Africa!

  Africa, a whole new continent to explore! As soon as we stepped out of the airport in Nairobi, I was impressed. The sweet smell of earth was surprisingly fresh after our time in India. It’s truly amazing what you can get used to! Su had made arrangements to stay with a local Kenyan family through ‘Couchsurfing’, but I was a little apprehensive. We’d had so many responses to our ‘couch request’ from tour companies, or overly friendly men, that I couldn’t help but worry that we might be drugged and robbed. Nairobi has a terrible reputation as the ‘most dangerous city in Africa’, but I couldn’t have been more wrong about Nancy and her husband Jorombo. They picked us up from the airport and took us to their lovely home. They both had some time off work, so we just paid for their fuel and they showed us around town. Our first stop was the giraffe rehabilitation center, where they take in orphaned giraffes. There is a feeding tower where you can feed them by hand, and one of the younger ones is so tame, it will gently nibble food pellets right out of your lips! Giraffe kisses! So cool, I was forever taken by Africa, and we’d  been here for less than 24 hours.

  The next day, we went to the elephant rehabilitation center. Again, a sanctuary for orphaned elephants, except here, they are eventually released back into the wild. It’s quite a commitment, as elephants rely on their mother’s milk for the first two years. After they are released to the wild, they are monitored for several years, to ensure they integrate into a ‘family’. We all enjoyed this rare chance to get so close to African elephants, which are considerably larger than their Asian cousins.  For lunch, we went to the ‘Bomba’, a cultural center dedicated to displaying the diverse tribes of Kenya. There are mock villages from every type of tribe, and in the auditorium, a troupe of dancer’s cycles through the traditional dances of each tribe. They perform 5-6 different tribal dances every day, cycling through all the tribes each week. This was a lot of fun, and no wonder it’s a favorite place for our host family to come for afternoon picnics.

  We only had a couple of days in Nairobi, but are so thankful to have enjoyed the hospitality and safety of a local family. I have enjoyed very good luck in all my travels, and have never been robbed, so I was naively confident. They would constantly remind me to roll up my window when we drove through rough areas, to discourage carjackers. Nancy’s son had been robbed at gunpoint not long ago, the same week that her good friend had been shot and killed during a robbery, so we were extremely thankful to have a trusted family chauffer us around. They dropped us off at the bus station and waited until we were safely aboard before leaving. Such wonderful people; thanks again Nancy!

  The bus to Arusha takes about 5 hours, including the border crossing into Tansania. I got my first glimpse of Kilimanjaro, and my heart started beating more quickly, knowing I would start climbing the iconic snow-capped peak the next day. Wow. Kilimanjaro. The bus driver dropped us off at an internet café, were we left our bags and cautiously went to a nearby ATM for some Tanzanian shillings. At 1600 shillings to the dollar, we had a huge stack of cash when we left. After Nairobi, were overly wary, and eventually took a taxi to Ujaama Hostel. After all of the small, dirty hotels we’d stayed at in India, this place was amazing! There are only two private rooms, but lots of dorm beds, several showers, a huge common area with couches and a TV, a self-serve beer fridge, and a massive backyard with avocado trees and resident tortoises, all inside a walled compound topped with electric fencing. A night, a Maasai in full traditional clothing would act as security guard. Incredible.

    We met with the safari company, who were also arranging my Kilimanjaro trek, and Su and Raven’s volunteer placement. They promised to ‘treat me like a little baby’ on the trek, and ensured me that the girls would also be safe and sound while I was away. They would be at a homestay just outside Dar es Salaam, and always under the watchful eye of a guardian. Dropping them off at the bus station was very emotional. This would be the first time in 7 months we would be apart. We have grown so close as a family, and being apart, especially in Africa, was uncomfortable, to say the least. There weren’t many options, though, and I was pretty determined to climb Kilimanjaro, so I swallowed my fears, and focused on the task at hand.

  Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak, at 5895 meters (19 341 feet), the world highest freestanding mountain, and the summit presents the largest visible horizon anywhere on Earth. On the summit, there is only half the oxygen available at sea level. Only 40% of those who attempt the climb are successful, and an average of 30 people a year die while trying. While it requires no technical climbing skills or gear, it’s not to be taken lightly. Even though I’ve been up to 4300 meters in Nepal, there is simply no way to know how your body will respond at higher elevation. I was signed up for a 7 day trek on the Machame route, which has one of the highest success rates, due to the amount of time spent at elevation. This is really the only way to prepare for a summit attempt, reaching a new high point every day, and then retreating slightly to sleep at a lower elevation. But would it be enough?