Part Two - Travel Tales - Climbing Kilimanjaro

June 3 - Day 2 on the mountain.
The seemingly constant need to urinate makes for a fitful night, but Terry and Michael are up and packed by 7:00, the basin of warm water is again welcomed and short work is made of breakfast. Underway before 8:30.
The roughly 13km climb to Horombo Huts should take 6-7 hours.
Its a bright, clear, warm, morning as the rainforest is slowly giving way to heathland shrubs. We were feeling fantastic but the effects of the thinning air were beginning to be felt and Felix was insistent that a slow pace was adhered to. "Pole, pole" which is Swahili for "slowly, slowly" is heard often on the mountain.
The intimidating peaks of Kilimanjaro and Mawenzi are visible ahead and the challenge they pose begins to hit home.
Appetites cant match the size of lunch and what is left, like yesterday, is distributed to others.
The shrubs are getting smaller and open grasslands are beginning to dominate. Although the sunshine is intense, air temperature is cool.
We note, with interest, that about one third of the climbers we met are female.
Giant senecio and lobelias begin appearing.
By mid afternoon mist and fog roll in obscuring the peaks ahead and by 15:00 Horombo Huts are shrouded in fog. Checked in, rested and before dinner met with Felix who proposed a change in plan - rather than spend tomorrow at Horombo Huts acclimatising, push on to Kibo Hut which will shorten our time on the mountain by 24 hours. We told him we would discuss it over dinner.
Dinner is picked at, rather than eaten, we talked over Felixs suggestion and advised him we wish to stay with our original plan.
A rather restless nights sleep.
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