TANZANIA, AFRICA

Note:  Journal author Tom Farmer climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with his wife Joan and sons Joseph (15) and Michael (12).  They were part of 81-year-old Bill Bonnice’s family group that included 20 people from three generations.

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Saturday, July 19, 2008 – Travel Day 1

Finally Here!  We're sitting in the Orlando airport at gate 38, waiting on our first flight leg to Detroit.  We’ll meet with Iris in Detroit and fly to Amsterdam together.

Over a year, almost two, of planning and preparation to get us to this point!  Lots of shopping, medical visits for immunizations and consultations, and physical training has happened by now.

We got our polio, hepatitis A & B, typhoid, meningitis, yellow fever shots, some from the health department and the travel offices.  We prepared our critical medications, diamox, malarone for malaria, cipro for diarrhea in case of creatures in the water.  I’ve packed Advil & Aleve for my anticipated aches and pains.  Hope we won’t get too sick or be in too much discomfort during our trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro or on the safari. 

I’ve been concerned about the hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro and thought the safari would be the relaxing part of the trip.  That was until last weekend when Dr. Joe Rojas, Orthopaedic surgeon and neighbor at our Seychelles condo told us his colleague’s partner was eaten by a lion on a safari.  So, our guards will be up and we’ll be as observant as possible!

I’m nervous and excited at the same time.  I have the same feeling just before taking a ride on the Aerospace Rock & Roll roller coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!  And, so begins our trip of a lifetime with many thanks to Bill Bonnice for his extreme generosity and love for family adventures!

We’re so blessed!

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Sunday, July 20, 2008 – Travel Day 2

We traveled through the night, changing planes in Detroit and Amsterdam.

To our surprise, we ran into Barbara, Harry, Nick and Nathan at the airport in Detroit.  Iris joined us later and we all boarded the small, for transatlantic, international flight.  As my first flight across the Atlantic, I was expecting a much larger plane.  We pushed away from the gate and experienced mechanical problems and needed a tow back to the gate.

After a few announcements from the captain, stating that the auxiliary power system failed and that they rebooted the system, it would need to be inspected by their service crew followed by some lengthy paperwork.

After two hours on the ground, we finally pushed away.  The plane was extremely hot, approaching 90 to 95 degrees inside the cabin during the 2 hour delay.  It was so uncomfortable.  The remainder of the flight to Amsterdam was uneventful.  The food and service were great.

Due to our delay we were nervous about making our connection and meeting up with the rest of the family in Amsterdam.  Thankfully, they held the flight and we were greeted by a beautiful, blonde Dutch KLM gate agent.  She briskly guided us to the gate.  We went through security and were on our way!

It was great to see everyone.  We met up with Bill, Michele, Roxanne, Brian, Rana, Wally, Vicki, Kristine, Nikki, Jackie, Ben, and Josh (Erika’s brother).  They cheered for us as we approached the security area at the gate!  We exchanged hugs, kisses handshakes and high-fives!  The service from the KLM staff was the best I’ve ever experienced.  The plane was 9 seats across and had TV monitors in the headrest of the seat in front.  We were able to control our channels.  I faded in and out of sleep, reading a James Paterson novel and catching a few TV shows.

When we arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport, we went through a painless customs process.  We stepped outside after picking up our luggage and were warmly greeted by Erika, Lema, Allan and their many drivers.

We loaded our bags and gear and hopped into the vehicles.  Forty minutes later, we arrived in Arusha.  We turned off the main road and traversed up a narrow, bumpy dirt road lined with tiny run-down shops.  It was dark, yet seemed busy.

Locals walked the streets visiting with the merchants who managed to run their businesses with merely a small lantern.  I noted hair salons, sewing/mending, fruit stands and a variety of odd shops. 

We pulled into a gated lodge, the Ilboru Safari Lodge.  After retrieving our luggage, we went to our rooms.  The rooms were very plain, but very cute.  The rooms were a group of round, brick, one story buildings.  The floors were stained concrete.  The bed was framed with mosquito netting.  It looked raw, but charming at the same time.

It’s dark and the grounds look lavish.  I can hardly wait to see it in daylight!

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Monday, July 21, 2008 – Travel Day 3

Woken by a false alarm.  The hotel operator accidentally called our room at 5:30am for a wake-up call.  We rolled back over and tried to sleep another hour.

Kristina knocked at our door at 6:00am.  We hustled and met the group for breakfast.  We loaded up into the army green Toyota Landcruisers.  All the kids rode in a 7 passenger, leaving the adults to a bit of peace.

Roxanne, Brian, Joan and I and Josh, hopped into Charles’s truck.  We always have a fun time with Rox and Brian and it was great to get to know Josh.   He opened the roof for us to stand and view the animals at the Arusha National Park.  The drive to the gate was about 30 minutes.  After paying, we began our trek in the land cruisers.

Our trek was a bit slow a first.  We spotted some birds.  We saw a large group of water buffalo type of animals called Waterbucks.  Next to the Waterbuck were a pack of zebras.  We saw Colobus monkeys and a family of baboons hiding in the trees.

