home safe

Well it's been a bit of a crazy week but I am finally home - very tired. Will start updating tomorrow - took lots of notes and pictures.

safe and sound

For those of you who don't have acess to my facebook accont. Just returned from mountain- made it to the top (without Diamox) - hardest thing I have ever done. Great experience. Jim, I thought of you at the top when I was delirious with exhaustion and lack of oxygen! lol. Feet and lips ripped to shreds.

Safari tomorrow. Will update from Amsterdam on Wed.

Arusha 2

I am in an internet shop in downtown Arusha. The speed is a lot faster thank god. After I met with Peter, one of my neighbours came over to chat with me. His group had just returned from the same route with the same company. They were from the UK. The three of them walked me into town. It does take me a bit to "acclimitatize" to a new place. They warned me about the hawkers and indeed they are ferocious. I have one watching the shop for me when I come out, lol. It goes against my nature to be rude but one has to be.

My new friends also advised me about tipping. I am in big doo-doo about the tips. They said they each put in $250USD. They had a slightly smaller group than mine but not by much. I had budgeted and taken $75 as that is what the book suggested. Tips always turn out to be more than what you thought - this happened in Peru too. Apparently the book is way off. So I will have to go get more money from the ATM and they will have to get schillings. Of course I forgot my cheat sheet (have I mentioned how bloody disorganized I am for this trip?) at the hotel so when confronted with do you want to take out 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 or some other amount?, I was not sure. I took out 100,000 and looking it up now on the net, that turns out to be $67 Canadian dollars - oof. So I have to go back.

I'll have a quick look about if I can escape my stalker and then spend the rest of the day resting/packing/sorting at the hotel. I really wanted to buy some Kilimanjaro coffee and a tshirt but it's looking tricky. There is no "tourist section" (as far as I can tell) where you can find things easily. Traffic is crazy (cross at your own risk) and the sidewalks are a mess. I'll try to get some pictures.

I have a briefing at 6 tonight where hopefully I'll get the stuff I rented. Departure is at 7:30 tomorrow morning, likely on the same bus we all came in on from the airport. It's about 5-6 hours of travel to the start of the trek as it's near the Kenyan border around the other side. It's market day Saturday so hopefully I'll see lots as we drive through the villages.

I will try for a brief "hi I'm still alive" post Friday night from the hotel before heading out on the safari Saturday morning. I'm taking notes to jog my memory and will fill this in later at home with pics.

So far, so good. Other than the hawker and the money issues, everything is going well and I am enjoying myself immensely. Forgot to say I saw 2 cats at the airport running about outside. Took that to be a good omen. Didn't expect to see any except for the big ones, of course. lol.

Ok off. Hope I can find my way home!

Arusha

I am in Arusha on the slowest computer I have ever seen. Arrived around 11:30pm last night - toast. Bag came through - met some people in my group - 2 of them were not so lucky. Got some sleep on the plane - scored 3 seats in a row.

Sheila, you were asking how hard it was to meet people travelling as a single person. I picked a couple from The Netherlands this morning at breakfast and just asked them for advice. People tend to be very forthcoming.

The Outpost is basic but okay. (ie. There is a bed and hot water) Everyone was dropped off before me and I had to laugh. The first hotel was gorgeous, far from town, lovely landscaping, guests met with cold drink, you get the picture. Road horrendous. Then was a hotel a step down, another nice looking place but still far from town and the road bad. My hotel is about 15 min from town and the road was smooth.

I'm meeting Peter to pay my safari deposit shortly. I've locked up all my extra money, passport and ticket in the hotel safe which is a cupboard with a huge padlock. Then I'll likely head into town after lunch to change some money and buy some water. I am very thirsty - should have packed a large bottle in Amsterdam. Hopefully I'll be able to find an internet cafe with faster access so I can read my email and go thru the arduous security questions facebook asks when you travel to confirm your identity. It would take days on this computer.

Amsterdam

Only have 26 minutes left on my internet access so typing as fast as I can. Flight booked solid - no sleep - biggest plane I've ever been on (3 seats, 4 seats, 3 seats). Enjoyed the company of two women from Kenya who said I would "be very welcome in Africa." Taking that as a good omen. Good food, free booze, personal screens. Forgot how my legs go crazy on long flights so spent time walking around while most slept.

