 |
nossas barracas, a cuia verde do banho e o destino final acima
our tents, the bath green bowl and the final destination above |
Dia 4 – Não víamos por onde seguiríamos dali (Barranco camp 3950m), estávamos
cercados de paredes de pedra.
Mas era mesmo por umas destas paredes que
iríamos. Deixamos Barranco camp (3950m) às 8:30h escalando a Barranco wall.
Neste dia nada de bastões, era na mão mesmo. Foi bem divertido e o cenário
incrível. Passamos pela “kiss stone” uma pedra que você tem que abraçar para
passar para o outro lado. Subimos até 4200m, descemos, subimos e descemos de
novo até Karanga camp (4040m), percorrendo 7 km, em 4 horas.
Day 4 - We couldn’t tell where we were heading to from that point (Barranco camp
3,950m); we were surrounded by stone walls.
But it was exactly one of these walls that took us forward. We left the
Barranco camp (3,950m) at 8:30 am by climbing the Barranco wall. On this day no
sticks were used, only the hands. It was fun and the scenery was amazing. We
passed the "kiss stone", a stone that you have to embrace in order to
go to the other side. We climbed up to 4,200m, went down, climbed and went down
again to the Karanga camp (4,040m), traversing 7 km in 4 hours.
 |
a parte fácil de Barranco wall
Barranco wall the easy portion |
 |
no topo da Barranco wall
on top of Barranco wall |
 |
agora só mais 6km
just more 6 km |
Chegamos às 12:30h, almoçamos frango frito, batata frita e
salada de repolho com maionese, os melhores que eu já comi na vida!
Depois sem mais nada para fazer o resto do dia, dormi como
um bebê. Acordei fiz um alongamento e fui para o chá com pipoca. Depois demos
uma caminhadinha nas redondezas e já era hora do jantar.
Eu e Daniel tivemos que nos tornar amigos íntimos, porque
com o frio que fazia lá fora, não dava para ficar muito social, tinha que ser
eu e ele no almoço, no jantar, no chá e no intervalo! Conversamos muito,
conhecemos bastante um do outro, tivemos muitas ideias para negócios futuros,
criamos bastante, fizemos muitos planos, filosofamos, enfim, a cabeça voava tão
livre quanto a gente se sentia naquelas montanhas!
Dormi com pé gelado do 2º ao 6º dia, não teve jeito, mesmo
cheia de roupa, eu ficava quente, mas o pé gelado. E não era coisa de mulher
era frio mesmo. Ir ao banheiro à noite, sem chance.
We arrived at 12:30 pm and had some fried chicken, fries and coleslaw
with mayonnaise for lunch; it was the best of each I've ever tasted in my life!
Then, since I had nothing to do for the rest of the day, I slept like a
baby. I woke up, did some stretching and went for some tea with popcorn. Later
we took a walk nearby until dinnertime.
Daniel and I had to become close friends because the cold weather
prevented us from socializing, so it was pretty much me and him at lunch,
dinner, tea time and break time! We talked a lot and got to know a lot about
each other; we had many ideas for future business. We did a lot of
brainstorming, made a lot of plans, and philosophized. Well, our minds were
flying as high as we felt on those mountains!
I slept with cold feet from the 2nd to the 6th day. There was no way to
warm my feet. Even wearing tons of clothes, my body was warm but my feet
remained cold. And it was not a woman's thing, it was really cold! There was no
way to go to the bathroom at night.
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fim de tarde no meio das nuvens
evening amid the clouds |
 |
amanhecer acima das nuvens, com vista para o destino final
sunrise above the clouds, with a view to the final destination |
Dia 5 – O grande dia!
Deixamos Karanga camp (4040m) as 8:00h e chegamos a Barafu camp, ou
campo base (4600m) às 11:30h, após percorrer 5km.
Estava muito frio, o percurso era árido, só pedras, ficamos
no meio das nuvens o dia todo e eu tinha acordado com dor de garganta.
Após o almoço tínhamos que dormir porque iríamos acordar as
22:00h, jantar e iniciar a subida até Uhuru peak as 23:30h.