We stopped for a hike up the Mt. Meru trail and took a “trial” run for our next few days on Mt. Kilimanjaro.  The grade wasn’t too steep.  It had a few rocks and slippery mud.  We were occasionally passed by locals with various packages balanced on their heads.  Where they came from or were going was a bit of a mystery.

We reached the summit of a small mountain and could see for miles.  Along the way, our guide carried a rifle in the event an animal tried to attack us.  Most animals were docile.  We walked close to a herd of cape buffalo grazing in an open field.

Our guide stopped to explain many plants, animal droppings (scat), and bones.  The day was so much fun!

Lema and his crew of drivers had lunch waiting for us in a field down a small, winding dirt road.  After a briefing of our hiking route and plan for Mt. Kilimanjaro, we jumped back into the land cruisers.  Our next drive was even more interesting.  We came across some giraffes that were extremely close to the road.  After visiting with the giraffes we looped around a lake with more cape buffalo, some waterbucks and giraffes. 

We continued and were surprised by a huge family of baboons.  They sat in the middle of the dirt road, unaffected by our Cruisers and excitement.  They continued to groom themselves, picking at each other.  There were all sizes of baboons.  Eventually we forced our way through as they scurried off to each side of us.

This was delightful day.  I didn’t expect so many animals in Arusha National Park.  I hope to see even more in the Ngorongoro Crater.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008 – Day 4

Our first Mt. Kilimanjaro day!  We met for breakfast at 6:30am, packed our bags after a late night bag check and brought them to the hotel lobby.

We stored our safari bag with the hotel bell service, while the drivers loaded our mountain bags into the cruisers.

After an hour we arrived at the Park Ranger registration area. Erika and Lema paid our entrance fees and we all completed our paperwork and presented our passports.  The registration process took about an hour.

We continued to ride with Charles, our driver, but instead of riding with Rox, Brian and Josh, we were joined with Wally, Vicki and Kristina.  It was a great time.  I loved catching up with Wally and Vicki.  Kris has grown into a woman since I last saw her.  She has such a great sense of humor and respect for life and is a delight to be around.

Our ride from the registration to the Lemosho trail head was quite bumpy.  The dirt road was very uneven and looks more like a ditch at times.  We passed by homes, villages and farms.  The living conditions look primitive.  We saw many farmers hauling their goods on carts pulled with either oxen or mules.  Some rode on bicycles while juggling their large loads; some walked balancing their loads on their head.

In Arusha, most homes and businesses are made of block & brick, whereas in this area, most were wooden.  They were built with raw local timber and not planed by factories.  The wooden boards looked like split logs nailed in a clumsy, haphazard manor.  Many holes were seen through the homes.

Upon our arrival to the trailhead, we were greeted by what looked like an army of porters and cooks.  I was told that there is a 3 to1 ratio for each hiker. Actually we had 68 porters and guides for the 20 of us in our family group.  As Lema told us, our job is to walk, sleep, pee and poop and communicate any difficulties or health issues.

Lema’s staff was absolutely outstanding on this first day!  Their luncheon was prepared and set upon our arrival to the trailhead.  We had cheese, tomatoes, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and bread.

We were introduced to our cooks, Joseph, the main cook; and Johnson, his assistant.  We were also introduced to some trail guides, Victor, Herman, also known as the “Hermanator,” and Raymond.  It’s a bit unusual to have three guides, but due to the size and ages of our large group we got all three guides. 

After saying goodbye to our drivers, we started our initial ascent on a very steep, tree root stair case approach.  My first thought was that this was going to be a difficult day, but thankfully, the steep incline through the tropical region didn’t last long.  The remaining 3 to 4 hour hike was steady up and down slopes.  Nothing at all was treacherous.  We stopped for lunch.

We arrived at the Forest camp site (9,100 ft) again, with our army of porters waiting for us!  The tents were already setup, looking more like a small village.  We claimed our bags from a large pile and selected a tent.  We were introduced to our porters, Nazareth and Hassan.

We got an in-service on how to operate the chemical toilet; settled ourselves into the tent and went to dinner at 7:15pm.

The food was so delicious that all the kids asked for seconds!  Michael said the food was so much better than he expected.  We ate potato soup, rice with green bean casserole, topped with a peanut sauce with mushrooms.

The entire family sat around and talked for an hour.  Today was an exceptional day because we were able to talk with one another as we changed hiking order.  This trip reminded me of our first reunion trip to Banff, Canada.

I’m so happy and proud to be a member of this extended Bonnice-Farmer family.  Bill’s family is so gracious and warm and accepting of our Farmer “clan!”  It was great to catch up with each other’s lives’.

We settled into our tents for the night.  Joan is having a great time and very proud of Joseph and Michael on how well they are doing.  I wasn’t too surprised because of their experience with boy scout camping.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008 – Day 5

Today, we learned the following song:

“Jambo, Jambo Bwana, habari gani, nzuri sana, wageni, mwakaribishwa, Kilimanjaro, hakuna matata” which means “Hello, hello, Sir, how are you, very well, guests you are welcome to Kilimanjaro, no worries”

Chorus: “Kilimanjaro, yetu, hakuna matata” which means, “Our Kilimanjaro, no worries”

Other Swahili “survival” words we learned and repeated for several days while on the mountain:

Habarai ya asubhuhi – how’s your morning?

