Thursday, August 30, 2001
Moivaro Hotel,
Arusha, Tanzania
Elevation: 4,000 feet
Number of times I asked the guide "How much longer till this is
over?:" 10
Helene and I gave away tens of bags of gear, candy, and other
treats as presents to the porters. I think we even gave gifts to
porters from the other groups. It became a frenzy because everyone
wanted something. Kapanya had to stop everyone from closing in on
us. We got a late start because of that. It started drizzling and
that made the trail very slippery. I didn't like this part of the
trip because the trail was so steep and so overused that the only
way to safely descend was to step in pre-existing footprints that
were about a foot deep. If you tried to step off the beaten path,
you were in for a wipeout. Fred apparently took a big fall. This
was Teresa"s favorite day because, coming from Seattle, she was in
her element. She and Frank stopped to enjoy the views of the
hanging fog. Helene also liked this day because there was no sun
shining on her face.
Marcee on the way to Mweka Gate Lunch awaited us at Mweka Gate. We
ate and signed out of the park register.  Fred at
Mweka Gate (photo courtesy of Fred Yorra) We got the final bill for
Joshua's services. For eight days of work of carrying three
people's day gear (Larry ended up using Joshua's services as well,)
we were charged the ungodly sum of $80. Highway robbery! We gave
him $300 because we were so thrilled to have his help. We jumped
into our Jeeps to head to our hotel. The hotel was magnificent. The
bellboy showed Helene and I to bungalow 3. Helene got a kick out of
the mosquito nets over the beds. We packed up all of our filthy
gear and sent it with the bellboy to storage. I had about one
minute of hot water for my shower and Helene had only cold water.
We joined the others at the main lodge for a drink. Andy mentioned
that there were massages available and Helene and I booked ours at
once. It was such a pleasure to have an African woman rub my aching
legs. 
Marcee and Helene on the patio of bungalo 3 at Moivaro Lodge The
entire climbing group met on the veranda for a celebratory dinner.
Helene and I had the most amazing vegetable quiche for our entree.
Kapanya congratulated us all and told us what a wonderful group we
were and then awarded us with certificates proclaiming our
achievement.
We all basked in the afterglow of our terrific trip.
Helene peeking out from under her mosquito net Helene and I didn't
want the day to end. We put on our personal stereos and sang and
danced till 2:00 in the morning.
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