Tanzania: From my eyes

Tanzania: From my eyes

I may have traveled to Africa to climb a mountain but what I saw before and after has left me wondering what role fate and karma play in our lives.  How might my life be different if...

~ Market Day ~

I'm left wondering how I can help, or if I'm honest... I'm really wondering 'can I help'. I wasn't expecting to see the poverty we did, slums, and squatter settlements.  My husband and I found a way to help during our visit but we need to focus this energy and continue help now that we have settled back into our daily routine.

Observations from my recent visit to Tanzania: This is important to share before my summit story, most was experienced from the time we landed, to the drive where our adventure would begin.... 

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Travel: THE Serengeti

Travel: THE Serengeti

Lovely Friends,

Visiting the Serengeti was the last part of our adventure.  By the time we left the Ngorongoro Crater, Bill and I were worn down and sick.  On day two in the Serengeti, the lodge called for a doctor to see us.  This took about 36 hours.

To our surprise, the Serengeti is a ragweed minefield!  Bill is extremely allergic to ragweed.  I was diagnosed with bronchitis/walking pneumonia. The doctor offered us some herbal medicine and when we asked his visit/medicine fee... he said no charge.  We pressed a bit and he finally let us pay him.

Bill quickly got better but we had to leave a day early.  Avoiding a hot and bumpy day journey we asked Gregory to coordinate a flight to the Arusha Lodge. I was treated for pneumonia shortly after returning home.

Now to get to our amazing experience!

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Travel: meet me at the Summit!

Travel: meet me at the Summit!

Earlier this week I shared the physical/fitness part to climbing Kilimanjaro, today I'm sharing the experience.


























I loved writing this post! Reflecting on my experience, sharing it with you.  There is a photo link at the bottom of this post for those looking for more ~ enjoy!

Setting the stage: We hiked in the dry season, winter.  The high temps around 35 degrees, low 10. We had two VERY windy days.  One long hike day, about seven hours... and summit day.

The higher the elevation, the less oxygen in the air.  Windy days make breathing a challenge, trying to get a full breath AND not take in dust.

Let's get started!

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Travel: Three months until departure

Travel: Three months until departure

 

Note: The photo above was taken when we were dropped off, deep into the forest.

Three months before we depart - this has been a high activity week for Africa prep.

You get what you pay for: we are paying for two opportunities to summit, staying one night in the arctic zone (18,500 ft) and our summit hike will take 3-4 hours.  If we are feeling good and the weather is favorable, I'm told we can stay up there for a while.  

I'm shocked when I see adverts to reach the summit for $2,000 or less.  I read one blogger's experience where he climbed 4,000 feet to the summit in one day, twelve hours of hiking!  He only spent a few minutes at the top and mentioned how painful the hike was before turning back and starting their descend. 

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Travel: Kilimanjaro, here we come!

Travel: Kilimanjaro, here we come!

 We are climbing Kilimanjaro for Eleanor.  I ran an ultramarathon for her in 2011.  Her race bib, her name on the finishers list a few months before she entered hospice.  When I called her post race I said, "we crossed that dream off the list, what's next?".  Without pause she said, "I want to climb Kilimanjaro."

Eleanor died a few months later.  Kilimanjaro is the last adventure she told me she wanted to accomplish.  We will make it happen. 

Note: the photo above is from day one of our trek.  The start. It's one of my most favorite photos.

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