Habarai ya mchana – how’s your afternoon?

Habari ya jioni – how’s your evening?

Habarai ya usiku – how’s your night?

Twende – let’s go

Pole pole – slow down

Pole – sorry

Pole sana – very sorry

Asante – Thank you

Nzuri asante – I’m fine, thank you

Ndiyo – yes

Ndijo – yes, thank you

Asante asana – Thank you very much

Karibu – you’re welcome

Mambo – what’s up?

Pole sani – Proud of you!

We woke at 6:00am, breakfast at 7:15am and on the trail at 8:30am.

I didn’t sleep too well.  I woke at 3:00am and was hot and thirsty.  I kept a water bottle close to my head/pillow.  I fell back to sleep off and on.

Today we hiked to Shira I camp.  The initial trek was steep at times with narrow, hollowed out paths.  We stopped several times for photo ops as we went over the Shira ridge to the old Shira crater.

As we descended toward the Shira camp, we got our first glimpse of the huge and beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro.  We learned the songs from Lema and Victor.  Victor was our lead guide today.  Herman floated around from the front to rear of our group.  Lema and Erika took up the rear.

Bill did fantastic today and set a terrific slow pace.  We shared stories and laughed a lot today.  It was great being all together!

The mountain forest was loaded with lush vegetation and we recognized many plants and flowers.

Upon arriving at the Shira camp, we played games, and drank cocoa and ate popcorn.  Nick pulled out a cribbage board and played Jackie.  I played the winner, who happened to be Nick!  I then whooped his butt!  We played another game or two and he beat me silly!

It’s a bit colder at the camp site.  Need to bundle with long johns and fleece jacket.   We had terrific weather during the hike.  I wore a wicking t-shirt and Boy Scout pants.

It was amazing to see the stars in the evening.  I’m not sure why it’s so clear, perhaps because of our elevation.  There are more stars than I’ve ever seen.  The Milky Way was extremely bright – what a sight!

The flip side is that although the sky is breathtaking, the temperature in the evening is frigid.  We have frost on our tents at 9:00pm.  Elevation at Shira I camp, 13,100 ft.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008 – Day 6

Shira I camp is at the foot of the Shira ridge and Shira plateau.  The Shira plateau is a large flat area which was once the crater of the Shira Mountain.  Shira was the first volcano to erupt, followed by Mt. Mawenzi, then Mt. Kibo.  Shira also became the first inactive volcano followed by Mawenzi and Kibo.  Mt. Kibo, however, erupted and the lava flowed down to fill the crater at Shira where we camped and slept.

As usual, we had a great breakfast and we “checked” out of our tents.  Joan and I developed quite an efficient system.  I feel like I’m checking out of a Marriott each day and checking into another at the end of a busy day!

The hike today wasn’t too bad.  We had a few rocky areas, but overall very easy.  We hiked for about 4 hours and had delicious lunch at Fischer camp.  This site was named for a very famous and generous hiker and guide.  Lema tells us that he was very well liked by the porters and sent many pairs of hiking boots to them.  They created a plaque, embedded into a large rock at this point.  We got our photos at this spot.

The weather took a turn during lunch.  A cloud came over the mountain and brought a damp wind.  We bundled up with fleece sweaters and rain gear.

After lunch, we hiked up a steep rocky incline then along a ridge to the Moir Hut.  Elevation 12,950 ft.

Dinner was great and we went to bed early.  Joseph had some stomach upset and Michael complained about a headache of 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  We treated both boys with Pepto Bismol and some Advil.  They settled down and felt better.  Joan and I have been feeling great all along, except for a minor headache or tingling of the toes and fingers.  We’re told that the tingling is a minor side effect due to the Diamox (taken for the altitude sickness).

Raymond, our guide, took Erika, Josh, Michael, Nick, Barbara and me up a rocky ledge just next to the Moir camp.  Erika took lots of photos.  We built a “cairn” which is a stack of small rocks meant to symbolize good luck.  We took our photos next to the cairn!  We returned back to the camp – and soon, Lights Out!

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Friday, July 25, 2008 – Day 7

Today, we hiked up the hill next to the Moir Camp site.  We merged trails with the Machame route.  The Machame route is a more direct route and we ran into hikers who were experiencing difficulty due to their quick ascent without time to acclimatize to the elevation.  We were grateful to take our time and approach the summit slowly, as they say, “Pole, pole!”

We ate lunch in front of Lava Tower.  The wind was very strong.  I was very, very cold at this location.  Raymond encouraged me to hide in the cook’s tee-pee to warm up for a few minutes.  The porters and guides have been fabulous.  They are so concerned about our safety and health. 

