A Great Adventure to Mount Kilimanjaro
My folks have always been great adventurers taking expeditions all over the world. Being the only child, I am never left behind except for their trip to Mount Everest where I was left with my grandparents. In the summer of my final year of high school, my folks had the brilliant idea to take a safari to Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa.
The Cradle of Life
It would be the first time I went to Africa, and I was a bit excited to see the region labeled as the ‘cradle of life.' I have always been a fan of adventure movies e.g. Lara Croft's tomb raider. To prepare for the journey, I went online and started researching about the mountain and all the legends revolving around it. People of the region regard the mountain as a sacred site, and there are many myths and legends surrounding it.
The Journey Begins
The journey into Africa was uneventful, and it took a little over seventeen hours to arrive in Nairobi. The trip to the border of Kenya and Tanzania was quite exciting as we got to see wildlife (baboons, zebra, and elephants among others). The real adventure began when we started the trek up the mountain.
Blessed by the Chagga Tribe
There exists a vast community of the Chagga whose elders had to bless us before starting our journey. The chief gave each of us a feather from a wild bird to act as a good luck charm and ward off the evil spirits lurking within the caves. I distinctively remember our tour guide (Samuel) saying "Despite your misconceptions, it would be wise to keep the feather." He explained that the tribe knows more about the mountain than anyone else and it is a dangerous place.
Overcoming Fear
After this statement, I started feeling uneasy especially since I had never climbed a mountain that high and I kept remembering the myths from the internet. Despite my fear, we began the trek, and it was enjoyable as we got to learn a lot about the mountain and the various fauna and flora filling the ecosystem. Samuel was a great guide, and towards dusk, we had to make camp at a height of around 1500 feet.
A Challenging Downpour
We made an excellent camping site, and Samuel hunted wild rabbits to enrich our Kilimanjaro experience. By this time, my misgivings about the mountain had been quelled, and the experience so far was amazing. That night, I slept like a baby and woke up at dawn to find Samuel preparing out snacks for the day. The days planned to climb to a height of 2500 feet then rest. After reaching 2500 feet, we made camp with other climbers and started mingling. A very heavy downpour abruptly began and threatened to sweep away the campsite taking with it most of our supplies.
Battling Challenges
Come morning; many campers started going back because their supplies were lost and others were nursing attitude sickness. As for us, it was business as usual since Samuel convinced us that we could still hunt game up to the height of 3000 feet. My parents being the adrenaline junkies they are pushed on despite the loss of supplies. The higher we got, the hungrier I got and to make matters worse, rain started again, and this impeded our progress as well as our ability to hunt. That night we made camp at around 2800 feet to wait out the rain.
A Terrifying Night
By now, I was famished and uncomfortable, and the altitude was not helping. The only thing we had to eat was some wild berries that had washed down. I don't whether it was the berries, the hunger, or the altitude but I started seeing things and hearing voices. That night none of us could sleep, and this brought back memories of the warnings we got from the elders.
Lost and Rescue
In the morning, we had dysentery, and we were vomiting and had gotten weaker. Despite the daylight, I could still hear voices talking in a strange tongue followed by heavy laughter. As the day progressed, I had completely lost all my motor skills and could barely move my limbs. The only thing we could do was talk to each other, and even that was becoming a huge problem. Our guide was in the worst shape as he claimed to have lost his sight. Night came, and all we had were our ‘feathers' and the hope that come morning, we would be better. However, things took a dark turn, and we started losing our hearing and vision. Imagine being unable to move, see or talk in a foreign environment. I kept telling myself ‘do not sleep, if you sleep you will surely die' over and over. The last thing I remember was the darkness and cold of the mountain until I found myself in the hospital.
The Aftermath
The doctors explained that we had been lost for three days and if it were not for the campers who informed forest guards of our adventure, we would surely have died from berry poisoning. My mother and I fully regained our senses and motor skills, but my father and Samuel were not so lucky as they lost some aspects of themselves. My father's eyesight was affected, and to date, he cannot see very well, and Samuel completely lost his hearing. It was an adventure where we got more than we had bargained for.
