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Published: January 3rd 2012
After a long transit from various parts of Europe our group is now all together in Africa! Have to say that the Nairobi airport is the worst one I've ever been in! Wow what a place, total disorganization and chaos😊. We got thru tho, will all our bags as well!
We are staying in beautiful place not far from Arusha. It is quiet and situated on 10 acre, it was a coffee plantation at one point and still grows coffee beans amoung a host of the fruits and veggies we have been eating. Speaking of eating - this place has fantastic meals and we are fearful of undoing the months of preparation by eating our way out of shape.
The first morning here we awoke to lay our eyes on the peaks of Kilimanjaro.... Unmm really?? The guides assure us that it looks bigger than usual today, as it has been more that two years since they have seen it clear enough to see the mawenzi peak from here. We feel pretty special about this even tho we are sure they are lying about it looking bigger - it is HUGE!
Curtis is calling it the elephant in
the room, and that about sizes it up. While it is looming in the background we are laughing and pretending (until tmr at least) that we are not preparing to climb it.
Yesterday we had a completely down day and today we ventured to town. Arusha is a busy place will all the usual come buy my wares places, exhaust fumes, meat smells and crazy traffic. But we did manage to "Get drunk at the trough of consumerism" to quote Tom, at a gem store specializing in tanzanite.
Several of us purchase a loose gem to bring home to be mounted into a setting there. Us lucky ladies couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces, the stone are stunning and we are thrilled with them!
We have had our pre-climb meeting as well as had all of our gear checked, even tho we packed and shopped and repacked we needed to rent a bit of equipment from the agency.
At this point I just want to get started already. I cant figure out if I'm more worried about the climb or not showering for 7 days...Or being with people that haven't showered in 7 days!
Will try to update but it may be a week before we can. Wish us luck!
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Shawna
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Butterflies
Wow - I can't believe the time to climb has finally come. I have butterflies in my stomach for you and Maegan is very excited to hear how it went. I hope every step is memorable and that everyone gets in on the picture at the top.