After lunch, we continued on the Kibo circuit trail to the Barranco camp.  The view at Barranco is terrific.  We arrived at about 6:00pm.  The major part of this afternoon hike was a descent along a rocky and scree (loose rocks).  “Babu Bill” (Grandfather Bill) surprised me as to how well he handled this hike.  A few of us fell at times, but no one sustained any major injuries.

The evening was cold, so I bundled with a fleece blanket at my feet.  In the middle of the night, I removed the fleece to the top edge of my sleeping bag creating a barrier against the cold air.  I was very comfy!  We woke late, at 7:00am, to frost!

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Saturday, July 26, 2008 – Day 8

Barranco elevation was 13,200 ft.  We left the camp site at 8:30am and climbed the famous “Barranco wall” or “Breakfast wall.”  It is a steep climb along the face of the mountain side.  It looked intimidating from the camp site.

We had a spectacular view from the campsite both looking back at our trail from Moir camp and looking forward to Kibo where we were heading!  We successfully climbed the rocky wall and passed the “kissing rock” which is a tight space where we must hug the wall to pass.

At the top we were rewarded with a magnificent view of Kibo.  We could also see off into the distance of our trail to the Karanga Camp.

The trail down was a bit treacherous.  We went up and down a couple of valleys.  Our last descent was loaded with large rocks that appeared to be the shapes of animals, per Joan.  We think she may have been drinking too much chamomile tea!  But truly, we all agreed that one rock did look similar to a huge turtle.

On our last ascent to camp we came across a porter who was sick.  He told us that this was his first trek.  Wally gave him a back rub, Joan (a Nurse Practitioner) and Erika (a Physician Assistant) worked on him as well.  Joan gave him an Advil and we filled his water bottle.  We offered to carry his load but Erika advised us not to do that.  She said it would wear us out.  And, Raymond told us that the porter had some help on the way.  About ½ hour later, this porter passed us.  He felt much better and we were glad to help him.

We arrived at Karanga Camp (Hut), elevation 13,900 ft.  The site looked like a refugee camp as the porters set up the site.  The Karanga site was is very rocky and sloped; however, the view was breathtaking

We all had a heavy lunch around 5:00pm and then stayed in a double wide tent and played cards, games and we shared stories!  What a great day!  No injuries or sickness!

After sitting around the tent after dinner, Erika encouraged me to write in my journal about my shoe lace incident…

Earlier this morning, at the Baranco camp site, our tent was only 10 feet from the “mess-hall,” I walked to the breakfast with loose laces because I thought I would go back after breakfast and put on my windbreaker/rain pants and then the gaiters.  I was walking back to the tent, behind Erika, who stopped to talk with Joan.  Just then, my right lace got caught on a hook for my left shoe.  I spun around 3 times, calling out to Erika for help.  I finally landed on a rock used to tie down the tents.  Erika came quickly but only laughed!  It was funny.  Only my pride was injured!

We got our first view of Mt. Meru (from the Arusha National Park).  It was covered in the clouds when we were there for our first day of safari and hike.  We are now at the same height as the cloud level looking across to Mt. Meru.

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Sunday, July 27, 2008 – Day 9

We were able to sleep in today!  We woke at 7:30am, greeted by Joan’s porter Hassan and Idrisa.  We were served a delicious hot coffee and tea.  Ah, camping at it’s finest!

The staffs of Lema and Erika have been so outstanding and attentive.  You can feel their genuine concern for the trekkers.

I think Love is the operative word for this entire journey.  Bill’s love for family and adventure and the love between bill’s family and ours!  We’ve now been doing these reunions for almost 10 years.  It’s been fantastic to watch the kids grow.  The biggest changes seem to be with the older kids.

Nick and Nathan have grown into fine young men.  Kristina has come into her own unique, cheerful, loving and fun personality.  Joseph, although quiet at times, is very gentle and considerate.  How truly blessed we are!

Today we hiked up a hill to the Barafu Hut.  They say it should be a 3 to 4 hour hike, but with our family - pole, pole – that means 4 to 6 hours!

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Well we just finished our hike today.  We broke into two groups.  The first group with Victor as our guide completed the hike in about 4 hours.   Nick, Nathan, Wally, Vic, Ben, Jackie, Nikki, Kris, Tom (me), Joan, Joseph and Michael were in this first group.  Bill’s group arrived in about 5 hours. 

We had to wait for the crew to set up our tents.  This site, called Barafu is very hilly and dangerous.  At elevation 15,200 ft, it’s full of loose shale.  They pitched our tent on the farthest edge and what seems like a mile from the bathroom.  I dread walking around this site at night.

We’re all doing well – no health issues.  Joseph seems to have calmed down from his stomach issues.  Michael appears to be getting tired but otherwise in good spirits.  Joan is absolutely fine except for being a bit cold at night.  I’m doing very well and haven’t experienced any issues.

Everyone sang a song for Babu Bil, as he arrived at camp today.  Bil is doing fantastic, much better than I ever expected.  He was originally going to go to the lower Mweka camp and wait for us to catch him there.  He decided to go with us to Barafu.  If he felt he couldn’t continue up to Stella’s point and in the crater, he could go back down the mountain from this point.