Porém o camping era meio apertado e tinha gente chegando,
gente saindo, barraca sendo tirada e colocada, gente gritando, cantando,
conversando e batendo. Mas mesmo assim dormi e muito bem até.
Day 9 – The greatest day! We left Karanga camp (4,040m) at 8:00 am and
arrived at the Barafu camp or base camp (4,600m) at 11:30 am, after covering
5km.
It was very cold, the course was barren and full of stones; we were in
the middle of the clouds all day, and I had woken up with a sore throat.
After lunch we had to sleep because we would wake up at 10 pm, have
dinner, and start the ascent up to Uhuru Peak at 11:30 pm.
But the campground was a bit crowded and had people coming, going, tents
being taken off and placed, people screaming, singing, talking, and beating.
Despite all that, I slept very well, indeed.
 |
chegamos ao campo base, até aqui foi "moleza", comparado com o que vem a seguir
we arrived at base camp so far was "cakewalk" compared to what comes next |
 |
no meio das nuvens, a bagunça de Barafu
through the clouds, the mess of Barafu |
No jantar a minha preocupação com a subida era o frio, mal
sabia eu o que me esperava. O frio nem foi problema!
A cara das pessoas também não era de relax, estava todo
mundo meio tenso, cansado e receoso.
As 23:30h iniciamos a subida de 6km e desnível de 1300m, com
o objetivo de chegar a Stella Point (5745m) por volta das 06:30h, com o nascer
do sol. Fomos um dos primeiros grupos a sair, lua cheia, céu limpo, lanterna na
cabeça e muita roupa.
Nechi deu o ritmo, o que é muito importante e escolheu cada
pisada. Passando dos 4800m qualquer movimento é similar a um dar tiro de 50m,
então cada passo economizado estava valendo. O terreno também é bem difícil,
uma hora é pedra, depois é terra que vira areia fofa.
Andamos por uma hora e eu comecei a passar muito mal, muito
enjoo. Daniel ficou preocupado, queria voltar, eu insistia, mesmo que eu
parasse ele deveria seguir. Depois de muito insistir, eu não conseguia mais me
movimentar e falei que ia voltar.
O Nechi e o Shayo me deram um chá mate quente e muito doce
que me fez sentir melhor e eu recomecei a andar. 5 minutos depois eu vomitei
tudo e aí sim melhorei.
At dinner, my main concern regarding the climbing was the cold weather;
I hardly knew what was about to come. But in the end, the cold was not a
problem at all!
The people’s faces were not relaxed; everybody was kind of tense, tired,
and afraid.
At 11:30 pm, we faced a 6km ascent and a 1,300m slope, aiming to reach
Stella Point (5,745m) at around 06:30 am, along with the sunrise. We were one
of the first groups to leave with a full moon, a clear sky, head lamp, and a
lot of clothes.
Nechi set the pace, what is very important, and he chose each step. Passing
4,800m, any movement is similar to a 50m run; therefore, every saved step was
worth it. The land is also very tough, sometimes it is rocky, and then suddenly
the ground turns into soft sand.
We walked for an hour and I started to feel very bad, very sick. Daniel
was worried, he wanted to go back, I insisted that even if I stopped, he should
go ahead. After much stress, I could no longer move and said I'd go back.
Nechi and Shayo gave me a hot and very sweet mate tea that made me feel
better and I resumed walking. Five minutes later I threw up everything and then
I felt much better.
 |
Daniel foi cruel e registrou o pior momento, nem tudo é glamour...
Daniel was cruel and recorded the worst, it's not all glamor ... |
 |
no ritmo
in rhythm |
Comecei a manter um ritmo compatível com a tarefa. Mesmo
melhor, meu corpo todo doía, parecia que eu ia entrar em colapso geral. Usei
todos os recursos psicológicos de que dispunha. Lembrava daqueles documentários
onde esportistas falam de ignorar a dor e pensava: enquanto eu conseguir
colocar um pé na frente do outro eu vou. Respirava em ritmo de tiro de 50m a
cada passo, levar a mão no nariz ou arrumar o casaco já era tiro de 100m. A
cada degrau, eu tinha que parar, respirar muito, antes de dar o passo e depois
parar para recuperar o fôlego.
