September 2011 - Kenya - Mount Kenya!

It has only been a week since the last posting but it feels more like a month as we, very spontaneously, decided to change the planned route of the trip. At Lake Naivasha we met a crazy German hippie couple in their 50ies who had just come down from Ethiopia on the back of a truck, a 13 hour journey, pretty rough (making us seem like luxury travellers). Their story, along with others reporting that the security situation at the border crossing between Kenya and Ethiopia seemed to have stabilised and be secure made us reconsider our decision of not travelling up to Ethiopia. Very excited, we drove back to Nairobi to get our Ethiopian visas at the embassy. You cannot get a visa at the border of Ethiopia but need to apply for it and get it into your passport at the Ethiopian embassy of wherever you are. This is how we had done it for Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya as well, it is very quick and they are ready within a few hours.
After spending one more night in the capital, the next morning we were the first waiting for the embassy to open. There, we got the confirmation that it was safe to travel but that we were not able to get visas without having a Kenyan residence permit...
Even after more than one year researching the web, buying travel guides and reading travel reports the information we had were not accurate. One CANNOT get an Ethiopian visa in Nairobi and Kenya. One can get an Ethiopian visa in Johannesburg, in Harare, in Tokyo and Berlin and in any other city where there is an Ethiopian embassy in the world except in Kenya!
While trying to swallow this bureaucratic paradox of an obstacle in our plan we were kindly asked by the person in charge to make space for the next person in line, indirectly, to get out of there.
So we needed to come up with another plan as doing what was initially planned seemed boring now. After a small brainstorming we decided to nevertheless, travel north towards the Ethiopian border and make a plan along the way. The first interesting stop was the National Park of Mount Kenya. There we found a nice campsite and decided to do a few hikes in the area. On the camp we met with Isaac, a guide for the mountain. Within half an hour he had convinced Fred to climb the second highest mountain in Africa the Mount Kenya. 12 hours later Luisa gave in as well. 24 hours later we were on the way to the 4 day ascension on the mountain along with one guide, one cook and three porters (Isaac, Joseph, David, Patrick and Augustino). Going with the flow 
Mount Kenya is 5199 meters high (a tiny bit higher than Monc Blanc in the Alpes!). Kilimanjaro is the much more popular choice for most people as it has the title of the highest peak of Africa and it also is a less technical and more gradual effort (something we were not aware of as we had not planned either!) than Mt Kenya.
The scenery and vegetation along the way was extremely diverse due to the change of altitude. From dense pine- tree and bamboo forests to sceneries reminding more of the Scottish Highlands we got everything within less than 2 days on the way to the peak. We slept in mountain huts along the way and were treated to quality cooked food 3 times a day, felt like real luxury actually and it was greatly needed as the walking was requiring a good amount of energy.
The first stretches were tiring not too much because of the distances but more because there was less and less oxygen in the air. Your body needs time to get used to that and this is why the way up needs to happen as slowly as possible. Isaac was convinced that we could do it in 3 days instead of 4 and we did. Apart from some headaches, heavy legs and a feeling of being a bit high most of the time we were fine and kept on walking.
The temperature was getting colder and colder the further up we got, Isaac had organised us jackets and warm sleeping bags (we have all the beach wear one can think of but not too much mountain gear...) as it was getting down to minus 10 degrees at night. In the night before the last stretch it snowed and when we got up at 2:30 am (!) to start walking towards the peak everything was covered in at least 5 cm of snow. The night was clear and we climbed the last 7 km at an inclination of almost 80 degrees in about 3 hours under a sky full of stars with the moonlight reflecting on the snow. It sounds really cheesy but we need to mention it!
The way up was hard work. The air was really thin and some climbing was required, in the pitch dark, at freezing temperatures and not really expecting something like it. Fred was thrilled, finally he was getting snow, mountain and on top of that a quality personal mental and physical challenge. Luisa on the other, having already two toe nails separating from her feat because of blisters and getting quite scared of the cliff below and above her realised that the mantra in her head of ‘this is bullshit, this is bullshit’ was not getting her any further but making each step even harder, switched to chanting a mixed version of the Synergy and Ashtanga chats in her head which actually managed to get her to the top (and realise the energy of a mantra).
Arriving at the top was like literally reaching a climax, all effort is forgotten as we saw the sun rising over the clouds. We were super lucky because the weather was clear, sunny and with no wind whatsoever, on top of that we were the first and only on the summit. It felt like being in an airplane but we had actually walked up there! Maybe the pictures can express what we saw.
The way down was very easy compared to the way up, we could almost slide down the snow to the hut where we had started 5 hours ago where cooked, warm breakfast was waiting for us. Two more days of hiking and we were back at the park gate, now we are in a small hotel room in Nanyuki, the town at the foot of the mountain, which is by the way, located exactly on the Equator!
We have our first wash in 4 days, a fresh bed and a good rest. The next stop is still unclear.
We will keep you posted.
Hoping you are all good and happy. Missing you!
P.S. The mountain is covered in black, heavy clouds...