Blog

First stop--Nairobi, Kenya. We arrived late one night and took a day to get oriented, meet our tour operator & guide and find an upgraded lodging at the famous New Stanley Hotel, courtesy of Jireh Tours. We were welcomed by many "Jambos" by a smiling face at every desk, every floor, and treated to 5 star colonial hotel courtesy that we could never have imagined. The people and facilities here made us much more comfortable in a very foreign environment and culture--our first in the 3rd world, other than a trip to Acapulco Mexico a few decades ago for me!

After a day cautiously exploring the city centre around the Stanley, we took off for the David Sheldrick Orphaned Elephant and Rhino Centre which was amazing and provided a welcome glimpse of not-so wildlife, as well as great photo material.

Next was the Giraffe Centre. It was amazing being so close to 5 gentle giants--2 younger ones (at only 12 feet tall!) and 3 larger ones. There was hardly anyone else there and we got to feed them with a guide for over an hour.

Next, off to the famous Carnivore restaurant which was a little disappointing...so we headed "home" through 2 1/2 hours of a traffic jam, with vendors coming by our van selling, variously, shoes, vests, games, soccer balls, statues, peanuts, fruit, and who could tell what else!! Entertainment value of that and of the 2 lanes of road encompassing 4 lanes of cars, motorcycles, trucks and pedestrians was incredible!

Next day we headed out towards Arusha, our Tanzanian centre for climbing Mt. Kilimanjero. I didn't get any photos at the shocking border crossing! That was another experience altogether--2 sets of customs. Incoming to Nairobi airport a few days before they had only taken our photos, but on the way out they wanted retinal scans and 2 full sets of fingerprints! After crossing 100 metres of dirt, vendors, parked trucks, animals and who knows what else (no man's land!) the Tanzanians only wanted 2 forms, photos, US$50 and took off with our passports along with all the rest of the passengers. Scary until 2 seasoned North American travellers (one an NGO worker in Tanzania) stood waiting with us for their return via the shuttle bus driver.

Then, Arusha and quickly on to a real lifetime highlight experience--climbing Mount Kilimanjero. 5895 Metres (over 19,500 ft)! The top of Africa and the highest by far of anything we've ever hiked--even the gates where we started were 1970 metres (6500 ft) which is not far off our previous high hikes! We had 3 days up including acclimatization at Homboro Huts (3720 metres--over 12,000 ft) and an evening sleep at the top Kibo Hut (4703 --15,500 ft) before we started our final stage at 12:30 am. It was a long moonlit climb for 6 hours til dawn, and a last scramble (guide-assisted for me) to the crater rim at Gilman's hut (5685 M) where I almost called it a day. But then, the magnificent snow, ice, and rock-covered crater rim tempted me around to Stella Point and from there our 2 guides pushed me on 150 metres higher, and about 1 km longer, to Uhuru Peak. Thanks Issa (guide) & Justin (assistant guide on the day, cook the rest of the hike) for the support--I wouldn't have made it there on my shaky legs and unsteady breath without them, of that I'm sure!

The whole experience at times seemed surreal, like I was dream-walking--at other times it brought out my love of incredible alpine scenery crossed with volcanoes--and then there was the background knowledge popping out periodically that I was at the top of Africa--in a spectacular place, with amazing people doing things that I had only dreamed of before. How priveledged am I to be able to enjoy this rich life experience? And that awareness stays with me particularly in this third world country and one that I am beginning to appreciate!

Not sure how this will change my paintings--I've been looking at African art forms, especially wildlife that we'll be seeing next on safari...and wondering about how to capture the variety of human life & tribes that exists here. Now that we are not restricted in our luggage (we really pared down to essentials on Kili--sadly I didn't even take my sketchbook!) I'll be trying to draw daily along with getting some great photo reference material for the future.

Giraffes & elephants I now have lots--now for more animals in the wild! On safari we go--will be a couple of weeks before posting again, I'd guess! See you then!