Tomorrow, we hike to Crater Camp, 18,500 ft. after going through Stella Point, at 19,100 ft.  It should take us about 9 hours.  We’re told by Lema and Erika that it’s a switchback trail which will help to adjust to the elevation change.  I assume we’ll be moving very slowly.

This morning we got an instruction on the hyperbaric chamber.  I’d have to be on my death bed before they could get me in that contraption.  I’m a bit claustrophobic and I’d freak out. I’m told that if I’m at the point of needing the chamber, I might not fight them!  They’ll also use oxygen and descending as a first course of action if anyone develops altitude sickness.

Bil may go on with us to the crater camp or decide to go down to Mweka.  If he decides to go down, we’ll meet him there on Tuesday, after, God willing, we summit.

For the past few days we’ve been traversing the mountain from the West to the East. We’ve increased our exposure to the elevation with only minor health issues from the entire group. It’s very likely we’ll all be able to summit together.

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Monday, July 28, 2008 – Day 10

Summit day!  I attempted to write about our journey today, ascending to the Crater, but it’s so cold that my pen stopped working.  Water bottle froze.  I’ll write later when we’re back at Barafu ascending through Uhuru Point, the very top…

Back again… We’ve been busy from sunrise to sunset and beyond!

The night at crater camp was very cold.  I asked Erika for a hot nalgene water bottle to keep my feet warm.  Michael got extremely sick with diarrhea & vomiting at the Barafu camp.  I offered to stay behind with him, but Joan insisted I go on with my family.  I hated to leave them both behind.

Roxanne and Brian offered to share their tent with me at the crater camp.  We wanted to put three in a tent to help warm each other.  We followed behind Bill – enjoying his pace!

The hike to Stella Point was about 6 to 7 hours.  We could see the top but it seemed to take forever to reach.  Every turn seemed to set us back.  We’d get over one peak only to learn that there was another one to cross!   We owe thanks to Victor, Lema and Erika for encouraging us during this tough day!

Upon reaching Stella Point at 19,100 ft, we were greeted by all of the Porters who cheered Babu!  It was extremely windy, but also late in the day.  I believe we reached the point around 5:30pm to 6:00pm.  

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008 – Day 11

I bunked up with Rox and Brian at in the Crater Camp at 18,500 ft.  We laughed and joked around and fell asleep shortly.  I awoke at midnight, hoping it was 5:00am and that we would begin our final ascent to the Uhuru Peak.  Uhuru means, “Freedom” in Swahili.

I continued to wake each hour on the hour.  I checked my watch only to be disappointed.  I had a minor headache and wanted to take an Advil, but didn’t want to wake Rox or Brian.

Brian woke at 4:00am and went out to pee.  He came back in and said it was the same temp in or out of the tent.  My water bottles had frozen.  Rox woke and said she also had a headache as did Brian.  So, at 4:00am we had an Advil party!

Our official wake up call was at 5:00am.  I had prepared the night before so I was ready to roll up my sleeping bag and pack my final stuff into the duffle.

Joseph & Ben slept with Grandpa Bill.  I checked in on Joe, who was up and moving and packing.  Ben was still sleeping and didn’t seem eager to get started!  Eventually, he joined us in the mess hall.

I was so cold and couldn’t get my feet to warm.  I wore two layers of wool socks, one light and one heavy.  I asked Victor if I could go ahead of the group and hike up the Mountain side until I reached the sunny area.  I also tried Erika’s suggestion of stomping my feet and swinging my arms to get the blood flowing.  She also suggested doing jumping jacks but due to the elevation, that only made me short of breath!

Nick and Nathan joined me up the mountain to the Uhuru Peak.  We waited in the sun for quite a while as everyone got themselves together.  I wasn’t sure what delayed us,  (From bil: I was part of the delay, if not all of it.  I had a difficult time getting ready.  The air being so thin, every effort for me was a slow struggle and took a lot of time.)  but the group finally got together at around 8:30am.   The original plan was to be ready at 7:00am.  By now, we’ve learned that time has little meaning for our family!  We’re always a bit late in starting out!

It took us about an hour or so to ascend to the peak.  Once up, we enjoyed the spectacular view.  We could see both our West and Eastern routes.  We could see the Lava tower and campsite.

Bill made it up and we celebrated in front of the Uhuru Peak at 19,340 ft signs.  Joe and I claimed victory on behalf of Mike and Joan who didn’t make it up.  We spent a lot of time taking photos and congratulating one another.  Rox took photos of her “Top Shelf Hockey” jersey on the roof top of Africa.  She placed the sign in the snow with the help of the porters.  We celebrated Harry’s 65^th birthday on the mountain!

We took several photos with Michael’s birthday banner.  Everyone had previously written a birthday wish for Michael.  We had intended on presenting this to Michael the following day, on his 12^th birthday.

We didn’t stay too long, urged by Victor to move along.  They told us that typically, there are several groups arriving at the same time, however, we had the mountain top to ourselves!  We reluctantly began our descent stopping at Stella Point for a brief shoe lace tying instruction preparing for our downhill journey down the “scree,” which is loose rocks, gravel and sand.