Flight very fast - 6.5 hours. Landed early so entered the country so could have a smoke outside. :) Had my passport stamped going in and leaving which I thought very funny given it was all in the space of one hour! Glancing into the shops and seeing flowers for sale makes me think I will love this city. Also saw train station where I will go when I pass thru next time - great airport. Found grocery store in mall adjoining airport - bought bananas, a roll and a small pack of cheese. I am lost re the euro as my cheet sheets are in the bottom of my knapsack which is stuffed to the gills so have spent $20 on that!

Feel tired but ok considering it is about 3 am in Toronto. Leaving for Kilimanjaro in 2 hours. Gate changed - lucky I checked, but after missing a flight am now slightly paranoid.

Money belt a pain in the... now carrying three currencies, an interac card and 2 visas. Will be happy to unload some of it into the hotel safe and just deal with one currency.

Will update from Arusha, likely Friday.

time difference

Arusha, Tanzania is 7 hours ahead of Toronto. So please send positive vibes my way Thursday, Sept. 23 around suppertime YYZ time - that's when I'll be starting out on my "summit attempt".

leaving today

So here I am at 10am with just the last bits to shove into my knapsack, the floor to mop, clothes to change. I think I can manage "all" that in the next 3 1/2 hours! lol.

I slept through the night but woke at 4:30. Strange how even tho I am dead excited about this trip, I prolonged getting going and lay there for a while. I think it's because I am rather nervous now the day is finally here. I'll settle as soon as I get on the plane. It still feels a bit unreal.

A mad rush this morning though - to the Y to say bye to Bob who is running his first half marathon while I am away and to Euleen who was very reassuring. I also weighed myself as I heard a rumour one may lose up to 10 pounds on this trek! Then to the bank to take out cat sitting money and more money to change into US. An hour of panic when I could not find a second down mitt while packing. Much downloading of podcasts - TEDTalks, Moth stories and all the news - and recharging of camera batteries. Then cleaning - it's now okay to my standards at least. Bye to my elderly neighbours. The cats are all hiding except for Grace who is sleeping as per usual. I can't shake the feeling I've forgotten something.

I'm taking the ttc route to the airport - $3 instead of $60! - but will take a cab home as I predict I'll be all done in and anxious to get home.

Total travel time from Toronto Airport to Kilimanjaro Airport: 26 hours and 30 minutes. Total flying distance: 12,909 kms.

US dollars

Damm. Knew I should have done this sooner. I just sat down and worked out the tips for the trek and the safari, plus the US dollars for the rental of down sleeping bag ($4 a day), down jacket ($4 a day) and poles ($2 a day) and of course I don't have enough small US bills. I thought $50 would be enough but the trek tips alone eat that up. So I'll have to run to the bank first thing tomorrow and see if I can get more.

finally!

The last two days of work have been absolutely crazy. Nuf said. I am finally on vacation!

Still haven't packed, written my cat notes or cleaned the house. Discovered on Monday I had lost my money belt. Thankfully Cindy had one as I'll be carrying $1,000USD on me. Once at the hotel, of course it will all go in the safe.

Physically I am completely exhausted. Mentally I am excited and determined to soak in every moment of this trip.

Weekend to End Women's Cancers

Cindy walked in the Weekend so I got a lot of training in! Saturday, walked total of 15k and Sunday, accompanied her all day (26k) carrying her knapsack with the supplies she needed. It was a very emotional experience and I am so glad I went and was able to share some of it with her and with Rishika and with the rest of the team.

gaiters galore

Today I was at the Y as usual and was surprised to find Jim and Euleen waiting for me after spin class. Both had brought gaiters. Jim had gone so far as to go down to mec and buy new laces; Euleen had come by the Y specially to drop her's off for me. I felt a bit overwhelmed by their generosity. I don't know them that well. It's been a real struggle to find everything I need and a lot of scurrying about but they made this particular item easy and I am very grateful. So if you're reading this, thank you.

thoughts - one week to go

Oh my god, oh my god, can I go now??? Oh my god, oh my god, I don't have this and I need more of that and oh crikey, I still need to pick that up from so and so. I can't go now. Oh my god, oh my god, what was I thinking? I'm going to climb Africa's highest mountain. Oh my god, oh my god, yes, dammit I am. And even if I'm puking and crying from exhaustion, whatever is thrown at me, I'm going to love every minute (except for the flying part of course, which I will still hate).

long flights, old school

I just noticed that my flights with KLM (ranging from 7.5 hours to 10 hours) don't all have seat tvs. They are in the process of working their way through the fleet to rectify this. I have been so spoilt by Air Canada! I expect I'll be quite tired anyway and can sleep just about anywhere but I was looking forward to watching some European film. My god, I'll have to read!

