Second Adventure: Hiking to Kilimanjaro...With a Few Bumps In-Between

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Life is either a grand adventure or nothing"                               

-                                                                                                                                         

          Helen Keller

Who knew Hellen Keller had such great quotes? To be direct, she completely summarizes my Saturday spent here in Tanzania. Until Saturday, my trip was easy going and not too stressful. People have been very nice, I felt secure with my surroundings, and I have not worried too much. However, Saturday presented a different story. Before I tell you all about my adventure, I would like to apologize to my mother for not giving her the complete details of my weekend---Mom, I really did not want to worry you, I’m sorry.  Where do I even begin…..

Its 7am. It is raining outside. I am freezing, yet still going hiking. Today we planned to hike to the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro with our friends Baraca and Tosh. And yes, I cant believe I am hiking once again. As I get dressed I make sure to not put on my stupid Keds. Thankfully my friend let me borrow her tennis shoes to help me not slip again. Before leaving my room I say a quick prayer,

             “God, please, please, please don’t let me break any bones today. Amen.”

As we pile into our rented bus we realize how much personal space we don’t have …but that’s all part of the adventure. Its 8am, off we go.

I try to sleep on the bus ride, but it is literally impossible. With terrible roads and drivers, there was no way I could keep my eyes closed. As I listen to my music and peer out the window I see the busy surrounding city begin to fade. I felt as if I was driving in Texas….except things were green and not brown. With the “familiarity” of the area I almost felt like I was at home…this feeling did not last long. After driving for some time we all of a sudden pulled over. A policeman arrives at the window and orders the driver out of the car. At this point my nerves were shaken. The police walk around the bus, looking as if they were not going to let us continue.  Then I saw something I have never seen done at home.  The driver and his partners jump out of the bus to pay off the police officer. After some time of talking, and enough money, the police let us continue on our way.

I could not believe that had happened to us. The police pulled us over for no crime, just to get money. After I calmed down and we continued driving I thought that the rest of the trip would be easy going. Wrong. We drove into a crowded town filled with street side vendors and busy people. All of a sudden I hear something hit our bus on the side I was sitting on, and red fly into the air. We hit a biker. Everyone in the bus had a unanimous look of shock and fear on our faces. I could not believe we just hit a man with our bus. I was too scared to look behind me, too frightened to speak. I wanted to cry, I wanted to move and help, but I was frozen with terror.

Finally, after what had seemed to be ages of silence, somebody realizes that the biker was perfectly fine and had run away. After hearing this news I wanted to have a praise break! I could not believe the biker had absolutely nothing wrong with him!! Though everything was okay, matters had to be settled, so we were stuck sitting in the bus until everything was worked out.

Back home, in a situation such as this, we would call the police, file a report, exchange insurance, be confronted by the ambulance, and be on our way. Well…things did not go quite in this order. There were no police to help. There was no way to file a report, and there was definitely no insurance company receiving our claim. It was our bus against an entire town of people. For a lengthy period of time the crowd talked about whose fault it was: biker vs. bus. During this time I witnessed the following:

1.       A man walking around with an ax trying to talk to us

2.       A teenage boy singing Justin Bieber’s “Baby” song perfectly

3.       A drunk man talking about visiting our houses in America

4.       An old woman with a machete attempting to talk to a friend in the bus

5.       A young man that got hit by a bus going at least 40-50 miles an hour walking around as if he was never hit: a miracle.

Finally, we were allowed to leave this area of adventure and continue on our journey, with a few stops in between. After our long ride we arrived to our destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro. Due to the rain, we could not see the mountain very well, so I did not get pictures. However, we did visit another waterfall and the Chagga village, climb into a cave, see some adorable kids, and visit the Kilimanjaro gift shop.

On our way down to see the waterfall I was very careful to not fall. Success. The railing was made of bamboo in order to not fall. It was amazing to see people use the resources around them to build and survive.

After finally reaching the waterfall I was just glad to not be hurt in any way. The group wanted to get a closer look at the waterfall, however I declined. I decided that because it was cold I did not want to take my chances and get wet. I was content sitting on a bench and waiting for the group. After everyone was gone, the drivers of the bus made me go see the waterfall. They said it would be a sight that I wouldn’t regret. I had no way out of their urgencies. As I am on the path, hopping rocks on the river, I got to a part in the river that I knew had the potential to take me down. Here is the dialogue of the next 35 seconds:

Bus Driver: It’s okay, jump! I’ve got you!

Taylor: Uhhhhh, that looks REALLY slippery. I don’t think you’ve got me!

Bus Driver: (rolls eyes) Yes, yes, yes, you’re fine! Come on!

Taylor: Uhhhh…fine. (uncertainty building inside)

*Taylor leaps from her rock of safety into the arms of the bus driver…..then feel his arms not catch her, and the water engulf her. After Taylor falls into the water, the bus driver grabs her arms, falling into the water as well.*

I don’t think I need to explain any further about how bitter and angry I became in a short 35 seconds….  And sure, the waterfall was sort of cool. My drenched skirt may have ruined its “majesty” for the 2 seconds that I looked at it.

After the waterfall we hiked back up the slippery slope to visit the exhibit of the Chagga village life. We sat inside the smallest hut I have ever seen, saw the weapons and ways of the tribe, and were on our way. 

Amongst the adventures of the day I also had to use a squat toilet to use the restroom. For those of you who have no idea what that is let me enlighten you. It’s a hole in the ground. No toilet, no water, no comfortable toilet paper, just a hole in the ground where you squat. Let me just say that I am not a pro at squatting. I had a difficult time doing this, and I have never appreciated a toilet seat so much.

After our visit to the gift shop we were on our way back home…or so I thought. We had to find a shop to get our bus repaired after the accident, and wait for the biker to come and bring money. Quite a bit of the day consisted of waiting. On our drive back we got stopped by the police yet again, and paid the crooked cops off yet again. However, despite all of these mishaps I had so much fun. On the ride back I taught my friend Tosh how to play rock, paper, scissors, starring eye contest, we arm wrestled, and had foreign language lessons for one another. It was interesting and fun learning from someone of a completely different culture, especially with the language barrier between us. 

Life is truly an adventure, and while in Africa I am trying to make the most of it. Though the day did not go “as planned”, what does in life? I am not a creature of change, therefore this trip is helping me to grow and experience different things. I am learning to go with the flow, and that I am really not in control. I’m letting go. I’m surrendering. To end this long blog post I leave you with my favorite quote by Erwin McManus:

                 

      "To live a life that takes your breath away, you have to be willing to get winded."

xx