The Guides
I have to have a section here especially for the guides because they were amazing and inspirational. A quick shout out to our guides:
Nelson
Pasco
Samson
Dennis
We wouldn't have been able to complete this trek without them. We probably wouldn't have even finished day one. They motivated us when we needed a push, they supported us when we were down. They cared about us and always ensured we were okay. Saying that they were kind would be an understatement. I find it hard to put into words how I feel about these men, they were just so wonderful. Pasco and Samson were my secret favourites, I spent most of the climb walking and talking with them, finding out so much about their lives. I couldn't get my head around the fact they don't even have a computer at home. But they have Facebook (who doesn't!)... they had to go to the internet cafe though. Both of their dreams were to go to England. Pasco supported Arsenal and he followed their matches even on the mountain! His dream was to go to England and watch an Arsenal match at the Old Trafford. Samson wanted to go to London. I desperately wanted to buy them tickets and help their dreams come true... if I win the lottery I definitely will. I wanted to help them accomplish their dreams as they were helping me accomplish mine. It's ironic to think that my dream was to climb Kilimanjaro, yet they do that all the time (over 300 times) and their dream was to see England, and I see England all the time.
Samson was my guardian angel on the night of the walk to the summit. For 6 hours it was just me and him, walking painfully slow up that mountain. He was constantly supportive, telling me how well I was doing and giving me a friendly hug when I needed it. He could have been so impatient with me when I kept having to sit down every 5/10 minutes. But he just sat down with me until I was ready to walk again.
The guides were always smiling and happy, they were just really, really great men.
The porters
These men carried not only our main bags for us, but our tents, our food, everything we needed apart from our day packs. They'd put up our tents and cook our food. They'd clean our dishes and fill up our water bottles. These guys were incredible. They carried ton loads of baggage on their heads or the back of their shoulders and would get to where we were going 3 hours before we even arrived. They walked so fast and didn't need walking poles. This doesn't mean they found it easy though. Yes, easier than we found it. But as our guides explained to us (they were porters before becoming guides) it's very very difficult and tiring, and can cause back problems. I did feel guilty seeing these men carry all my stuff and do all the hard work for me. But on the other hand, that's their job. They may not have a job otherwise. 10,000 people work on Kilimanjaro. If it wasn't for tourists wanting to climb it, then 10,000 people could be jobless.
Nonetheless, it's a very difficult job for little pay. That's why it's so important to tip them as much as you can.
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