The descent down the scree trail, which was parallel to the trail we hiked up, was so much fun!  It felt like snow skiing.  Hassan, Joan’s porter, gave me a quick lesson and warned about certain rocks to avoid.  After that instruction, I was ready to fly.  It was very much like snow skiing, alternating each leg using the poles.  As you extended each heel, you would drop about 3 to 5 feet.    I caught up with Joe, Harry, Jackie, Nikki, Josh, Nick and Nathan.

We got down to the Barafu camp in about an hour. Our legs were sore but our spirits high!  Lunch was waiting, as usual, in the mess hall tent.  The first group ate lunch and shared our stories of the ascent and descent.  I think the descent was the most fun so far!

Babu and the rest of the gang arrived just as we were finishing lunch.  We were encouraged to stay in two groups and begin our descent to the Mweka camp.  We left at 3:00pm and were told it would be 3 to 4 hours.  I was very concerned about Bill and the others.  Eating lunch would add another hour to their journey and it would be dark when they arrived.

Many of us were sore from the descent, using different muscles!  After a couple of stops, I asked Victor to assist me with moleskin on both of my feet.  The descent seemed to bother my feet more than anything.  Each step hurt so badly.

Wally, Joseph and I walked a bit slower than our group and eventually our gap seemed to get larger and larger until we couldn’t see them any longer.  We also lost audio contact and wondered if we were on the correct path.  The fog rolled in and it was difficult to see the path.   We lost our sunlight and it got dark very quickly.  The trail was slippery, almost like ice.  Wally and I fell several times – while Joseph just laughed at us. 

Occasionally, a porter would pass us and confirmed that we were on the right track but their estimate of time to the Mweka camp was inconsistent.  One told us it was only 30 minutes away, while another told us it was at least 1 ½ hours.  We all had head lamps, but that only reflected on the water vapors of the fog and made it worse.  Joseph, our cook, came to our rescue and held a flashlight and guided us down some hairy spots. 

We continued on a steep slippery slope downward for another hour in the dark.  It was the longest hour imaginable.  All the while, I was worried about the second group with bill, Barb, Michelle, Rox and Bryan.  Several porters passed us stating that they were going up to assist them.  It looked like they sent an army to their rescue who would be fully capable of carrying Bill down if necessary.  That comforted us knowing that they were getting some attention.

Exhausted and smelly, I decided to clean up with a “wet one” sponge bath.  I changed into my last set of dry clothes.  I joined the family in the mess hall.  Later, I stepped out to use the bathroom and noticed that it was snowing.  Snow at Mweka camp site at 10,500 ft.?   Bill and co. had not arrived yet.  The path was slippery enough with rain, never mind snow!

They finally arrived at about 10:00pm.  We celebrated their arrival, had a birthday cake for Harry and called it a night!

What an exhausting day.  We went from 18,500 ft to 19,340 ft and down to 10,500 ft. in one day.  I think if we got started more punctually from the Crater Camp, we might not have been hiking in the dark and it would have been more pleasant.  Oh well, hindsight is wonderful!

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008 – Day 12

Final Descent Day!!!  Michael’s 12^th birthday!  We woke, once again, very early for our final descent.  This was another 3 to 4 hour trek that I dreaded due to the previous night’s experience.  Worse, it rained all night and ground was soaking wet.  The porters dug a trench around our tents late at night for the rain to run off.

We met with Erika for an adult huddle.  It was proposed that we all walk out together as one group with Bill as the leader.  Ironically, Bill had already taken off and had a great lead on us.  We ended up in two groups again.  I was in the first group and we almost had to run down the mountain to catch up with Bill.  We reached him after about 2 hours.  Harry was in the second group but broke away and caught up with us.  He said that the girls were stopping and looking at every plant and flower.

Although it was raining, the path was much friendlier than and not nearly as slippery as the night before.  We had some quality time with Nick, Nate, Joe, Mike, Ben, Vicki, Wally and Harry. Bill had two porters carrying his backpack and water and another porter guiding his step and helping to set a reasonable pace.  They were wonderful to Bill.

As we approached the exit, a crowd cheered for Babu!  Bill raised his poles in victory!  He did it!  We did it!

We were approached by solicitors selling locally made jewelry and odd items.   We signed ourselves out of the park and got a certificate of completion.   There were a lot of locals offering to clean our boots and gaiters for $2.00.  We had a final lunch under a wooden pavilion and waited for the rest of the family to arrive.  We cheered them on upon their arrival.

The local peddlers continued to push their wares on us as we loaded the land cruisers.  They even wrote their prices in the fog of the windows as we sat in the cruisers.  One boy pushed our window open and asked for Benjamin’s watch and hat.  Joseph, Michael and Benjamin traded some personal items for necklaces and swords.  Way too funny!

We drove to Arusha, checked into the same safari lodge, had our showers and met for a very delicious dinner.  The food tasted so good after being on the mountain for 9 days!  The hotel chef, Aud (pronounced “ott”) prepared a birthday cake for Michael.  He and his entire kitchen staff came out and sang an African birthday wish.  It was a great evening.

