Hard to believe we were at 10,000' in the "Giant Heather Zone" just this morning. We had a big blue sky overhead, which hasn't been exactly common on this trip. It rained at some point in the night, cleaning the dust out of the air and making everything fresh and new. After breakfast, we watched as our 57-man support team sang and danced through an excellent song about our shared adventure. We were once again amazed at the talents of our porters, cooks, guides and camp staff. The morning hike down 4000' to the Mweka Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park was easy, by our standards. We quickly got into the forest zone and the big trees and listened to birds singing as we walked. We reached the end of our climbing trip by mid-morning and were amazed and surprised to sit down to a fine outdoor picnic set up for us at the park gate. The ride back down through Moshi and along the highway toward Arusha kept each of us glued to the windows, gazing at people, shops, farms and Tanzania in general. Coming back to the Dik Dik Hotel was quite relaxing. We were greeted as friends by the staff and made very welcome. It was an afternoon of showers and catching up with the electronic world. Our victory dinner was a chance to take stock of the trip so far and an opportunity to say goodbye to Richard and Kurenai who will fly out tomorrow as the rest of us go on safari. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map