Mikle always likes to sit quietly on a rock and look into the distance. He is about 1.8 meters tall, 19 years old, simple, shy, but he has already shouldered the burden of life, working hard for a living on a mountain 5896 meters above sea level! I really don't know if his life will be like this.
The air is thin! The mountain road is steep and difficult! They are carrying heavy loads! I can’t imagine that they have to walk like this for 7 or 8 hours every day!
Yun Luozhen has deep respect for the tenacity of life!
In the morning, I walked through a muddy pond that looked like a small swamp. I thought it was land, but when I stepped on it, I sank to my knees. The more I struggled, the deeper I sank. With the help of two guides, I finally got out.
On the road, Nalan Shiqi and Yunluo always look forward to a wonderful journey. However, accidents are really everywhere. When you are in trouble, tell yourself to be stronger! In fact, difficulties are just like this. Just hold on and it will pass.
Yunluo was finally covered in mud and could finally sit on the ground without restraint. Yunluo was just a person who was full of curiosity about the world.
Walk down this slope and then climb up along the path to reach the campsite.
Yunluo has become inseparable from sunglasses. His eyes are badly swollen and his skin is in horrible pain. The horrible ultraviolet rays are affecting both Yunluo's will and his body on the top of Africa.
A transformation! When we were almost at the camp, it started snowing. The wind blew small ice particles that cut our skin like knives. Our reddened hands grasped the hard and cold rocks, and they seemed to stick together. Even with a down jacket, our hands were still freezing. I didn't expect that in the past few days, it was not the altitude sickness that tortured Yun Luo, but the cold.
Too tired, too hungry, and exhausted in the past few days. Yunluo ate the food that he normally wouldn't even glance at with his hands that hadn't been washed for days. Holding the thick hot chocolate in his hands, his hands hurt. Fried potatoes, fried carrots, and fried chicken legs all tasted this good! In just a short while, the food on the plate was swept away.
Forget about the fruits. For a few days, Yunluo hadn't touched the fruits that she usually loved. They were so cold that they almost took away the little body temperature that Yunluo had left. Every time, the leftover fruits and rice were not wasted. They were all shared and eaten by the porters. She squeezed into a small tent with them.
I was sitting by a small gas stove, with the hot water on the stove bubbling and steaming, making every corner of the small tent warm. I will never forget that scene.
Watching them eat up all the food left by Yunluo without any disdain, watching them cook, watching them eat the real "black meal", rough hands grabbed the sticky wugali cooked with corn flour, grabbed clumps of spinach puree, and put them into their mouths. They mumbled in Swahili that Yunluo couldn't understand at all. The local climate and soil nurture the local people?
How did they grow so tall? How did they have such strong bodies? Yunluo often stared at them eating wugali and wondered blankly.
The small tent barely accommodated these people. Yunluo stood at the door of the tent with his back bent. Half of his butt was exposed. He never had a chance to take a photo with everyone. Although there were still waiters and guides, this was barely a photo of half a team. When Yunluo leaves this land one day, he will miss these African men who once shouldered the burden for Yunluo to climb the snow-capped mountains.
A pair of big feet that have been severely deformed due to years of weight bearing. Yunluo really loves this place! The nature without any human interference! The harsh natural environment! The breathtakingly beautiful scenery! And the life on this land that is as tenacious and unruly as wild beasts!
The last day's itinerary was particularly arduous, unlike the previous few days. On the last afternoon, we arrived at the camp and only had a short rest and afternoon tea to replenish our energy. After resting for an hour, at around 2 pm, the entire team continued to head towards the camp at an altitude of 5,000 meters. Snowflakes were floating in the air at this time.
Mixed with tiny ice particles, this extremely difficult afternoon made it even more torturous. Walking became difficult as we climbed every day. Our physical strength was about to be exhausted after continuous climbing in the morning and afternoon of this last day.
It really overdraws people to the limit. Many times, Yunluo was out of breath and felt that he really couldn't move his legs. Many times, Yunluo really wanted to sit on the rock to rest, even for a few minutes. Mountaineering is a challenge of physical strength and perseverance.
The one in the mist in front of him was Kilimanjaro, which Yunluo had longed for since he was a teenager! This magical snow-capped mountain described by Hemingway has fascinated many people.
How many people are obsessed with it! Just like the leopard that froze to death on the west side of the snow mountain, the persistent yearning may be in Hemingway's eyes. This mountain symbolizes the ideal of mankind. This ideal may be unattainable, but the leopard made a brave attempt and lost his life for it.
Equatorial Snow Peak! Yunluo is finally here! Looking back, the campsite just now is vaguely visible under the silver beam.
The snow stopped, and the low clouds seemed within reach. Silver beams of light penetrated the clouds and covered Kilimanjaro. The porters of Kilimanjaro traveled back and forth between 4,000 and 5,000 meters above sea level just for a bucket of water for the climbers. The vague figures and the vague yellow buckets.
