Day 3: Descent from the Saddle Hut

The team had decided that after my 11 hour epic summit day, I deserved a lay in and Ramaa wouldn't deliver me tea until 9am. We relaxed at camp for the morning as Anthony and Nasibu taught me how to prepare a local dish called ugali. Saidi explained that him and Anthony were a little concerned regarding the teams that had ascended through the night. A group already had returned, failing to safely pass the snow in the dark and by now it was 11am and the other teams hasn't returned (even though they set off at 2am). My guides wanted to be close in case they needed to carry out any rescues, "You relax and drink tea, while we wait for the news" he explained. Eventually he was informed over the radio that the other two groups had made it to the summit, although the conditions following more snowfall over night had been tough so the clients were tired making for a slow descent but they had cleared the technical section. Satisfied they weren't needed, my guides began to prepare for our descent. I was extremely grateful for Saidi's decision to complete the summit in the daytime and felt relieved. As we'd altered the schedule there was no ranger to escort us down but Saidi explained if all 5 of us walk together it would be fine. Larger groups and more noise would apparently deter the buffalo's from charging and making noise was not an issue for this group. Saidi laughed saying "4 bros and our simba - come at us buffalo's, they have no chance!"

We descended at "bro pace" as Anthony laughed as I was able to keep up with their rapid pace saying "you are a kili bro now!" We arrived to camp within 3 hours and relaxed drinking tea and eating popcorn. We chatted about the different tribes in Tanzania, as they competed arguing who's was best. As part of my gifts to the team as well as some outdoor equipment, I'd given them some card games. Nasibu retrieved them from his bag and the rest of the team ran over with a comical urgency. They took turns showing off their shuffling skills before we spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and playing.

For dinner Nasibu prepared soup, chicken, rice and peas, chips, vegetables and salad. Ramaa piled each element high onto my plate. Saidi laughed at the quantity of food saying, "Nasibu has put many villages on your plate" pointing at each element saying "You can visit the vegetable village here and here is where the rice lives and the chips are here." I ate as much as was physically possible, confident that I certainly wasn't losing weight on this trip. The porters from other teams were right to doubt my ability to finish the whole plate, despite my strong effort. They strategically positioned their bucket seats next to mine as I cheekily slid them chips and chicken into their bowls. "Thank you sister" they said with cheeks full of food. It was another wonderful day on the mountain and I headed to bed with a mind full of lovely memories and a stomach full of tasty food.