Kilimanjaro Climb for Kids

Amani - Day 13 (Sept 13, 2009) A Final Act....

2009-10-08T11:15:00.012-04:00

For my last day at Amani, I would spend it hanging out with the kids and helping out in the kitchen. I promised the Amani kids I would do another magic show yesterday so when I arrived, many of them surrounded me and kept repeating “mazingaumbwe.” My answer was “Soon, soon”. (I didn’t know this in Swahili, but they got the picture.) Joe and I wanted to make sure all of the kids were available so they could all see it together. I realized today that these kids love to imitate. Recently, Joe got a great deal for bringing them all to the circus. When they got back, they formed a club where they all practice tumbling and handstands. You can see in a couple of pics where they are practicing their circus maneuvers and some of them are really good! I’ll have to add that to my Outlook calendar. :-) So, after seeing my show yesterday, a couple of them came up to me today and tried to imitate my “mazingaumbwe”. One kid tried the coin disappearing trick with a leaf. Another got a small piece of paper, tore it in half, and gave it to me to magically put back together. It was pretty funny. That whole morning, I hung out with them in the main play area and participated in their banter until lunch.

I wanted to help out anyway I could so I thought some assistance in the kitchen would be a nice way to lend a hand. Amani is incredibly efficient with the way everything is run. Nothing goes to waste, including leftover food scraps which are collected and sold to a pig farm. And if you were wondering about cleanliness, everyone must wash their hands before touching food. I was assigned to do the chopping with a couple of the kids. Each of us had these big (very dull) knives to chop these leafy greens to go into the stew they were making; this image alone would make most parents freak out. But around here, that’s how things get done, as everyone participates without being asked. There aren’t a lot of adults here to monitor them on the weekends, so the bigger kids help out with the younger ones. Again you also have to remember these kids survived on the streets. They’re smart and they’re survivors.

During lunch, everyone sets up dining tables. Systematically, each table gets up one at a time to grab a plate of ugali (mashed corn – tastes like mashed potatoes), beans (just arrived!!) and vegi meat dish (it was suggested that I don't eat any of the meat – I didn’t ask why) and then go back to their tables, say a prayer and begin eating (with no utensils, just their hands). One of the youngest kids at Amani who is six sat next to Joe and me while we ate. I listened as Joe asked him how his weekend going in Swahili. I couldn’t follow too much of the conversation after that, but I could tell the little guy liked being near us. :-)

After lunch, they were giving out awards for (I think) good behavior (although I really couldn’t understand what they were saying). Note to self: I need to learn the language a bit better before coming out. It‘s not a difficult language, just takes a bit of time to pick up the structure. During this little gathering, they let me be part of their meeting like I was one of them. It was so cool that they started accepting me, as you can see in a couple shots. It was kind of surreal. I’m in Tanzania, hanging out with these children like we were in my own back yard. But that’s not what I’ll most remember about this trip. After they presented the cookie “awards,” one of the kids broke his cookie in half and offered it to me. Wow! That just blew me away. These kids have nothing, yet they are so gracious. Amazing! I said “Asante sana” but told him that he earned it and that he should get to eat it himself (don’t think he understood a word I was saying, but I think he got the message).

Up until this point the kids were anticipating the next magic show and they had many requests this time around. :-) The show would be held in one of the classrooms where we could kind of control the surrounding kids’ vantage points. However, it didn’t really matter because once the show started, there were kids viewing from the outside window, all around and even underneath the table (Got this whole thing on video; sorry no pictures). One thing this reinforced with me was how smart they are as some of them had some of my tricks figured out. Or maybe it was just because I hadn’t practiced enough. ;-) Anyway, the highlight of the show was the sponge ball routine (info: this is where you place a ball in your hand and one in theirs, you open up your hand and both appear in their hand – you keep doing this until there are like 6 balls popping out of their hand). I had them rolling on this one. It was awesome! Me and my bag of tricks in Africa! I’ll never forget it.

I left at the end of the day, and said my good byes. It was good in a way that my visit was so short because I can’t imagine trying to leave this place after developing connections with these wonderful children. My goal is to continue helping this organization from home, however I can and plan to one day come back and possibly teach one of their classes. Joe and his staff were amazing and so gracious, and I will never forget this experience. The little bit of money my family and friends helped me raise made a real impact at Amani. I’d like to end my last post on the last day of my Tanzanian trek with a bit of paraphrasing from the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson – “The difference you and I made here we made with something almost worthless in our society – a few dollars, but here, these dollars can move mountains.” Thanks all for following me on my journey.

Asante sana.