Actually I think I'll take a few books but download podcasts onto my old iPod. Who knows I might return ready for level 2 Spanish! Tho that might be rather annoying for the people around me to listen to... uno dos tres...

safari booked

Last night I finalized arrangements with Peter Tours for the safari. In the end, I decided to go cheaper, with a group rather than on my own. Tho when we meet, I will ask about how many in the group and say 2 others would be fine with me. He is coming to the Outpost on Friday, Sept. 17 to pick up his deposit ($300 USD cash) and to drop off a sleeping bag for me to use. I pay the guide the rest when he comes to pick me up on the 25th. I feel very relieved that the safari part is now sorted.

I am sorry things didn't work out with Amanda and African Scenic Safaris. They would be great for someone with a little more flexibility in their plans.

Amani Children’s Home

One of the things I wish I could have fit in was a visit to the Amani Children’s Home in Moshi.

Amani Children’s Home is dedicated to the protection of Tanzania’s most vulnerable population: street-children and AIDS orphans. It is estimated that there are 2.5 million orphaned children in Tanzania.

Since its founding by Tanzanians in 2001, Amani has rescued hundreds of children from the perils of life on the streets, where they face a high risk of HIV transmission, malnutrition, and abuse.

Visitors are invited to take a tour of Amani and learn more about our programs within the community. Afterwards you can spend time with the children, kicking around a soccer ball, coloring or playing games.

Amani deeply appreciates the desire to bring supplies for the children. Most items that the kids need can be purchased locally quite cheaply. However, there are always some supplies that cannot be purchased in Tanzania.

I checked the bus schedule but it just doesn't work. Moshi is 1.5 hours away from Arusha.

new safari options

Two emails this morning, one from Sunny Safaris and one from Peter Tours. Both have similiar itineraries. To be fair, I filled in a form on Sunny's website rather than write out an email with all my questions which may have affected the response which was to quote prices for 2 people/4 people only.

Peter Tours is run by a local man who came up through the Kili ranks - porter - guide. I get a good feeling from his email. He is offering a private safari for $1400 USD (cheap!) or a group of 4 for $680 USD p/p. How I wish I could find one other person and pay something in between so we're not crammed into the jeep. The drawbacks of being a solo traveller!

Anyway, it's a load off my mind to have a new plan. I tossed and turned last night. I'm sure it is easy to find a safari in one day in Arusha but I didn't want to do that - apparently sellers hound you relentlessly as you walk down the street. How to judge the company on the fly? It would be lousy to end up with a bad experience.

Amsterdam - alt.cruise

With the safari portion on hold, I've been looking at Amsterdam more. I don't think I'll have time for this as you can't book ahead and the spaces fill up quickly but it looks lovely.

The St. Nicolaas Boat Club of Amsterdam is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic boats on the Amsterdam canals.

Founded in 1997, the stichting (non-profit club) has given boat rides to thousands of people. This is a unique opportunity to see Amsterdam from the perspective of a historic open-air tuindersvlet. These boats were traditionally used to carry agricultural products to markets. They were also used as general barges to shuttle materials around cities.

time considerations

Note to people considering this trip or something similiar: I've made my schedule too tight. I only have 2 weeks' vacation a year so it had to be so. The thought was that I would be able to confirm everything before I left. I heard back from Amanda today (her previous email had gotten lost, apparently, and as she's been prompt in responding 6 times before, I believe her). She won't perhaps be able to confirm until about 4 days before the safari is supposed to leave. The trouble with that is I'm on my trek then and have to check out of my hotel the morning after I return. Most people seem to book the shorter safaris when they arrive, much I did for my day trips in Cusco. It would have been better to have either 2 days in Arusha before the trek or a day after the trek to cover "emergencies" like this.

