Measurements (part 1)

All of you have to apologize us... Sorry for the delay to provide news but the latest days were too occupied with last measurements and traveling back home (which included some lost flight connections and lost bags... business as usual)...

So, this time is just to show some few photos of the measurements done in the Uhuru Peak. I have to tell that the biggest hero was our guide, called Yitzack Mmasi... He stayed 5h controlling the receiver (I only could stay 30m). Therefore, we multiplied for 10 the time that we were expecting to carry GPS observations in the top of the mountain.

Enjoy the pictures... More will come.

Team 1

Here they are... just after the climbing.

They did it

First team successfully reached the top of Kilimanjaro. They are returning today back to Moshi. The other teams are waiting for them. Some Tanzanian media will be here too.
This photo is from the last time team 2 (with the gravimeter) was together with the climbing team, 3200 meters up in the mountain.

Measuring...

Putting GPS receiver and gravimeter in position for measuring on the point we set in the first hut of the Marangu route.

Into the forest

During the first day of climbing we crossed through the mountain forest.

Starting...

October 3, here we are at the Marangu gate, taking a photo of all persons directly involved in this expedition. The climbing started about 13:30, local time.

It will be tomorrow!

After several delays to solve some issues, finally the big day to start the climbing has come. This photo was taken from the top of our hotel, at sunset of the day before, with the top of Kilimanjaro in background. As you can see, André is very confident :-)

Absolut gravity point

After some time without news due to hard work, here we are again updating the news from the KILI2008 Expedition.
This photo is showing our first measures a the absolut gravity point located at Moshi Aerodrome. Joaquim is doing it.

Still in Moshi

Yes... We are still in Moshi... Time is running short but we are still under the window... Once again, a big story with an happy ending... There was still missing a permit from the Kilimanjaro National Park (required about one month ago)... We went to colect it yesterday but it is a national holiday in Tanzania (end of Ramadan and there is a large number of muslims here). By the way, today is also public holiday... Consequences: in a European situation you were really in troubles (where to find the responsible on Christmas day to give you the necessary permit?) But a lot of phone calls and by the end of the day we were obtaining the permit... So, we still could talk with a person responsible for the logistics (at the same time that we were watching Sporting defeating Basel) and everything is now setup to start tomorrow...

So, at 8h30, when the gates will open, 27 persons (8 team members, 5 guides, 13 porters, and 1 cooker) will start the climbing...

Meanwhile, at the same time that I was making someone millionaire (shillings speaking), one team is already in the field collecting gravimetric data... For this, we are having the great support of our Tanzanian colleagues, which already know a lot of beacon points that we can us to connect also with the vertical grid.
And the second team is now crossing the border... So, by evening all the participants we will meet together... In this way, it was not bad to wait one day... The only problem is that we don't have any margin anymore in the mountain and the latest news are: strong winds and -21 celsius at the summit... Who said this is a easy life? (the latest comment is just to be nasty)

Last night in Paris?

Yesterday I bought myself a book: John Steinbeck, East of Eden. It has more than 1000 pages so this gives me something to do. I thought of buying Prousts "A la recherche du temps perdu" but they did not have it in English...

Today I went to the Kenyan embassy at 10:00am. I had to speak to some senior officer but after some stern staring and asking a few questions, and checking with headquarters, he decided that I was not a dangerous person and ordered that I could apply for a visa. At 15:00 I could pick it up.
During lunch time I walked around Observatoire de Paris where I spent 6 months in 1996. Not muched had changed in that neighbourhood.
Afterwards I went to the embassy of Tanzania. Although it was after official opening hours, they let me in and promptly started to help me getting a visa. Everybody was happy in that place. In the Dutch embassy there was a bullet proof screen between the client and the bureaucrats. In the Kenyan embassy I already shook hands with people. In the Tanzania embassy people were walking freely in and out in a friendly atmosphere. Not once did anybody complain there that I was asking for something outside opening hours!

I hope that this will be my last night in Paris.....

Finally, Moshi...

Yes... All of us already arrived at Moshi... Ok, still missing 1 Kenyan, 2 Egyptians and 1 Dutch (in this occasion you don't say he is living in Portugal)... If this was expected for the first 3, the Dutch is still showing his new shiny PINK passport in the Embassies of Kenya and Tanzania in Paris (which country in world except Holland would give pink passports to their citizens?). But, Machiel will probably tell you the story later in the day...

Anyway, everything is starting to move forward... Today, we will have a general meeting in order to prepare together the detailed plan of observations (and alternative plans) and to decide if we depart tomorrow morning or if we stay one more day (basically, this will depend of the latest hour to start the climbing safely). For myself (Rui), I was just revisiting Moshi (it is indeed a very nice city, full of trees and nice people) after a great trip of 7h by 4-wheel drive from Dar es Salaam. The only problem is that I still could not see again the Kili... Clouds and clouds... In a way, this is nice... Probably is better to not know what we will have in front of us (I don't want that the others want to quit!!!!!).