Amani - Day 12 (Sept 12, 2009) A Truck Load to Deliver

2009-10-03T19:09:00.020-04:00

Thanks for your patience everyone. My schedule has been crazy since being back and I'm now just getting back to working on the blog again. I also have to apologize for all the grammar and typos as I have been at a rush to get these posts out. This blog is a bit of a work in progress and I hope to continue to edit the posts once I get all of the pictures and video loaded. Enjoy.

The next and final part of my journey in Africa had me excited and somewhat nervous as I really didn't know what to expect. With your help, I was able to raise $700 to give directly to the Amani children. Pretty cool, huh? So I would like to thank you all for supporting this effort. There are so many great charities out there and very worthwhile causes you could have donated to instead of this one, so I appreciate every dollar you contributed. The great thing about doing this is that I'm able to check out the home first hand and get to see how the organization is run. Most of the time you don’t get to see how your money was used or how efficiently it was spent or see the benefits of a donation. This experience allowed me to capture that information and show it all to you first hand.

As I arrived in Moshi and at Amani, there didn’t seem to be anyone around as I walked from the front and around to the back where I saw many kids playing and a couple who greeted me in Swahili. At this moment, I felt like I was a new kid at school on his first day. But this was the weekend, and there were only a couple of counselors there when I arrived. I eventually found my way to Mr. Rogasian who is the essential support coordinator at Amani and would be there to give me some background until Joe arrived.

The Amani Children’s home was created in September 2001 by three local Tanzanians who saw the need to start a home for street children who have been surviving on the streets of Moshi town. They rented a two-bedroom house and opened their doors to 6 children who had no where else to go. Over the past decade, the number of children living on the streets of Tanzania has grown rapidly due to the effects of poverty, HIV/AIDS, breakdown of the family, and other factors. The home was called “Amani,” which means “peace” in Swahili. For the hundreds of children who have been helped by Amani since its inception in 2001, Amani has truly been a haven of peace. In the beginning, there was only one bed and a couple of foam mattresses. Now, through the hard work of a few dedicated individuals, Amani is home to 150 children at any given time where they provide food, medical care, education, counseling, and assistance reuniting them with their families. If you would like to find out more about this remarkable organization, please visit their website at www.amanikids.org.

My purpose this weekend was to help in any way I could and to learn more about the organization where I would be volunteering. Joe Ventura, who is the communications coordinator, had been a great resource for me to communicate with and coordinate my visit. After my arrival, Joe gave me a tour of the home and introduced me to Mr. Kulwa who was responsible to maintaining all food supplies. Since 2001, Amani has become more and more self sufficient by growing their own corn and planting vegetables in their local garden. However, they still need essentials that they can’t provide on their own such as Rice, Beans, Sugar and cooking oil. Joe informed me that because the majority of their monthly budget goes to food, this purchase would be the best use and most beneficial way to help the children. So, Mr. Kulwa and I took a taxi to the market place in Moshi and we bargained for the best price for as much food as we could buy with $700 (converted to shillings). We had to rent a truck to carry it all back with us to Amani and as you can see, we got a truck load!

Back at the home, a few of the kids came to help unload all of the rice bags. They were quite heavy and I was surprised that some of the kids were able carry them on their own. You can see everyone helping out in the photos. While we were unloading, they told me they were so happy to have this food come to them now as supplies were getting low. I couldn’t have come at a better time as they were literally down to two bags of rice. They were so incredibly grateful for what they were receiving and continually thanked me for my help. What I later found out is that the amount of food we bought will feed 93 children for two whole months! That’s pretty amazing, considering how much food they go through each day, and a tribute to the way Mr. Kulwa was able to stretch every dollar. I have to tell you all that it felt amazing! Thank you again to everyone who contributed. This was definitely the best part of my entire trip and a great way to cap off my final two days.

Before I left the US, Joe asked me if there was anything I wanted to do with the kids while I was there. It could be anything -- helping teach class, playing games, music, sports or whatever I could bring to the table. I took the time to learn a little Swahili like: Jambo (hi), Mambo (how are you doing), Poa (fine), Jina lako nani? (What is your name?) to help me communicate a little. But I wanted to give them something that was a little different or entertain them in a way that didn’t require them having to do anything. I just wanted to be there for them. Most people who visit play soccer and basketball and games, which is great, but I wanted to take their minds off their day to day life and show them something a bit different.

In case you don’t know, as a kid I used to perform and compete in magic shows on stage (Yes I know, magic is not cool these days ;-)) and thought the kids might like to see some tricks. Now, I haven’t done any performing since I was 13, so as you can imagine, I was a bit rusty. I was grateful that Barry and his wife from Barry’s Magic shop in Rockville MD hooked me up with a few tricks for the children right before I left the U.S. Hopefully, I’d get my groove back by then and the kids would be entertained.

