After 3.776 meters and after losing Yumis parents on the way :( , we made it to the top of Mount Fuji. It is the highest mountain in Japan and its an active volcano (even though it hasnt errupted since 1708). Anyways, getting there wasnt as easy as I had read. The way was filled with all kinds of pavements: rocky, earthy, volcano dust...you name it! I was impressed at how many people were there. Our group was mostly made up of Japanese, except for me. The tour guide talked and talked for a long time in Japanese.. and I just stood there and pretended I was understanding everything. When he was done, I would ask Yumi what he had said, and she would tell me like a phrase or two. Haha. But everything ended up fine. We climbed from 11h30 in the morning until about 6h in the evening. It was a long and tiring climb, and some people could not stay with us the whole way. We had a wide range of ages, from children to older adults, in our group. We were going to spend the night at the 8th station, the closest to the summit. However, on the way, some children seemed to feel tired or hopeless of getting to the top, and the parents had to stop and stay with them. Yumis parents made all the way to the 8th station, about 3600 meters up the mountain, but her dad felt sick overnight and they decided not to go. Yumi had had about 1h30 of sleep because she got altitude sick but she was still determined to go to the top. We woke up around 1h this morning, got ready and met our group to climb to the summit and watch the sunrise. The climb did not take that long, only about 1 hour and a half, but we were so tired from the previous day that we had to push it at times. Around 4h we made it to the summit. It was very cold and breezy, so we went inside a little restaurant to warm up. Then, around 4h30 we went out to wait on the sunrise. The top was crowded of people. I kept sitting on the volcano ground to try to warm up while Yumi took pictures (I brought my camera up without its battery, so I enjoyed staying warm while Yumi got cold taking pictures for me. haha. Just kidding... not!) Anyways, after almost freezing to death, I hear this `woow` from the crowd. The sun had risen and it has gorgeous! The sky was picture perfect. The tiredness and the hard work were all worth it when we saw the sunrise. We hung around until about 5h and we started descending. To me, descending was even harder than climbing the mountain. It is faster but the pavement is made of dirt and rocks, so when you step it feels as if you as skiing, and there isnt really much to hold on to. A lot of people fell with their butts on the ground (not me, of course!) It only took us 15 minutes go to back to the 8th station, where we were staying. Once we got there, we had breakfast and took a nap until about 8, when we had to go down the whole mountain to go home. Ugh! This part was the worst. To try not to slip on the rocks and dirt, you have to walk on your ankles. It not always worked, but thankfully none of us fell or got injured.. but try walking on your ankles for almost 3 hours... It hurts a lot! Plus carrying all your backpack weight and being tired... Miserable! But after all of this, we got to the bottom of Mt. Fuji and drove to a hot spring place. Im used to the way spas work in Brazil and here was just a little bit different. Here, men and women go to different places. There, you shower (Japanese style) and then you get into the next area...naked. Hahaha. Thats the part I wasnt used to. But it all went well and it was very refreshing. Yumi and I still cant believe we made it all the way to the top of Mt. Fuji. It was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Just make sure you are in physical and mental condition before, because the climb isnt as easy as they say, but it isnt the hardest either. Anyways, now Im off to relax as well. Ill post some more pictures from the summit on Facebook and Orkut. :)
