Mountains of the Moon
In 150AD Ptolemy famously referred to the snows of the Mountains of the Moon, that fed the waters of the Nile It took more than 2000 years to find the real origin. When in the mid 1800s daring men started to explore the last white spots of the African continent it took still decades to spot the snow clad mountains of the Rwenzori range. It was only in 1876 that Sir Henry Stanley sighted the Rwezoris, previously there was only rumours about the source of the Nile being somewhere in the heart of Africa.
The heat of the equatorial tropics causes fog and mist, that covers the mountains almost continuously in clouds. The Duke of the Abruzzi, responsible for exploring, mapping and ascending most of the peaks in the region in 1906 famously claimed, that there seems to be permanent rainy season on the mountain… its just a matter of picking the time when it rains the least!
The amount of rain however provides for vegetation uncomparable to anywhere else – lush rainforest, green in abundance.
Thats our target in the next 8 days – to be specific the two peaks of Margherita and Alexandra, the two highest points of Mt Stanley, the highest mountain of the Rwenzori range. Originally our plan was to traverse the range, which borders Uganda and Congo, but the political situation is a little bit too spicy in the DRC, where rebels supposedly are hiding in the foothills of Mt Stanley – hence we will approach the mountain from the Uganda side, a way more strenuous path, as several valleys need to be crossed. When the Duke of the Abruzzi climbed Mt Stanley the first time he had with him a team of 143 porters – carrying everything from beds to bathtubs etc… Maria and me will be way more economical – just a team of four, but also way less luxury. Wellies (aka gumboots) will be our new friends as we will fight our way through the muddy valleys towards the range. Chilling today on the shores of Lake Victoria we spent most of the day repacking all our stuff into garbage bags, to have extra protection agains the rain we are expecting. Soon we will be out there in the deep deep heart of Africa. Let the adventure begin!