Joca, Jorge and André and the Tanzanian colleagues leaded by Prof. Saburi (sorry not mention all the others) already went to survey the absolute gravimetric point at the Moshi Airport. This will be our starting point for the gravimetric surveys... We just met outside of town by chance when I was arriving... The guys are really having fun... In fact, all of us... Or shouldn't I say this? Ok... This has been a very hard work... The truth is not really up to now, but the stress is really reaching high levels (and I am already kind of us to such situations). But, as we say in Portugal: "we don't like to see too good starts to our kids" - free translation...

Dar es Salaam story...

Yesterday, we told you that Rui was also stuck in Dar es Salaam... Of course that we could have immediately told why, but we wanted to create suspense... Millions and millions of people reading our blog asking what happened... After all, if you can enter (as I just did) in a Tanzanian hotel and you start to hear Portuguese and you look around until you find out that about 10 person from India are seated in the front of the TV watching a Brazilian soap in the National Mozambican Channel, you can also create a little bit of suspense here... The people will enjoy for sure.

And let me tell you also that this story looks as an American movie... It has an happy ending (I know, I just spoiled the story).

But the story is simple... My luggage consisted of two pieces... One arrived and the other not... Following Murphy's law, the bag that disappear had all my climbing material, almost all my clothes (including, naturally, the boxers and socks) and, the worst thing: the bottle of Licor Beirão that we will take to the top... The drama, the horror, imediatelly stroke me, in particular after they told me that they had no idea where the bag was... Lisbon? Gatwick? Dubai? (at least in Dubai the bottle was safe, but if the bag was in Gatwick?)
Another call in the night, same answer: no traces of the bottle, sorry, no traces of the bag... Please, call again at 11:00... I didn't. But John Msewma did... And voilá, they told him that the bottle, sorry, the bag, was in Dubai and was coming... It could pass Gatwick alive!
Finally, a couple of hours ago, I got my bag back... Now, after all the things that happened with the traveling, I'm considering if I should take the bottle to the top or just drinking it... But it is not fun to drink alone... I could consider to go downstairs and share the bottle with the 10 Indians, but I will prefer to just take it with me and try to do a Caipirão in the top of Kilimanjaro.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Moshi at 07:00... We will discuss if we will postpone one day the start of the climb or if we still start on Wednesday (I really would like to be on the top on October 6th - a very special date to me 18 years ago...)

Paris update...

Today, Monday, I received my shiny new emergency passport. Let us see if I will make it to the Kilimanjaro.

Nairobi

The arrival of the three remaining participants (one was stuck in Paris) was ok... Or not... One bag missing... And this bag contained all climbing material of André and the tripod of the gravimeter... The good news were that they immediately informed us that the bag was in Paris... In solidarity with Machiel? Anyway, it was supposed to arrive yesterday morning in Nairobi. Of course not... Therefore, one more split... Joca and Jorge continued to Moshi and André stayed in Nairobi waiting for the night flight from Amsterdam...
And it worked... J&J arrived in Moshi, and the bag arrived in the evening... So, André is now heading to Moshi...

Let's just hope that on the climbing we will have a better success rate... After all, from the four that departed from Lisbon, only two are already in Moshi... Because Rui is also stuck in Dar es Salaam... But, this is another story...

Well, for me it is still uncertain if I will make it to the Kilimanjaro. Someone stole my laptop with my passport while waiting to enter the plane to Nairobi. Not nice! After declaring the theft to the police I had to find my hotel, booked through the tourist information at the airport. I got the answer machine of the ambassy but they also mentioned an emergency number. Anyway, the only help they offered was to wait till Monday for the ambassy to open. Air-France is only offering a flight to Nairobi on 1 October. So, I probably have to spend the next 4 days in Paris.

Anyway, It's now Sunday and I have spend yesterday buying a toothbrush and other personal hygiene things, a little rugsack to put it in and an extra t-shirt. My luggage went through to Nairobi so I have here only the clothes I wear. The rest of the day I spend at the airport trying to get this flight on Wednesday, all flights on Monday are full. French police is not that helpful since they don' speak English and I don't speak French. I had to change hotel because the I could only stay there one night and they offered me a reasonable alternative. However, the sewage pipe of this new room was blocked and I could not use the toilet, sink or bath. Today they offered me another room. Tomorrow I will try to get an emergency passport that will allow me to go to Nairobi.

Paris Jamais

This chronicle was supposed to be written yesterday since we are already on the move... But was impossible... Too many things happening... Not all nice...

Four of us departed from Portugal yesterday... Only three arrived this morning in Nairobi where our colleagues from RCMRD were waiting them...

One is still in Paris. And he will probably needs to stay until Wednesday... He will describe later his experience... My only comment: who says that Nairobi is a dangerous place? To me, Paris (and its airports) is much worse... Some of the equipment was also left behind... They promised that will arrive tomorrow morning... Let's see

Since I am waiting now in Gatwick (where I also needed to wait more than 1h for a bus that was supposed to come every 15m), I have some time to write few lines...

Not much to say now... Excited with the expectation of returning to Africa (always good in particular after these experiences in Northern Europe), and of course, really happy to revisit Dar...

Except Paris, everything is going ok... And I'm wearing my nice new t-shirt...