It has been just over two weeks since made it to the summit…yet, in many ways, it feels like it was one year ago.  It is incredible to think that two weeks ago we were there, standing on the summit of Africa!

It is really difficult to describe this trip in just a few words.  Actually, it’s difficult to describe even using many words, so if you haven’t been there yet, what are you waiting for? You will not regret it, because we learned that it doesn’t matter whether or not you are able to achieve the summit.  You will learn so much, have amazing experiences and enjoy those days on the mountain.

Our trip started on 11th of February and ended on the 21^st, so it was just 10 days.  Ten incredible days. During these 10 days, I had the chance to get to know so much about the incredible people that are Team Ubuntu; such a short space of time, we created a big friendship thanks to all the things we shared on the mountain as well as on the journey there and back again.

Life and learning on the way up…

The seven days on Mount Kilimanjaro were really awe-inspiring. The first few days were the easy ones: not too many hours, walking really slowly, and enjoying the landscapes. However, my first night in the camp was…not very good. I wasn’t able to sleep (I don’t know why), so at about 3:00 in the morning, I put in my ear plugs to see if I might be able to get to sleep without the noise of camp (tents zipping open and closed, people moving around, noises from the forest, etc) I didn´t have the feeling that I slept at all when someone touched my foot…it was Ernesto. I hadn´t heard the wakeup call, so I was late and I had to run packing everything, a little bit stressful and not the best way to get started. Fortunately, the next nights was able to sleep really well.  It was only the last night that was also really difficult to sleep because the night after the summit I slept for more than 10 hours so I wasn’t tired at all.

It was insane how the flora changes while you are going up. After the “Third Cave” camp, things started to be more difficult, so walking so slow was actually nice. The day before achieving the base camp some members of the team started to feel a little bit poorly, with nausea, headaches even some with fever (heroines and heroes are they). That day for me was incredible because  that was when we changed to the “moon landscape” with not flora, just some flowers that grew inexplicably on rocks. Nevertheless, the altitude sickness began to appear, walking and breathing was more difficult and some pressure in my head began to appear, but nothing serious.

As we arrived at the base camp, we had the feeling that we were almost there…we can see it, looming above us. That night was a little bit strange cause after dinner I started feeling a little bit badly, but in the end I managed to sleep. I woke up several times every night to go to the “toilet” due to the tons of water we drank during the day. It was cold but totally worth it:  the sky was… the SKY!  There were stars everywhere and the moonlight was like a lamp because we were able to see the mountain without any artificial light. It is awe-inspiring.  The first time I saw Kilimanjaro by moonlight was in Third Cave camp at 3 am and I stayed there in the dark for 5 to 10 minutes just looking at it. A sight to behold!

Summit Day

We woke up for the summit at 3am to start walking at 4am. I felt more or less like the night before…strange and with no appetite, so I was a little bit cautious until I felt more or less really well. Due to feeling slightly sick, I just had a coffee and nothing else. We started to walk in the dark and I started to feel better, so maybe my body just wanted to walk!!.

The summit day was amazing, walking in the dark for two hours, the sun rising with the Maguinsei Peak on our backs… and 7 hours later, the summit.  We had arrived at Gilman’s Point. It was something strange because after going up for 9 hours you made it to the crater’s edge and it was something so beautiful that you cannot believe it. We were walking through sand and rock and suddenly we met a crater full of snow, with views that were insane. After this point, where we celebrated it a lot, we went on to the Uhuru Peak and after two hour we did it. UBUNTU TEAM WAS THERE! Going back down was really quick: 11.5 hours going up and just 3 hours going down. Going down was also fun because it feels like we were skiing in the rocks.  This day was something unforgettable, not only for the amazing views, but also because as a team we helped each other during the whole day, supporting each other and working as a team.

That night, all of us slept like little kids and during the following two days we made our way down. Again, the route was beautiful and we saw “Frailejones” which are a type of mountain tree/shrub that I saw in Colombia this summer and that I thought I wouldn’t see again for a long time, but there they were.

At the gate was Kirstin waiting for us to celebrate our challenge! Many things to celebrate, not just the summit, also the days and time we spent with each other, playing cards, making jokes, suffering in the mountain, sharing candies, telling stories, etc.

Thank you!

I want to thank to all the members of the Ubuntu family because they all made this trip incredible. Inside this Ubuntu family, we obviously include Pippa, Kirstin, Michelle, Clare, Sarah and Bethanie – thanks to them this trip went perfectly.

Also, I want to give special thanks for my Spanish teammates (Ana and Ernesto) who shared so much with me.  Also thanks to the old Kilis from Spain (Guille, Iñaki, Juan Carlos and Chema) who supported us and gave us lots of tips.  Finally, to the person in the company who has supported us during the last year, giving us advice, even sending us a message the day before the summit: THANKS SONJA!

I also want to thank Lindsay for giving us this incredible opportunity and to the whole Autovista Group  for supporting us in the UNICEF fundraising and with messages of support.

And last, but not least, thanks to all the people that supported me and my colleagues from outside the company.  These family and friends really helped inspire us all.

Thanks you all!

Hakuna Matata 🙂

Rodri