Visit to East Africa
- Hike to Mweka Village -
Journal:
"September 12, 1998 - We Leave Kilimanjaro - At 7am we get up for a light breakfast. Éle approaches us afterwards and raises the subject of tip for himself, the other guide, the cook, and the porters. We were prepared for this and had allocated $60 for him, $40 for Solomon and Good-Living, and $20 for each porter - though we had little basis for the figures. Éle indicated, in broken English, that the lead guide would normally have more, and the porters $30 each, so we threw in another $20 for him and $10/porter. Éle would hold the money for everyone until we reached the bottom, checked our bags that the porters had carried, and confirmed that we were happy with the state of things - then he would inform the others of their tips in front of us and distribute the money. The porters had already started the hike 20 minutes before we were ready to leave Mweka Camp. We were just now able to se the camp clearly in the sun. It is in a forest area known as the Moorlands. Thin trees heavily covered with moss were all around us and through the breaks in the canopy, where our tents had been laid on small areas of grass and dirt, you could see Kibo summit in the distance. We were on the other side now enjoying a new and refreshing view from the East. We turned away and began walking downhill. The way was somewhat steep and dusty at first, then the terrain changed to softer dirt (not quite mud) as we re-entered the jungle climate zone. My legs had completely recuperated and several times I nearly broke out into a run I had so much energy - Éle would smile at me all the time to note my improvement from yesterday. We walked for a while listening to the birds and stopping for pictures, when a stream caused a break in the canopy allowing a beautiful play of light against the greenery. Some of the trees here are so large that we actually walk upright through their legs that come down on either side of the path. Éle caught John's attention and started to mention that Good-Living (who was walking just behind) was a guide and that it was strange to have his tip be as low as a cook's - apparently you work your way toward being a guide by first being a cook, then an assistant guide, then a guide. Éle's mentioning of this was obviously to encourage us to increase Good-Living's tip. We had based our original amounts on our interaction with each person and their contribution to our enjoyment - Good-Living had been fairly quiet most of the time but he was an assistant guide. To avoid any issues if they compared tips we offered to raise Good-Living's tip by another $20 US. In less than 3 hours we reached the gates of the Mweka trail and the end of our hiking journey. Éle registered us with the park warden there and gave us certificates of achievement for ascending to the peak. These were cheerfully accepted but no where near as much as the appreciation displayed for the Cokes that we purchased from the warden. A Coke for each of us and a beer for the rest of the crew and we were all suddenly very happy and talkative. Éle gathered us all together in a small room off to the side, tip time, and I felt pretty good since I figured our tips were pretty high. Éle told the crew how pleased we were and then proceeded to tell each person what tip they would receive: $30/porter, $40 to the cook, $60 to the assistant guide, and $100 to the guide - WHOA! Éle just gave himself another $20 - pretty low maneuver, but I hate to challenge it in front of everyone, so I let it go. Everyone is now VERY happy and nothing but smiles - we have over paid. One-by-one we start filing out, heading toward our bags, when Solomon says something like a question about tips - certainly he is not asking for more, I hope. Money has not been passed out yet by Éle, we have to check our bags first, and Solomon is standing over me - does he really want more money? I indicate that all is fine and he smiles and points to an old T-shirt of mine sitting on my bag. "Can I have?" he asks. I am elated, he is not asking for money, he thinks my shirt is better than those he has - true no doubt, though I hadn't thought about it until then. Thinking that it would be great picturing him on future ascents wearing my shirt I reply, "Sure. You got it." - it's funny, the shirt had been stained in a prior washing and I had intended to throw it out after the trip, how thoughtless of me to throw out things that are nicer than they wear everyday. Other crew members see the exchange and some are brave enough to ask for things. Dave gives the shirt off his back and his Nike sandals (the sandals are a very good gift as the recipient was wearing a rather worn pair), John gives his bandana to Éle. The truck arrives to take us back to the hotel and we hop aboard. A group of kids gathered around the window asking for things - food, money, whatever. Dave tosses out a sandwich and a small fight broke out - I wish I had something to give. We drop off the crew at the office along the way and say our goodbyes to Éle and company. We have their addresses and promise to send back photos, then we are off to the hotel. Margarit meets us at the door and seems elated when she hears that we reached the top of the mountain - she really is an angel here. We buy a Coke for me and beers for Dave and John - Kilimanjaro Lager, how fitting - and we take turns at the shower. The joy of the shower is incredible. I need three washings before my hair will even lather. All showered, we lounge on the couches on the terrace and see Andy, Morton, and another of the 10 that were doing the Marangu Route (the "Coca-Cola Route"). We ask for their debrief only to hear that they did not fair so well..." (end of journal) 3 of the 10 made it to the summit, all vomited en route, and several were hallucinating.