The road above 4,300 meters above sea level is covered with gravel, making people feel as if they are on the moon. The slope of this section of the road is not very steep, but due to the high altitude, Yunluo walks relatively slowly.
If you walk a little faster, you will be out of breath. Fortunately, Yunluo has no altitude sickness. Dragging his leaden legs, he slowly follows behind Frank, looking at the end of the vast distance, and moving forward mechanically and difficultly step by step.
In this barren place, only Nalan Shiqi and Yunluo took a photo together even though they met by chance. The close-up photo at this time was unbearable to look at. Yunluo's face had completely changed. His face, which had not been washed for four days and had experienced rain, snow, and ultraviolet rays, turned a terrible purple-red color.
At 5 pm, when night fell, Yunluo finally arrived at the camp at an altitude of 5,000 meters and was fortunate to witness the sun and the moon shining together at the top of the continent!
In the east, the moon rises slowly in the mist, accompanied by the sunset glow. As the night deepens, the sunset releases its last colors. At this time, the sky is like the makeup on a young woman's face, charming and gorgeous.
This is the gorgeous sunset in the western clouds! In the distance is Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, shrouded in a pink glow.
At 11 o'clock at night, Yunluo drank a cup of hot water, ate some bread, then put on the four pairs of fleece pants he brought with him, covered his body with heating pads, and like a white mummy, took the most necessary things (a small bottle of hot water, fried peanuts, and a camera) and launched the final sprint towards Kilimanjaro.
In the dark blue night sky, the stars are so dense that they look like broken diamonds. Headlights of climbers from all over the world are flashing on the steep mountain road. The twinkling white lights meander along the mountain road towards the sky.
Yunluo was sweating as he walked, hey, the heating pads are in great demand!
This stretch of road was the most difficult one Yunluo had ever walked in his life, because the oxygen content here was only 40% of that at sea level, and the mountain road was really steep, with a slope of more than 60 degrees, which really tested one's courage. Yunluo had to breathe heavily every moment. The most terrifying thing was not the climbing itself.
The most terrifying thing is that Yunluo can’t overcome the human biological clock!!! Every second, I feel sleepy and want to close my eyes!!! But Yunluo must not sleep! The consequence of keeping my eyes open is that Yunluo keeps rolling his eyes!
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
At 5 a.m., we finally reached Gillmans Point, 5,680 meters above sea level, which is equivalent to the outer edge of the Kilimanjaro crater. From here, we can see the glaciers and snow in the crater.
After a short rest, we continued to climb to the highest point of the volcano. There was no snow on this road, but rocks underfoot. Alas, as a result of global warming, scientists estimate that there will be no ice and snow here in 20 years, the spring water under the mountain will gradually dry up, and the dense tropical rainforest at the foot of the mountain will also be seriously threatened.
Before we knew it, a bright color appeared in the sky. The red sun slowly rose from above the clouds, casting its light on the glacier.
As time goes by, the sunlight takes on an orange hue. The white icicles are illuminated by the sunlight, and the scene is very spectacular! It is difficult to tell whether the clouds in the distance are clouds or ice.
The moon is still hanging in the sky once again! The sun and the moon shine together on the top of Africa! It is said that many people feel that they have conquered Africa after reaching the top, but Yunluo always believes that nature will never be conquered by humans. Nalan Shiqi and Yunluo only conquered themselves and conquered Nalan Shiqi and Yunluo's weak will and weakness.
Standing on the top of the peak and looking around, you can see the peak of Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa.
The way down the mountain was almost a jog, accompanied by gravel and dust, with sweat all over his body and red and swollen skin. Yunluo hurried away to find the long-lost oxygen.
I met a cute and naughty baby who looked like a monkey! He jumped up and down, and curiously touched Yunluo's camera. He was so pretty! Another handsome guy in the future, haha!
The original plan was to go to Mombasa in southeast Kenya after climbing the mountain, and then sit quietly on a fishing boat, feeling the heat and humidity of the Mombasa beach, watching the rolling waves hitting the corals, and watching the most charming sunset in the Indian Ocean; touching the white shells, the rough surface, as if it came from the flesh and blood of the sea, and the hot sea breeze.
The warm sea water embraces Yunluo, and under the waves, Yunluo can feel the power of the sea to his heart's content. Stroll through the old city, caress the city walls that have been baptized by war, and feel the charm of the blending of cultures from various countries here. Or go to the beach at night to watch the fireflies flying in the sky blend into the stars.
After a few days of mountain climbing, you definitely need a soft bed. After a day's drive, we finally returned to downtown Nairobi, and Yunluo finally returned to civilized society.
Traveling is always a mixture of beauty and bitterness. Every journey is a growth. On the road, Nalan Shiqi and Yunluo will learn to cherish what they have now.
When Yunluo walked into the modernly decorated hotel, she felt so familiar and kind. Yunluo's life turned out to be so wonderful! (To be continued...)