greta: africa part II

the atmosphere of this picture always reminds me of the book "the kite runner"

elegant animals

very creative, home-made scooter

most beautiful car shed I've ever seen

quite stuffed bus

one afternoon all the dust from the ground was blown up in the air - you could only see what was literally just in front of you

first day on kilimanjaro, africa's highest mountain (and the world's highest free-standing mountain). preparations

one of the porters

the first day of hiking in an odd, moist jungle

tough

day one

that smile

one of the pictures my father took - me lying on some kind of bench in the rain, exhausted

sign-in at the first camp at the end of the day

wilson, our guide

day two

day three. terrible snowstorm, which is very untypical. usually there are absolutely no snow on the top of kilimanjaro - we walked in snow from day three. many porters left the baggage and quit, apparently it wasn't worth it to keep going

I never thought that I could ever reach a point where I actually had to think: "what to think about now?" - but it happened lots of times during these really long days of walking, walking and.. walking

our camp, day three

there actually was a small "toilet" near the camp (luxury) with a toilet brush in an africafe tin

day four

tents getting blown away

sunset day four. I didn't sleep that night - the altitude was way to high. also, we had to get up halv past two in the night to start our climb to the top

after walking the entire night, the sun finally started to rise

day five, the day we reached the summit was the most beautiful day in contrast to the rest of the days

ice, untouched

above the clouds

uhuru peak, africa's highest point. I cried from the moment I saw this sign until we started the descent. I was so close to not making it because of hallucinations and fainting - our guide said that I should stop a few kilometres from the summit - but finally, here we were

the first few hours of the descent were amazing. we walked sixteen hours that day

the guide that took us to the summit. I remember him singing to himself in the night, on our way to the summit. I didn't understand any of the words, it was in swahili, but it was the only sound besides our steps in the cold snow

day six, kilimanjaro seen from an altitude of two kilometers - as it always looked fifteen years ago, before the global warming

back in moshi town, school yard

two boys playing soccer in the street with a cone

goat

we went to the most amazing place - an oasis in the desert. we bathed in the most clear and warm water I've ever seen, the entire place surrounded by palms

corn on the fire

on our way back, we got completely lost. there were no roads and we kept driving in circles

"ambiere hair - cutting soloon"

a school in zanzibar

coconuts from the palms

the fruit in zanzibar was sweeter than the candy

white beaches

we dived one afternoon. the water was so warm and clear and the starfish absolutely stunning

captain

paradise

the lodge we stayed at a few days. the perfect place to relax after kilimanjaro. I spent two days reading, walking on the beach, swimming and eating pancakes and fruit for breakfast