I didn’t have any idea whether or not the kids would like a magic show, so Joe asked me to go sit at the gazebo after lunch and he would go tell all of the kids in the break room (where they were watching cartoons) if they wanted to come see a magic show. The next image I saw was priceless. I wish I had had my camera while this was happening but there were like 50-60 kids running straight at me full stride to get a good seat. It was hilarious. The word was “Mazingaumbwe” which means Magic. So, being that I didn’t have an extensive Swahili vocabulary, I tried to make do with what I could. The kids were awesome; they were all laughing and saying “do it again” in Swahili. It was so much fun, I can’t really describe it. After that, I felt like they accepted me as part of their group which is pretty amazing after only having been there a day. Tomorrow, I would return and help out in the kitchen, do another show and make some more friends. It gets even better.

Ngorongoro Crater - Day 11 (Sept 11, 2009)

2009-09-27T10:24:00.034-04:00

I booked this safari at the last minute and didn't realize that I would be visiting one of the natural wonders of the world. It turned out to be quite a nice surprise. Just a little background on the crater: The Ngorongoro crater has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Often called "Africa’s Eden", this 10th natural wonder of the world is the natural sanctuary to thousands of birds, insects, and animals such as lions, zebras and black rhino, to name a few. It became a conservation land in 1959 and it covers 8,300 square kilometers or reserve. Located in northern Tanzania, 190 miles from Arusha town, the park is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara. It's also famous for the “largest unbroken Caldera in the world”, a crater 610 meters deep and 260 square kilometers in area.

Ngorongoro is essentially an upside-down volcano that was formed over millions of years. Over time, it produced a natural habitat inside the crater. We spent the night on the crater rim and would spend the following day looking for animals inside this amazing zoo. Our goal up to this point was to capture all of the Big 5 on film. So far, we've captured a lot of elephants, a couple of leopards, one male lion feeding and several female lions. We still needed a good shot of a buffalo, a closer shot of a male lion and the very hard to find rhino. We would not be disappointed.

The day started great as we got fairly close to a leopard, but unfortunately it was not quite the angle I was looking for. Sippy got us real close to another big one as we came across a herd of Buffalo and got a great close up of this ugly beast (see first image). But I still needed a good shot of a male lion as the one I had gotten the other day eating didn't quite have the same Lion King image that I wanted. So, Sippy took us to where they hang out. As we approached this next site, there were about 15 vehicles surrounding about a dozen lionesses and two males that were sleeping. Not very good images to capture but we knew that when it started to heat up during the day, these big suckers would have to get up and move to some shade. So we waited...and waited. (Gawd, they were lazy) :) So after spending over an hour just waiting for these lions to wake up (from the heat), they finally moved and we got the shots we wanted, a lot of them. Now I know how those guys from Discovery Channel feel. :) You'll also notice that in one these shots, several of the younger females came right up to the vehicles and were looking for shade. You see an image of them underneath a couple of the vehicles. Pretty funny.

On the way to having lunch in the crater, we came across a herd of zebra that were blocking our path. It was so cool and their sounds were amazing (I got video of this). There were so many and we needed to go very slow and quietly as to not scare them. Great images! After that, lunch was good and I was pretty satisfied with the whole expedition so far. So we didn't get to see a rhino, big deal. ;-)

After lunch, it seemed we would not find a rhino as anticipated. But on the way out of the crater, we came upon a group of vehicles looking at some wild beast in the distance. What we would soon discover was that there behind them was a single lone rhinocerous! It was a bit far away but he was approaching us at an angle. Sippy got us into position to get a decent shot. And Sippy delivered. This experience was one of the coolest things I have ever done. This is not like a zoo at home because you're out there with them. Just very different and more personal; I would compare it to something like diving where you get into the natural habitat. Very good last day on the safari and well worth it. On the way back to Arusha, I had to jam Diesel and Dust (80s old school) on my iPod which seemed to appropriately set the tone for the week.

On the way back to Arusha, we needed to stop by the crater rim camp site to pick up our gear. While waiting around, we had a guest elephant wander into the campsite. This probably ranks up there with not the smartest thing to do as I later found out that I was standing between the elephant and his drinking tank! The elephant looked like he was going to charge one girl that got a little too close. Luckily, he eventually got to his water (without incident) and from what I understand, he is sort of a friend of the campsite. It was the first time we got that close to a large animal without the vehicle protecting us. Pretty cool way to end the day. My trip was coming close to an end, but not before the main reason why I came to Tanzania. Tomorrow, I would be heading to Amani to visit with the kids.

