Climbing Kilimanjaro

Saturday morning (Tanzanian time) on Kilimanjaro

This was written after leaving Horombo Camp enroute to Kibo Camp, reflecting on the previous day. -T

At breakfast Sosta gave us the day’s itinerary, which was to climb up to Zebra Rock and then loop around onto the trail that leads to Kibo.  This serves the dual purpose of gaining altitude and also seeing tomorrow’s [...]

An early start.

Today (Friday) we were supposed to start at 7:30AM however actually started at 5:30AM when an energetic East Indian group on the other side of the partition wall started getting ready for their descent.  We finally gave up any pretense of sleep at 6:30AM and discussed the night’s ‘endeavours’.  It seemed that it was fairly [...]

From Horombo Hut, 3720m

By 8:30AM we were yawning and after brief ablutions we hit the sack, having planned with the guides, to get up at 6:00AM – long before other climbers.  Back at camp we were treated to a fabulous meal of soup, roasted chicken, potatoes, kale, salad, and bananas for dessert.  We chatted about the day and [...]

Word from Mount Kilimanjaro!

With the help from Kerith’s son Kelly, text message issues are sorted out and we can now post the teams messages from the mountain (although I still haven’t figured out what TTFN stands for!).  -Todd

From Mandara Hut at 2675m, the team wrote:

“We arrived at Mandara hut after about four hours of extreme ‘Pole Pole’, enjoying [...]

Climb Day minus One

We are now at the Marangu Hotel. Like the Kibo Hotel, it boasts a 1932 vintage and whereas the Kibo is a more imposing edifice, the Marangu is layed out Campus style in sprawling manicured grounds with rooms comprising individual residences.Our own residence has 8 beds which one would normally consider a little excessive, however [...]

We're at the Kibo Hotel in Marangu.

We left Moshi at around 4pm and took a 30 minute cab ride to the Kibo Hotel in Marangu. This is a stately old place full of mahogany & memories. The concierge, waiters and even the mirriad waiting ‘hands’, speak in hushed tones of the time that Jimmy Carter came to Kibo.
We’re in the [...]

We're in Africa!

We arrived late last night (minus luggage…) and are now in Moshi – enjoying the local fare and swimming through the heat, sounds, smells & sensations that make up this amazing place. TTFN.

Novotel in Amsterdam

We're tucked up in the Novotel Hotel, by the airport. Had a lovely meal and now we're going to get some well earned rest.TTFN.
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Air France Rocks (no pun intended!)

We left LAX on our 10 hour Air France flight – somewhat jaundiced from our previous airline experiences. However Air France proved to be delightful with great staff, a truly excellent meal an a smooth and uneventful flight. With the added bonus of actual bona-fide SLEEP for 6 hours in the middle of the flight.
We [...]

…on a wing & a prayer…

It’s 10pm and we’re setting off for 10 hours of high-altitude fun! Next stop Charles de Gaul airport, France. TTFN.