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Published: September 15th 2014
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At the hotel room!
Kilimanjaro Water and a Bouquet. Tired and ready for some rest! Since I did not have access to the Internet often while on my trip, I hand wrote some of these entries to transfer over, and additionally, much of this comes from memory. I will write from my paper and memory as if I were actually there. So here we go!
So here we are--Kilimanjaro bound tomorrow! I can't believe the time has come. All the hard work and talk since January. It's pretty unbelievable. The flight was long, tiresome, and I've never watched so many movies in a row! It blew me away how much food the airlines give you. After about 16+ hours of flying (two different flights), it felt like the flight attendants were feeding us as if the world was coming to an end. Carbs, sugar, carbs. I think I had 8 meals in 24 hours! A big change to my normal diet. When we made the connection to Amsterdam my excitement was really heightened about spending a whole day there at the end of the trip. The Dutch are so friendly, and I can hardly wait to explore the city! After hours and hours, my dad and I finally arrived at JRO--Kilimanjaro International Airport.
A dream.
JRO is quaint, with lots of people-a good majority attempting to get visas all at once. After waiting what felt like an hour (in reality it was probably half that) my dad and I got fingerprinted, received our visas, and headed outside to find the RMI Sign to get us to the hotel. As we were walking out the door, I remembered all the emails I read indicating what to do, look for, bring, etc. And here we were. We found our guide, met another member of our team, and off we were! I received a bottle of Kilimanjaro water and a beautiful bouquet from RMI. The water was the biggest thing to get used to--non-natives of Africa often have a hard time digesting the local water, and everything must be sanitized or your body can react quite negatively. Brushing teeth with a bottle of water, closing mouth in the shower, and not even one sip of the local water--it was hard to break this habit!
The excitement of being in Africa, combined with sleep deprivation made it an interesting experience on the drive home. It was pitch black, and most of the drive was spent
The truck awaits...
The car that would transport our team and porters to the mountain. asking our guide Seth questions about his background, what the trip would look like, who was already checked in, and general questions about Tanzania. It was pitch black, muggy, and I was in a haze. The roads were dark on the way to our hotel and it felt surreal. I couldn't get over how many people walk the main roads in Tanzania. It took about 45 min to get to the Dik Dik Hotel, and we were welcomed by an incredibly friendly staff. It felt like royalty. The staff took our bags, and the lobby felt like a beautiful lodge decorated with a fountain, open air seating, and a beautiful bar inside and by the pool. After dropping off our bags, dinner followed. This is when I met someone I now call a friend-Joseph, the lead chef, who would cook every meal for us on the mountain. A kind man, full of compassion and willing to help anyone he can to make their experience a positive one. Joseph presented us with 3-5 courses EVERY day (even on the mountain!!) often consisting of soup, meat, dessert, and items in between (everything from sorbet to fruit to small meat cuts). You always felt nourished and ready to go.
The following morning my dad and I met the rest of the team--we are lucky--10 other great people. My dad and I spent most of the day conversing with a wonderful couple who I call my friends now--Mary and Wilder (if you two are reading this--hi!) A passionate EMT and environmental lawyer--just an amazing couple that I knew would be my friends. They came with two others, there was also a group of 3 in the medical field, and a great person in the government. A diverse group, with all kinds of experiences (volunteer work, passions for medicine, a yearning to continue travel, and some who have been around the world--literally). These would be the people I am now bonded to for life.
After a quick meet and greet orientation, we did a gear check, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing (and trying to get rid of jet lag) by the pool. We leave in less than 24 hours for the mountain, and I am pumped. 645am and it all begins. We will spend the first day at Machame Camp, and take the Machame Path all the way to the summit. We get an extra night to acclimate (RMI has got this down to a formula) and I feel eager, nervous, brave, scared, happy all at once. Time for some rest--next entry--from the mountain!!!!
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Tim Priske
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So Happy for you and your dad!
Hey Megan, Ruth and I have been following daily to you and dad's exploits! How exciting for really the both of you!