altitude sickness

One obviously has to be reasonably fit to hike anywhere 5-18 hours per day for 8 days; it is altitude sickness which most often forces people to turn back. I will be crushed if I have to do that.

The highest I've ever been is Dead Woman's Pass on the Inca Trail: 4,200 metres. I felt fine at that. We pass that level before the end of day 3. Kilimanjaro's highest peak is 5895 metres.

I've been reading a lot about Diamox and have decided to take it in preventative measures rather than if I begin to experience any uncomfortable symptons. There's a cut-off period where if you haven't taken it already, you can't start so it seems a bit risky to me. Apparently it makes you pee more. As I already have to get up twice in the night, I am seriously considering a women's pee funnel!

Amsterdam

I hate to dwaddle on my way home but a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam seemed to be messaging me "go into the city and check it out for crying out loud." I also thought if that damm volcano popped again, at least I would have a bed. So I booked one night at the Hotel Brouwer:

Located on the Singel canal in the heart of old Amsterdam, the hotel has been run by the Brouwer family since 1917. The historic building, dating from 1652, recently underwent a four year renovation to restore it to its orignial 17th century splendor.

I sure hope the view from my window looks like this:



And I also hope I am awake enough to soak it all in.

It is walkable from the train station and has good reviews on TripAdvisor.com. I was surprised when I was able to reserve with a single email - no deposit required.

I am making the train station my "base" for this short stopover. I'll be coming in from the airport and going back out again through there (20 minutes, ticket $5.80 one way). It'll be a bit of a rush but really there's only 3 things I want to do there: a bike tour, as Amsterdam is the city of bikes, the canal tour and of course because I love trams, ride a tram somewhere.

Getting around Amsterdam

In July 2008, the Dutch national railways (NS) and the public transport company of Amsterdam (GVB) started to sell a new ticket at the airport Schiphol. The Amsterdam All in one ticket is specially developed for people visiting Amsterdam and arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This ticket consists of a return trip from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam together with a 24-, 48-, 72- or 96 hours ticket for unlimited travel on the GVB network in Amsterdam includng the nightbusses which are normally € 3,50 one way. Prices for the Amsterdam All in one tickets are:-

Prices 2010
24 hours € 13.20
48 hours € 17.25
72 hours € 20.85
96 hours € 24.45

The Ticket is only sold at the Airport at the Holland Tourist Information desk.

reality cheque

Today I received my Paypal invoice from Climb Kilimanjaro. I planned this entire trip out on a whim - well I'll climb this way, and oh maybe see some lions over here for a few days, and hmmm maybe a day or two in Amsterdam might be nice - and then wham! the first bill comes.

It took me a few minutes to actually click "Send". Did I really want to do this trip? Could I see myself at the top of the mountain by that sign? Should I buy insurance first? And then I thought what the hell else are you going to do this year? Send.

It still feels like a bit of a dream. I said to a friend that paying online for things, moving money around, doesn't register the same way pulling cash out of your wallet does.

unique route

I did a lot of reading before deciding on a route up Kilimanjaro. There are 5 main routes, some more crowded than others (one is even called the Coca-Cola route as there are "stores" along the way!), some more scenic than others and one has huts instead of camping. I chose the Rongai route as it is the most remote (it takes up to 6 hours driving on bumpy roads to get to the beginning of the trek), has the best chance of seeing wildlife and is the only route that goes up the mountain one side and down another.

Henry Stedman, author of Kilimanjaro: Trekking Africa's Highest Mountain, and a few other companies have come up with a "Unique" Rongai Route that allows for better acclimization. I'm all for anything which helps my chances to reach the summit.

Of course the "Unique" part appeals to me too. It goes against my nature to do something everyone else is doing, lol.