3.776 metros mais tarde e depois de `perder` os pais da Yumi no caminho, nos chegamos ao topo do Monte Fuji. O Monte e a montanha mais alta do Japao e e um vulcao ativo (mesmo sendo que nao ocorreram erupcoes desde 1708). Chegar la no topo nao foi tao facil como eu tinha lido... No caminho tinha tudo quanto e tipo de terreno: rochoso, poeira de volcao... E eu fiquei supresa com o tanto de gente que estava la. Um monte mesmo! No nosso grupo so tinha japoneses e eu. O nosso guia ficou um tempao falando em japones e eu la com uma cara de boba fingindo que tava entendendo tudo. Finalmente, quando ele parava de falar, eu perguntava pra Yumi o que ele tinha falado, e ela resumia aqueles 10 minutos em uma ou duas frases. Aiaiai! Mas gracas a Deus tudo deu certo. Nos escalamos de 11h30 ate as 18h. O caminho e longo e bem cansativo, e tinha gente no nosso grupo que nao aguentou. Nos tinhamos de criancas a idosos no nosso grupo e a maioria dessas pessoas iam passar a noite com a gente no dormitorio da oitava estacao , a estacao mais perto do topo. Porem no caminho as criancas ficaram cansadas e nao queriam mais subir de jeito nenhum, entao os pais tiveram que desistir de subir e ficar com eles (na minha opniao, aquilo la nao e lugar de levar criancas...) Os pais da Yumi chegaram ate a oitava estacao mas durante a noite o pai dela nao tava se sentindo bem e tanto a mae quanto o pai decidiram nao ir ate o topo. A Yumi so conseguiu dormir por 1h30 porque ela ficou enjoada por causa da altitude, mas mesmo assim queria ir ate o topo. Entao nos acordamos as 1h essa manha, nos arrumamos e e encontramos a parte do nosso grupo que ia subir ate o topo. A gente foi cedo pra chegar la a tempo de assistir o sol nascer. A subida nem foi tao demorada, mas nos estavamos cansadas do dia seguinte e divemos que incentivar uma a outra pra continuar. As 4h da manha, nos chegamos ao topo. La em cima estava muito frio e ventando muito, entao nos passamos um tempo dentro de um restaurante que tinha aquecedor. As 4h30, nos fomos la pra fora esperar o sol nascer. O topo tava cheio de gente, mas menos do que quando a gente chegou. Eu fiquei sentada na terra vulcanica tentando me aquecer enquanto a Yumi tirava fotos (eu trouxe a minha camera ao topo mas esqueci a bateria no dormitorio, entao eu adorei ficar la `quentinha` enquanto a Yumi tirava fotos pra mim.. hahah. Tadinha). Quando eu estava quase morrendo de frio, eu escuto os japas `wow` e la estava o sol nascendo... Lindo demais! Tudo que passamos na subida valeu a pena! Nos ficamos por la ate as 5h e comecamos a descer. A descida nem foi longa, somente 15 minutos de volta ao dormitorio, mas dificil demais. Parecia que estavamos esquiando, so que em terra e pedras. E o pior e que nem tem como se segurar nem nada, porque pra onde voce olhava era pedra ou terra ou neve. Algumas pessoas cairam de bumbum no chao (claro que eu nao fui uma delas... eu sou atleta, ne! haha). Quando chegamos ao nosso dormitorio, comemos cafe da manha e fomos tirar um cochilo. As 8h, nos encontramos com o nosso grupo de novo, e comecamos o descer o monte todo. Particularmente, essa foi a pior parte. Pra evitar cair ou escorregar nas pedras, voce tem que andar devagar e nos seus calcanhares. Imagina andar no seus calcanhares por 3 horas.. nossa, doi demais! Alem do mais, todos nos estavamos carregando mochilas cheias de agasalhos, comidas, bebidas e cansados do dia seguinte... Horrivel! Mas gracas a Deus que nenhum de nos se machucou ou caiu. Depois de isso tudo, chegamos a base do vulcao e de la fomos a um spa. So que o spa daqui e diferente dai. Aqui homens e mulheres vao pra dois lugares diferentes. La, eles tomam um banho (japones, sentados) e pulam nessas piscinas de agua quente tipo da Pousada do Rio Quente ai no Brasil... so que eles estao sem roupa. Hahaha.. Aiai esse Japao... Bom, depois de la, finalmente fomos pra casa. Eu e a Yumi ainda nao acreditamos que nos fomos ao topo do Monte Fuji. Foi uma experiencia maravilhosa e eu recomendaria pra qualquer pessoa, desde que voce esteja em condicoes fisicas e mentais.. porque so assim que voce consegue chegar ao topo. Nao e nao facil como eles falam, mas tambem nao e impossivel. Bom, agora vou descansar um pouco.. estou morta! E depois coloco fotos no Facebook e no Orkut. Beijos!