Tentei contar 50 passos antes de cada parada e deu resultado
por algum tempo, mais para frente consegui pegar um ritmo constante.
Mesmo com todo o esforço, quando eu conseguia, olhava para
cima e caminhava olhando aquela lua cheia e era demais. O tempo todo gente
ultrapassando e sendo ultrapassada nas paradas, todo mundo solidário, as
lanternas na cabeça, era tudo muito mágico para mim. Durante um bom tempo tinha
gente cantando e ajudou muito.
E assim foi indo até que certa hora eu perguntei, quanto
tempo falta? E a resposta foi: 3 horas. Acho que meu cérebro deletou, também
seriam 3 para cima ou para baixo… desistir, nem pensar.
Durante todo o caminho eu pensava, chegando a Stella Point
não saio nem amarrada, para mim está bom, não preciso mais que isso.
O céu já estava começando a ficar vermelho, o sol ameaçava sair por cima das nuvens, abaixo de nós.
Eu andava um pouco e olhava para aquilo e andava mais.
I started to keep a pace that was compatible with the task. Although
feeling better, my whole body hurt; it felt like I was going to collapse. I
used all psychological resources I had at that moment. That reminded me of
those documentaries in which athletes talk about ignoring the pain and thought:
As long as I am able to put one foot in front of the other I will keep doing
it. I breathed at a very fast pace at every step. Taking the hand to the nose
or to straighten the coat was already a big challenge (100m run). With each
step, I had to stop, breathe a lot, before taking the next step and then stop
to take a deep breath again.I tried counting 50 steps before each stop and it worked for a while;
later on I managed to set a steady pace.
Despite all the effort, whenever I could, I looked up and walked looking
at the full moon and that was amazing. The whole time there were people
overtaking and being overtaken on the stops, everyone was very supportive, with
lanterns on their heads; it was all very magical to me. For a long time, there
were people singing and that helped me a lot.
And that was how I managed it, until I asked: “how long does it take to
make it?” And the answer was: 3 hours. I think my brain shut down; we still had
around 3 hours to go up or down... there was no way to give up.
Along all the way I thought: “As soon as I get to Stella Point I won’t
leave it not even under torture”. For me, it’s alright; I do not need more than
that.
The sky was beginning to turn red, the sun threatened to come out on top
of the clouds below us.
I walked around a bit and looked at it all and walked even more.
 |
isso me deu força para seguir
This got me move on |
E fui indo, o topo parecia chegar, mas não chegava, até que uma hora ficou muito perto e muito, muito, íngreme. Faltavam uns 70m de areia fofa, daquelas que você pisa e volta para o lugar de onde saiu.
And as I kept going the top seemed closer, but still unreachable, until
at a given moment it started to get very close and very, very steep. Around 70m
of soft sand were left. It was that type of sand that you step on and go back
to the place where you came from.
 |
os últimos metros
the last meters |
 |
muito perto, muito íngreme, muito fofo e muito muito difícil
very close, very steep, very fluffy and very very difficult |
 |
mas muito lindo!
but very beautiful! |
Faltando uns 50m o Nechi me deu uma forca, aquele
empurrãozinho que faz toda a diferença e com uns 5 “tiros” de 10m cheguei ao
tal Stella Point.
A visão foi uma coisa inexplicável. Estávamos quase no topo
da África, acima das nuvens, o pico Mawenzi saindo pelo meio delas, de um lado
um lago, do outro uma cratera de vulcão, a frente glaciares e o sol vermelho
saindo acima das nuvens. Não teve jeito, caí em prantos, como nunca tinha feito
diante de uma paisagem. E não fui só eu. Daniel, meu primo chinês, que tem por
aptidão o controle das emoções chegou 5 minutos depois, me abraçou e chorou
muitooooo.
