feeling too well and I think Benjy was done too.  I am not sure if anyone ate...well, JJ and Mickey might have:)!   I went back to the tent.  It was then I noticed I had blisters all over my lips and dry patches on my face.  Yuck.  I had some sun poisoning on my lips and cheeks and hands. Maybe some wind burn too. I am a mess...but I think others had it too.  Anyway, we all tuck in for a brief nap. It was over way too soon!!!

We were awakened and now we have to pack up and move on...a 4-5 hour hike awaits.   We have to move on so we can drop in altitude.  For those feeling sick, it is the only cure.  We take a different route out...Marangu Route.

I feel like Benjy, Arinn, Mickey and Lisa take off as if in a race for their lives.  I mean they were gone.  I thought...where do they get their energy.  I'm sure Flora wanted to tie me up to a motor and flip the switch but I just couldn't do it.

There is not much to tell about our trip to this next camp...we were all very tired and looking forward to arriving so we could sleep.  Oh, I remember I got a little hungry on the trip.  JJ had gone ahead, so I sent word with Edoo-Edoo for JJ to leave a protein bar on a rock some place.  I felt like an hour or so passed and no chocolate bar...so I thought that was a wash.  But low and behold, I see JJ waiting on the side of the road.  He said Eddie passed him and said your wife needs chocolate...hehe.   I thought that was funny.  So we took a quick break.  Here is a scene just before we arrived at camp and also our first view of camp.

Still above the clouds.

Again, I did not eat.  It was freezing cold here...I remember the wind blowing like crazy.  It was decided we would wake around 4:30 a.m. to hike back to meet the bus so we would get back to the hotel earlier.  I remember waking up and getting everything ready.  We start out and Flora is there trying to help us find our way out of the camp.  I remember seeing Arinn and Lisa for a second.  I looked down to watch my step, looked up and the group was gone.  Again, it's JJ, myself and Flora.  We tried to catch up but could not see anything.  We were wearing headlamps again.  So we evened off at our own pace until day light.  We didn't really have any water.  Flora was carrying my day pack...along with his.  We walked and walked and walked.  After about 3 or so hours, we made it to another camp.  We weren't staying here, but they had bathrooms, food and water.  So, we grabbed a Coke and a Snickers.  Do you remember the story about the Coke I told earlier...well, here we go again...but this time I had been off Diamox for at least 24 hours...BEST COKE OF MY LIFE!!!  I'm not gonna short change Snickers either...BEST ONE I HAVE EVER HAD!  Flora took this time to tell us that perhaps we had misunderstood  him when he told us his name.  He pulls out his business card and tells us the correct pronunciation is Florian or Florence.  Bahahahaha...we laughed because he let us call him the wrong name all week and never said a word.  Not too long after, Florian tells us that he got word from Macon that if we weren't down at the base when he arrived, the group was gonna leave us...WHAT?  So we hurried up and put our waters together.  Florian even got a little flustered.  We were told we were 45 minutes behind them.  So we start walking...almost running.  There were times I was running.  The Snickers commercials are true...I had some energy from that and the Coke.  We walked/ran through the rain forest and made it below the clouds.  We did not take time to rest or take pictures...sorry. 

But we made it out just 10 minutes behind the group.   So we are hanging out together and drinking Kilimanjaro Beer (JJ had an Orange soda), we took pictures and found the Kilimanjaro song on a piece of Kilimanjaro wood.  So we bought that, along with a map of Kilimanjaro.  Benjy bought some crazy statue he calls Joseph...hehe.  It was fun to see everyone again.  We had already decided to give Joseph and Florian our walking poles.  Benjy gave someone his backpack.  I think it is safe to say we aren't doing this again. 

We took pictures and then loaded onto the bus.  Ahhh finally.  Here are a few pictures...

We made a pit stop to enjoy some Banana Beer.  I wasn't really looking forward to this because Banana Beer just doesn't seem like it would be good.  But we had heard stories about how Banana Beer solves family disputes, etc...so I thought, well...

Somehow, I ended up being the first to try it...and there are no words to describe it...so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

This is Arinn's reaction...

And JJ's...

This is an up close look at it... 

Joseph liked it.

And then a victory dance with a teal scarf provided by my step mom, Annie. 

They are singing the Kilimanjaro song.

So long Kilimanjaro...HELLO showers!