Moshi Town

I'm currently in Moshi, finalizing the details of my Kilimanjaro trek. I thought I had everything sorted out before I came, but once I was here and ready to meet with the agency I booked with, I started to feel really uncomfortable about everything. For one, the guy showed up 4 hours late to our meeting, leaving me waiting to sign the contract and finalize details. They didn't have a guide yet, the "other people" joining me were nowhere to be found and the owner of the company refused to give me the price we had already agreed on. When I asked him about first aid and whether or not the tour company brings up emergency oxygen, the dude said that there was no need to bring emergency oxygen because there is O2 in the air and because it is the rainy season in Tanzania, there is extra O2 in the raindrops. Seriously. I told the guy that I couldn't do it and wasn't comfortable with the way he was so disorganized, and he said that was better for him too, because there would be lots more tourists who would use his business.

Lucky for me, I had met another 2 travellers from the US, both on amazing-sounding trips, who had just finished climbing Kili the day before. They were trying to arrange a Safari with this company and were also getting screwed around. All together we went back to the company they climbed Kili with and we all got a really good deal on the tours we wanted. The owner of the company even thanked me for being a volunteer and (upon seeing my resident permit,) gave me a further discount for "helping his country." I'm feeling SO much better about all of this now. The company gave me lots of waterproof and warm gear, and loads of information about safety, altitude sickness and the like. I've loaded up on candy, toilet paper, plastic bags and a few other last minute necessities and am finally ready to start the climb tomorrow morning. I was pretty nervous thinking about such a feat from Tanga, but I think I'm finally mentally prepared to rise to the challenge and hike up to Uhuru peak.

The delay in my travels also left me with some time to wander around Moshi town, which has several fantastic coffee shops, allowing me to give into my severe addiction. They even have frappuchinos at this one place - so good! Moshi is at a higher altitude than Tanga (its at the base of Kili) so the weather is gloriously cool at night. I even had a hot shower in my hotel room - the first one in a month. I've been thoroughly enjoying the company of my new friends too - after a solid couple weeks of Swahili and broken English, it's great to converse fluently and be able to exchange stories about our travels. All in all, I'm really liking this friendly, leafy-green & seemingly organized little town.

I start climbing via the Machame route tomorrow morning over the course of 7 days. The added day will help me acclimatize and make the last stretch slightly (only VERY slightly) less brutal. I'd write out my itinerary and some details of the mountain, but I'd rather describe the mountain from firsthand accounts, so check back in about a week. Hopefully I'll be wearing a tacky "I summitted Kilimanjaro" T-shirt and holding a shiny gold certificate.