At the beginning of our mountain food seemed so good, but after about 4 to 5 days, the soup was getting harder to handle.  They spiced it up a lot.  We had so many variations of soup!  I wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for Wally and Rox sharing their Prilosec and taking bismuth tablets.

I would get so hungry after hiking, but also dreaded eating for fear of the painful heartburn, indigestion and nausea.

Joan and I were up VERY late after Erika and Lema explained that our next two days of safari were in the Ngorongoro Crater at an elevation of 10,000 foot.  I recalled the nasty weather at Mweka Camp at that same elevation.

All of our warm clothes were wet from the rain.  As earlier instructed, we had packed shorts and t-shirts expecting warm weather on the safari.  So, we borrowed a hairdryer from the front desk.  And, after getting a hotel engineer to help us with an electrical problem, we started drying our clothes.  We finished drying the clothes around 2:00am. 

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Thursday, July 31, 2008 – Day 13

Up and at ‘em – we were dressed, packed and out of our room by 6:30am.  We had 4 hours of sleep.  We joined everyone for breakfast at 7:00am.  We had our luggage separated in the lobby and loaded up the trucks.

We drove to the Tarangire National Park for our safari adventure.  We saw lots of animals including zebra, elephant, giraffe, impala, gazelle, monkeys, wildebeest, etc. 

We spent about half a day here and had lunch with the blue-ball, vervet monkey.   They would beg for food and tried to get into the land cruisers through the open roofs.  Charles scared them away!

We continued our ride to the Ngorongoro crater rim campsite.  Along the way, Lema’s truck had a brake failure.  We had to stop, load extra people from Charles’ truck and send them back to pick up Lema’s passengers (or as Erika called us, Wageni’s or ‘guests’).  Lema was to join us the following morning.

By the time we arrived at the campsite, set up by the Maasai, it was dark and cold.  Our tents were beautiful.  We had a queen bed with a “bathroom” with a chemical toilet and shower stall.   Our dinner “mess hall” was lovely.  They had china, silverware, crystal and served soda, beer, and wine.  We had tilapia for dinner.  It was like fine dining!  Now this is how camping should be!

They took our shower orders after dinner.  Anyone was welcome to shower that night or the following morning.  Basically, the porters would heat water and fill a 5 gallon bucket outside the tents.  The shower head worked by pulling on a chain to open the valve.  It was much too cold to shower at night, so we requested a hot water bottle to slip into our bed under the fleece blankets to warm our toes.

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Friday, August 1, 2008 – Day 14

We woke to Erika who said that our shower was getting ready to use soon.  We were tent # 2.  It appeared they were going in order of the tent numbers.  So, I took a “sailor’s shower” – where you get wet, lather, then rinse to save water.    With the three porters standing outside of my shower window, I stood there naked.  I got wet, lathered, and tried to rinse but the tubing for the bucket had a kink.  The porters tried to get it to work for almost 5 minutes as I stood there freezing with soap in my hair and eyes.  Oh yes, the joys of camping!  The truth is – that it added to the overall adventure!  This doesn’t happen at home!

After the ‘fun’ shower, we had another delicious meal.  We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and coffee.  Yum!

Off to the Ngorongoro Crater, but with a supposedly short stop at the Misigyio Primary school.  We stopped to drop off our donated supplies and met the headmaster, Mr. Hussein Issa Hango and the founder and chairman of the school, and also the chief of the local Maasai tribe, Sanguyan Oledorop.  He was dressed in a beautiful outfit with jewelry hanging from the outer edge of his pierced ears.

We discussed the Misigyio School being the recipient of Joseph’s Boy Scout eagle project and explained that the donations today were from both the Annunciation Catholic Church and the Epiphany Catholic Church.

The kids, Ben, Joe, Mike, Josh, Nick and Nate played soccer with the boys.  Later, the girl’s team came out to a second field and played a different form of soccer called netball.  They would bounce the ball; step once and pivot on one foot and either pass or shoot into a hoop mounted high like a basketball hoop but it was much more difficult to put the ball through because there was no backboard.  It was more like basketball than soccer.  Joan joined Nikki, Kris and Jackie playing with the Maasai school girls.

We had a terrific time and stayed much longer than planned.  We met with almost all the students.  We shook their hands and took many photos.  They treated us like celebrities.  It was heart warming to feel their love and need for friendship.  I’m sure Joseph will be much more motivated to help them after meeting and playing with the kids.

We said goodbye to the kids and Erika told Chief Oledorop that we would send a car for him to join us for dinner later that evening.  Erika had something in store for us later that evening!

We drove onto the Ngorongo Crater – which took almost a 1 ½ hours to descend down from the crater rim.  The road was steep and narrow with edges that dropped hundreds of feet.  One wrong turn it would certainly be fatal.