So now I'm scrambling. I did some more research and came up with Sunny Safaris which is a larger operation located in Arusha. They have an identical trip so emailed them for a quote and more information. I've also contacted Peter Tours, which I found through the Lonely Planet Forums.

Nothing like adrenalin to get you moving! I also posted a "looking for travel companions" note on TravBuddy.com, Lonely Planet and twitter.

I emailed Amanda back - she responded immediately - and here are my choices:
If we do not find anyone we can definitely organize a private safari just for yourself. This is however much more expensive as there is no one to help split up the costs. You're looking at USD$1900 for the 4 day safari [vs. my initial $590USD if jeep is full]

Let us know if you want to confirm the trip, even if, worst case scenario we do not find others. The other option is we keep looking, if not successful by the time you get to Arusha you can ask around there, then last case scenario we confirm a private safari just for yourself.

I think I'll stall for a few days to see what the other two companies have to say and then make a decision.

anti-malaria pills and Diamox

I have to start my anti-malaria pills (22 pills for $131.11) one week before I leave so picked them up with the Diamox ($12.20 for 10 250mg pills). The pharmacist said I might experience "vivid" dreams as a side effect. Good ones or bad ones?, I asked. A mixture he cautiously replied.

I gulped a bit when paying. Between vaccinations and medications I estimate I have spent about $400 just on reducing my risk of getting ill. It reminded me of how lucky I am, one to have such easy access and to be able to afford these shots and pills and two, to live in a country where the bite of a mosquito is an irritant and nothing more.

how does this thing work?

Last night I picked up my friend Heather's ski pants and 2 litre platypus. Of course as soon as I got home, I wanted to test my new water system so I went to the sink and filled it with water. Some weird gauze stuff floated by inside - oops, that must have been part of the packaging. I shove it into my new knapsack to see if it fits properly in the provided pouch and it does and everything seems beautiful. Then I think I should see how the tube works because I've never used one before. I suck hard on the tube. I bite the tube. I hold the bag as high over my head as possible thinking maybe it's a gravity thing. Then I get my reading glasses and look at the instructions. I lift the valve to open it. Progress but still no water. I'm thinking how hard do I have to suck on this thing and at high altitude too? I'm about to cut a hole in the tube as I can't see where the water is to come out when suddenly I realize I've been sucking on the cap that covers the nozzle. Oi. Water flows freely.

What can I say? I'm hopelessly un-mechanical. And hey it does work now, which is the important thing. I'm going to properly test it this Saturday on a 17k hike.

thoughts - 2 weeks to go

People ask me if I'm excited about this trip. Of course I am. It is the trip of a lifetime. If I had time, I would spend all day reading blogs about the mountain and watch YouTube videos until I could recognize from the scenery which route people were on.

The reality is I have a mountain of work to get through before I leave. And I am extremely stressed because I know however many notes I send, it will be chaos while I'm away. I'm not even sure I have enough time to write all the notes! But there is an end in sight and it's coming up quickly. Once I leave for the airport, I'll not care one bit. I'll probably even have a good chuckle about it.

After two false starts, my friend Cindy's surgery was finally scheduled for Sept. 22 when I will be completely inaccessible - day 4 of the trek. I had a premonition this would happen. If I had a premonition, you ask, why did I not reschedule sooner? I'm asking myself that same question. I feel very badly that I will not be there for her. I'm upset I will not know anything for 4 days.

I'm worried I have underestimated the mountain and not trained enough. I keep reading about marathoners finding it hard. But I also read about it not being about fitness levels but taking it slowly - pole, pole - and hydrating, eating, etc.

I'm stressed because I haven't heard a peep back from the safari people who have been so prompt in responding up until now when I need them to give me a final price and say "okay we're picking you up on Sept 25". I don't want to have to scurry around when I get to Arusha to find another safari weeding through all the street hawkers. I only have one jet-lagged day there and just want to relax. I considered changing my flight and either spending more time in Amsterdam or (gasp) coming back early if they don't come through. In the end, I decided to give them until Friday night and if they don't respond, ask Henry to arrange a private safari. I'm not happy about the extra expense as it will be about 3 times what I expected to pay going with a group but I'll never be in Tanzania again. So I'll just have to suck it up.

But yes, I am excited. lol.