In the last 50m Nechi gave me a hand, that little push that makes all
the difference and with 5 "shots" of 10m I got to Stella Point.
The sight was something inexplicable. We were almost at the top of
Africa, above the clouds, the Mawenzi peak pointing out from them, with a lake
on one side, a volcano crater on the opposite side, glaciers in the front and
the red sun arising above the clouds. I couldn’t resist, I fell into tears as I
had never done before a landscape. And it wasn’t just me. Daniel, my Chinese
cousin, who has the ability to control emotions, arrived 5 minutes later,
hugged me and cried so hard.
 |
onde choramos, com o sol a esquerda e a lua a direita
the point where we fall in tears, the sun on the left and the moon on the right |
Ainda faltavam 40 minutos para chegarmos ao topo da África,
eu que havia jurado, durante todo o percurso, que não dava um passo além dali,
acabei indo até Uhuru. O percurso já não era tão íngreme e pareceu bem fácil a
essa altura.
Chegando lá as lagrimas correram novamente, desta vez pela
conquista, por ter feito a coisa mais difícil da minha vida, incluindo todos os
desafios pessoais e profissionais. Nada tinha sido, até então, tão meu quanto
aquele momento, era uma conquista minha, eu só consegui porque eu quis, porque
eu escolhi e porque minha cabeça foi forte o suficiente.
Ficamos por lá uma meia hora, apreciando tudo, tirando
fotos, comemorando, meditando e desfrutando de cada instante.
Todos torceram por todos e compartilharam essa conquista,
abracei como irmão gente que eu conheci naquele dia.
Agora as lágrimas me vêm de novo. É uma experiência que só
indo para saber.
There were still 40 minutes to reach the top of Africa, I had sworn
that, throughout the journey, I would not take a step further, and I ended up
going up to Uhuru. The route was not as steep and seemed pretty easy at this
point.
Upon arriving there, the tears came out again, this time for the
conquest, for achieving the hardest goal of my life, including all personal and
professional challenges. Nothing had been, until then, so intimate. It was a personal achievement. I
only made it because I wanted to, I chose it and my mind was strong enough.
We stood there for half an hour, enjoying everything, taking pictures,
celebrating, meditating and enjoying every moment.
Everyone supported one another and shared that achievement. I hugged
each of them as brothers, although I had just met those people.
Now my tears come all over again. It is something that you need to
experience to understand.
 |
o time no topo!
the team on the top |
 |
aí eu chorei pela conquista
there I cried because of the achievement |
 |
| IUHUUUUUU!!!!! |
Dia 6 - Em seguida iniciamos 6 km de descida, esquiando na
areia fofa. Aí a responsabilidade foi totalmente entregue ao joelho.
Pouco antes de chegarmos ao acampamento base fomos
presenteados com um suco de maracujá trazido pelo Jeff, nosso carregador/garçom.
E por volta das 10:30h já tínhamos chegado.
Day 6 - After that, we started the next 6 km of descent skiing on soft sand.
Then the job was completely under the responsibility of our knees.
Shortly before arriving at the base camp we were presented with a
passion fruit juice brought by Jeff, our porter / waiter. And at around 10:30
am we got back.
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quase vivos, com o suco de maracujá salvador
almost alives, with the passion fruit juice that save us |
Dormimos 1,5 hora, almoçamos e as 13:30h iniciamos 12km de
descida até Mweka camp(3.100m) onde chegamos as 17:30h.
We slept for 1 hour and a half, had lunch and around 1:30 pm we started
a 12km descent to Mweka Camp (3,100m) where we arrived at 5:30 pm.
 |
após 4 horas, mais 12 km
after 4 hours, more 12 km |
 |
mas tá tudo certo!
no problem! |
 |
aja joelho!
poor knees .... |
 |
e a descida não era molezinha, retinha, asfaltadinha...
and the descent was not easy, regular, paved... |
Na chegada encontramos os Tchecos, trocamos experiências e emails. Depois do “super banho”, jantamos e desmoronamos.
On arrival we found the Czechs, exchanged experiences and emails. After
the "super bath", we had dinner and hit the sack.
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