Upon entering the crater, it was flat and level.  We saw so many animals.   Zebras were so common here sitting alongside the wildebeest.  We saw ostrich, hyena, leopard, cheetah, lion, wart hog, rhinoceros, elephant, pink flamingo, gazelle, cervil cat, hippo pool (about 60 hippos).

We ate lunch and decided to continue, when we got to see two lionesses eating a warthog.  One of the female cats was purring and kneading her paws as she also crunched and ripped off the warthog’s head!  Wally also pointed out that many animals were at our campsite.   On the drive down, we saw a small family of 7 giraffes just a few feet from our campsite.

Our drivers were great to point out the animals and explain things.  They showed us the Acacia and Baobab trees.  The giraffes eat the leaves of the Acacia tree using their very long tongues, working around the sharp 4 to 5 inch thorns.  The elephants use their tusks to scrape the bark from the baobab tree to extract the moisture during droughts.  They tell us that the tree heals quickly.

Upon returning to camp, we took another shower while it was warmer.  I had another shower incident, however.  I hardly used any water, but seemed to run out.  I was wet, with soap in my eyes yelling for the porters.  Everyone was calling me the maniac!

As Erika had planned with Chief Oledorop, a bunch of teenage Maasai tribe came up to present a ritual courting dance.  They were all dressed in bright colors and jewelry.  The women wore a large, wide brimmed beaded collar at the top of their outfits.  The young men and women would sing a lovely tune while each man took a turn jumping as high as possible to impress the women.  It was implied that the women would select the strongest, fittest suitor.   The man would then determine the value of his bride and present a dowry of animals to her parents.  It was a lot of fun.

The Chief also brought a goat and smoked it on the fire.  We all tried the goat as an appetizer.  I found it to be very chewy and loaded with fat.  The skin tasted good though, much like chicken skin cooked crisp. (Note from bil: Our kids were reluctant to try it at first but, once they did, they loved it and it all disappeared rapidly.) The Chief and his son, Naita, stayed for dinner while the other tribe members went back home.  We ate a beef cubed stew with two types of rice along with mixed vegetables for dinner.

Tired, we all went to bed early.

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Saturday, August 2, 2008 – Day 15

We woke a bit later today, had a leisurely breakfast, loaded into the trucks and stopped for shopping on our way to the airport.

As we drove by the Misigyio School, Erika radioed to our car to stop.  Naita, Oledorop’s son, had a gift he wanted to give to Joseph.  He ran after our truck and met up with Joseph.  Naita gave Joseph a giraffe necklace and Joseph gave him his wristwatch.  They got a picture together and shared a handshake and hug.  It was wonderful to see this!  Joseph and he had met the night before and seemed to connect even though they don’t speak the same language.

On Friday, our driver, Gerald, gave us a lesson on the Maasai people.  He said that as you look at a Maasai property, each hut represents a wife.  There is also a logical order for the huts and the order of the wives.  He told us that the women must build their own hut.  He said that both men and women are circumcised traditionally.  Most household and farming duties are the responsibility of the women.  We did see that the men take care of the animals.  Most kids walk 2 hours to and from school.  We passed many people walking on the road who obviously have walked for miles and miles. 

As we drove back to Arusha, we passed through thick fog.  Our sharp driver, Richard, avoided a crash with an on-coming bus around a narrow curve along the dark red clayed road. If we had crashed we could have dropped off the cliff and into the crater.

We stopped briefly to see a large family of baboons.  One large male was trying to mate with a female who apparently didn’t have the same interest. 

We stopped at a couple of road side shops.  The shops were very rough, dirt floored.   I purchased a belt, wooden giraffe and some paintings.  We stopped in Arusha at a coffee shop to purchase local coffee beans for gifts for home.  We learned that Starbucks owns acres and acres of land near the Tarangire State Park.  We passed these fields earlier on our trip.

Off to the airport to meet Lema and Allan who had our large luggage bags.  We checked in through immigration and loaded onto our plane for Dar es Salaam, then onto Amsterdam, Detroit and home, Orlando.   We bid farewell to everyone in Amsterdam as we went on our separate flights. 

We thanked Bill over and over again for his generosity and sharing this incredible adventure.  I trust that it has opened Joseph and Michael’s eyes and that it might make them hungry to visit other countries and learn more about different cultures.

Michael got one more thrill as we loaded the plane in Amsterdam, the flight attendant offered Michael and I to visit the upstairs of the plane.  I’ve never been in a two story plane, so I was thrilled at the opportunity.   We went up a narrow stair case to another smaller level with first class seats and a small galley.  The pilot’s cockpit was on this level and the pilots invited Michael to come visit with them.  The captain asked Michael to sit in his seat and he told me to run down and get my camera!  Michael was in his glory!  We of course, were still on the ground, parked in the gate – we didn’t endanger the other passengers!   It’s a shame – Joseph was sleeping and missed this!

Our flight home was great – the service was as wonderful as the flight out.  We had a 6 hour delay in Detroit.  Joan wasn’t feeling well so while she rested at the gate, Joseph, Michael and I caught a taxi and went to a movie theater to watch Batman – The Dark Knight!  The kids were definitely happy to back in the U.S. with our luxury amenities!