Kili Training in the Rwenzoris

Our strong and determined Team Kili

One of the many uphills!

Lush views!

Almost at the top!

The porter carried our lunch in a cardboard box on his head!

We climbed one of the mountains in the background

ONLY TEN DAYS TO GO!!!

This weekend we ran out of the school gates faster than the kids, loaded up the bus and headed off for one of my favourite spots in Uganda, Fort Portal. By 8.30pm, we were tucking into a rather filling home-cooked meal at the Ruwenzori View Guest House, followed by an early night, ready for an early morning start on the mountains.
The first half hour of the hike was a real test of our mental and physical stamina. As we plodded up the steep hill, I started to wonder what I was letting myself in for and whether the whole of the Kilimanjaro was going to be like this. I think it is a thought that crossed everybody's mind.
At the top of that first steep hill, we found a school. So it would seem that our mountain practise is just run of the mill for many of the kids living in that area. And they do it every day, either barefoot or in flip-flops! Looking at the bloated kwashiorkor stomachs, it is also clear that they were suffering from malnutrition too - and they were more than able to overtake us, carrying jerrycans of water! No North Face extreme mountain gear for them. It puts everything into perspective really.

A girl takes a rest outside the village school

I was relieved to find that the path evened out a little and that our ascent became more gradual. There were a few heart pounding moments, but nothing I can't deal with. What I did realise though, is that hiking is pretty tough on the calves and I wonder what else I can do to build up strength in the remaining week and a half.
The team is really starting to gel. I enjoyed getting to know the students a little more and we all mixed up as we walked at different paces. We're a pretty feisty team and believe that we will have the mental strength to push ourselves through the challenges to come. Nobody complained, nobody bitched and nobody is afraid of getting dirty or not looking pretty on the mountain. OK ... maybe we are a little concerned about the lack of showers and hair washing situation, but we won't let it get in our way.
By the end of the day we had hiked for about eight hours, walked about 12-15km (a very rough guesstimate!!) and climbed up and down something in the region of 1000m.
Now most of the physical training is done. If we're not fit enough now we never will be, so the focus has to change to the mind. I'm not only visualing the summit, but also the big meal we will have when we return, the pool in the hotel and a large glass of chilled white wine!

Ndali Lodge

I have a suspicion that a few people read my blog awaiting the latest of my misadventures and tales of woe. Well I am afraid I am going to disappoint you all, as I have just come back from a little patch of paradise on Ugandan soil. We often feel like we’re in a time-warp over here, what with slow internet, dubious fashions on display and feeling like we’re completely out of synch with any new music. As I write, my neighbours are blasting out a bit of Dire Straits interspersed with a spot of Reggaeton! But staying at Ndali Lodge was like being transported back in time in a much better way! As you drive towards the lodge, you are treated to a view of the Rwenzori Mountains in the distance on one side and a crater lake on the other. The main house is shabby-chic, like an old English style cottage furnished with a hotch-potch of old furniture and crockery. Lazy afternoons are spent curled up with a good book in a corner, laying by the pool overlooking the lakes or playing board games on a rainy afternoon (pre-1990 Trivial Pursuits to be precise – we gathered this from the plethora of questions with answers such as Soviet Union, West Germany or Yugoslavia – I think this must be the last edition my parents bought too as I had somehow had a surprisingly good knowledge of the most random of subjects, except, of course, the sports questions!) Sundowners on the veranda also featured strongly.
It wasn’t all just lazing about though. We took a walk down to the vanilla plantation and learnt all about the vanilla growing process and got to sport some fetching hats too! The vanilla is grown at the lodge and around the country, then treated and packaged before being sent off to the UK to a well known supermarket. It’s all got the Fair Trade stamp of approval and the workers have free health care and a few other benefits that are perhaps rare for many Ugandans. They also grow all their own vegetables in a small plot, so everything you eat tastes fresh and delicious!
So that’s it, in a nutshell. A new place to add to my list of favourite places and somewhere I am looking forward to visiting again.

... photos to follow when the internet decides to speed up ...