Baadaye (See you later)

  Moshi, Tanzania
December 29, 2015We were sore, but had a good night sleep, so we are hoping to make it the rest of the way down in one piece. 

After breakfast our entire crew of 13 gathered around and sang a good-bye song and a Mount Kilimanjaro song to us. The lead singer was an older guy, but he was really into it and was having lots of fun singing and dancing! Karen and I were recording the songs and some of the guys were really hamming it up for the video. 

We thanked everyone and gave them their tips and then grabbed our gear and headed out for our last trek.

The path today was a lot easier Last Breakfast in the Dining Tent. It was not as nearly as rocky and was well maintained. We only stopped a few times along the way for removing layers, water, and "toilet" breaks. While having one break we were able to spot an adult and a baby colobus monkey. They were off in the distance, but when one leapt from one branch to another we could see the large white tail, which reminded me of Maya's tail!

We also spotted several birds in the massive trees that surrounded us. The most notable was a Silver Cheeked Hornbill, a new one for the list, on the top of a dead tree. We did not get any photos of these creatures as we only had our one lens.  

We really enjoyed our hike down today. It was sunny and got warmer and warmer as we descended. So nice to feel warm again!! It was also great to be surrounded by so many trees, plants, flowers, and the sounds of singing birds We got a Kilimanjaro Singing Farewell. 

My legs and knee were feeling better and I was leading the pack with a fast pace. I was being very sassy and jogging down in the spots were it was not slippery or rocky.

We arrived at the gate at 11:30, took a few photos and signed out. We were packed up and on the road in short order and arrived back at the hotel around 12:15. We said our goodbyes to Isaac and Bosco then promptly collected our bags, checked in, ordered three celebration Kilimanjaro beers, and headed up to hit the showers. It felt so good to be clean again! 

We changed, sorted our clothes for laundry service and headed down for our much anticipated wood oven pizzas. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent soaking up some sun, connecting with friends and family, checking emails and just relaxing! Bill transformed from mountain man to my sweet baby-face once again!! A driver took Bill to a barber shop and for $1.50 he had his face clipped so he could use razor to get his thick beard off. 

Karen and I checked out the gift shop to select some souvenirs and gifts. She selected 4 beautiful oil paintings and we selected a Simba and Kili dish and an oil painting with ladies in traditional dress. I was able to step back and watch the negotiations unfold. Karen is a bargaining machine and I was amazed and awed! We walked away with our purchases and did not budge an inch on the price. Well done Karen!!

We had dinner at the hotel and then headed back to our rooms to get our clean clothes and repack our bags. We won't be needing our thermal undies any longer. YAY!! 

Pictures & VideosIt Took a Team of 13 to get us to the TopBack into the Rain ForestWarmer Too!Theresa led the PaceThe Finish LineComments!Pizza!!!!