Day 2: "Holding a bull by it's horns"

My alarm sounded at 6am and I struggled to emerge from the mass of pillows I'd wedged myself between. I moved around my room slowly and sleepily, checking I'd got all the essential kit in the right bags. Gerald assisted me with my luggage which had now increased to 3 bags, as I'd be leaving some items behind that I needed for the remainder of my adventure. I checked out with Mary and she offered for me to extend my stay at a reduced price, which frankly was tempting. My driver arrived to take me to the local office to clear the payment for Mount Kenya and meet the guide. A young man greeted me at the entrance to the building, taking my large bag and leading me through some kind of electronics shop. Chaotic piles of cables were strune on display tables as a man dozed in a chair. I was led up some stairs at the back and down a corridor where the office was. It was a tiny space, 2 desks piled high with papers and cardboard boxes with very little sign of organisation, but everything so far with my booking had been exceptionally smooth, especially with accommodating my late arrival into Kenya.

After I cleared the final balance, another man entered the room with a large smile, "Hi Amy, I'm Alex and I will be your guide. Are you ready?" We would travel to the base of the mountain by a Matatu which is a minibus, a popular form of public transport in Kenya. Alex carried my large kit bag and led me through the streets of Nairobi. It was loud, chaotic and busy and as always in developing cities there is no order when crossing the roads. "Don't worry about Kenya" Alex exclaimed as scooters and cars swerved their way around us in the road, "We like the tourists and we keep you safe." Men sat in doorways laughing drinking coffee calling over to me "hakuna matata" and some other words in Swahili that lost me while blowing kisses cheekily. "Ah don't worry, they are saying compliments to you" Alex explained.

We arrived at the Matatu station, where lines of minibuses colourfully decorated were parked up. Kenyans stand next to their Matatu encouraging people to choose theirs, mostly through shouting and pointing. Alex explained that each one is of different quality so we needed to find a good one. Each minibus had a unique pattern some covered with premier league players next to images of Jesus and others with quotes like "stay humble, stay hard" and "fear the Lord, respect the government." Through a process that was utterly lost on me, Alex choose us a vehicle and a man loaded our bags into the back.

Once our journey began Alex introduced himself in greater depth telling me he'd been a lead guide on the East African mountains for 8 years including Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Mount Meru, having previously worked as both a porter and chef. Alhough he now lives in Nairobi, he grew up in a town close to Mount Kenya. His experience and calm relaxed nature instantly made me feel at ease. He asked if I'd summited Kilimanjaro and nodded approvingly when I said yes explaining, "It is always good to do this first, as Mount Kenya is more difficult in many ways. Let's say it's a challenge, do you like a challenge?" I told him I did and he continued to say "Mount Kenya is like holding a bull by it's horns!" He burst into fits of laughter, "I love the jokes, you'll get used to it, I'm always doing the jokes." I felt mildly apprehensive of the challenges ahead but also accepted that there was no turning back now and I just needed to "hold the bull by it's horns!"

After a 3 hour journey we arrived at the nearest town to the gate of Mount Kenya were Edwin (the chef) and Samson (a porter) were waiting. "Here is your international family Amy", Alex said introducing the chef as my mum and the porter as my brother. Alex explained that he and Edwin will go to the market to get supplies and Samson would take me for lunch. Samson was 23 with a huge smile and was an absolute delight to be around. He knew the names of all UK counties, every football team including the name of the stadium and could label an entire world map, including capital cities and is currently memorising all the country's flags. We instantly got on as he asked me questions like "Can I please know you favourite African animal and if you don't mind also your favourite international animal?" and "Is it possible to know if you have a favourite mountain?" When you would answer a question, he would smile and nod thoughtfully saying "May i ask why?" It was endearing that his extremely polite choice of language made every question seem like he was asking about deeply personal matters. He striked me as someone who was very keen and enthusiastic in school and he already felt like a little brother.

After lunch, we met Alex and the rest of the team and piled into a small car driven by one of their friends which took us to the Sirmion gate. I sat in the sun with Samson as Alex completed the paperwork and baboons darted around consuming the vegetation.

By now it was 4pm after a long day of travel and organising, I was ready to begin hiking. Alex explained we have an easy 9km on a gentle incline to camp. The porters and chef went ahead to make camp and I walked slowly with Alex as we were already at around 2500m and it was noticeable. The walk was peaceful, with no other teams to be seen and birds sung loudly from the trees. The clouds hung low so there were no mountain views.

Once at camp, Samson guided me to my tent saying "May I welcome you to your home" as he showed me my bag was already inside and my sleeping mat was out. "Feel at home here, can I bring you a cup of tea or hot chocolate?" he asked. After a little rest dinner was served, butternut squash and ginger soup followed by fish with roast potatoes and vegetables and a fruit platter. At dinner Alex briefed me for the next day and suggested I go to bed early to get ready for what was to come. As I headed to my tent Alex said in a far too casual tone, "And watch out if you see a black dog, it's biting and seems to have rabies. And if you need the toilet in the night, go in the bushes but be aware of your surroundings, the buffalo's get mad but the hyenas just tell them jokes and they laugh." That was a lot of information to process and all I could do was laugh as he threw his head back with a booming laugh saying "welcome to Mount kenya, I told you it's crazy!"