Game Drive Serengeti - Day 10 (Sept 10, 2009)

2009-09-26T22:02:00.011-04:00

Wow! As I'm writing these blog posts, I'm seeing the images for the first time and I'm blown away at how well some of these came out. The lighting for the rest of the safari is perfect and some of the sunrise pics are almost post card like. I hope you enjoy them. And FYI, I will be eventually posting all my images online if you care to sort through hundreds of images in your spare time. ;-)

Woke up early that morning to go pick up Xander and Sas, catch the morning sun rise, and to see some animal feedings. During the day, it gets pretty hot and many of the Big 5 tend to hide out during the heat. On this day we would start by seeing an amazing sun rise in the desert. This would be followed by many lions (including a male) feeding on a wildebeest. Next we would see some monkeys, some hippo and a cheetah. For now I'm just going to shut up and let you check these out. :-)

We finished the day by driving back to the Ngorongoro crater. We were supposed to spend the night in the tent (where it would get very cold because of the altitude), but we chickened out and got a couple of rooms at the Rhino Lodge along the rim of the crater. Had a great evening next to a fire place and enjoyed yet another typical meal that included Soup. Soup soup soup. I don't think I will be having another bowl of soup for a very long time. ;-)

Drive to Serengeti National Park - Day 9 (Sept 9, 2009)

2009-09-26T16:08:00.009-04:00

This day we would have to drive quite far to the Serengeti National Park. The trip would go up and over the Ngorongoro crater and down onto some rough bumpy dirt roads. Along the way, we would pass by many local tribe folk. One thing that I learned on this day was that the local tribes people don't like their picture taken (unless you offer them money). I always thought these people would be self sufficient and be content living off of the land. Not the case, as we would pass by many of these people sitting on the side of the dirt road with their hands out. Yes, they are asking for money. It's amazing what western civilization has done to these tribes as they now see the value of money to buy material things. One of them even asked us to convert a euro into Tanzanian shillings.

Along the way to our camp site, we drove through the Serengeti to camp amongst the wild animals. Sippy got us pretty damn close to some female tigers and some very cool images of a pack of elephants traveling across the valley. They are so quiet when they walk, you'd think you would hear the sound of all these heavy footsteps but it was as if they had slippers on.

Toward the end of the day, I caught the image of a beautiful sunset in the Africa desert. Quite amazing to see. That night at camp, I had dinner with my new Danish friends I had met the day before. We talked about everything from politics to European culture by candlelight. They were very young (just out of high school), but very knowledgeable about the world. It's a shame more American teenagers don't travel before college, I think it helps put so much into perspective.

Xander and Sas stayed in a hotel that night and didn't want to sleep out in the wild. I can understand that because it was quite possible to have animals wander into the tent area at night looking for food. Since we couldn't build a fire, we were ripe for the picking. All I can say is that it sure made 2AM bathroom breaks interesting. :-)

Lake Manyara - Day 8 (Sept 8, 2009)

2009-09-26T11:27:00.013-04:00

Kilimanjaro was going to be tough act to follow, but a nice easy few days of checking out animals was just what the doctor ordered as my feet were a mess after running down Kili yesterday.

I met my new Safari guide (Sippy) and two new travel companions (Xander and Saskia from Holland) and we were ready for the next stage of this trip. To be honest, I wasn't real excited about this part of my trip, but later this day I would have my eyes wide open to the sites and sounds of the animals in their natural habitat.

First stop was Arusha and the International Conference Center. This building (which I was not allowed to photograph) is where they are holding the Rwanda tribunals for war crimes and is also where the safari (Shidolya Tours) has its main office. After paying the man, and making more friends in the process, we were on our way to our first destination, Lake Manyara.

Stretching for 50 meters along the base of the rusty-gold 600-meter high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. This destination was the perfect beginning to our 4 day excursion as we soon would be in the midst of all kinds of wildlife including a close encounter with an elephant and her baby.

Some background first: I had no idea what to expect out of a safari as all I have seen on TV were Jeeps running through the desert looking for animals. No, most national parks keep everyone on specified trails and you are not allowed to veer off those paths. Mostly for safety purposes but also for preservation of the lands. You would think that this would limit your viewing experience but I would soon find out we would have so much to see (up close) over the next few days. I shot close to a 1000 images (and video) and like Kili, there were too many cool frames to capture. Sippy, our guide, had this sixth sense about where to take us in each park to find the coolest animals. Check out some of the pictures and enjoy.

Of this day, I think the elephant encounter we had was the coolest. Right next to us was this HUGE elephant and her baby and the little one was about to go to town on this tree. I don't know if we got this all on video or not, but the sound of this beast eating branches was amazing. And as it was eating, the branches would brush up against our truck. It was like she was watching us like television as she ate. The baby was just staying close to Mama. The giraffe encounter we had was also pretty cool. The male and female giraffe were just staring at us for the longest time. Not sure if we were more interested in them or they were more interested in us…

During our travels that day, we saw locals herding animals and mostly just walking. The natives don't have cars and many don't even have bicycles. I will get into this later, but I would soon see the signs of a very poor nation. That night, we camped in a local campground and after bathing in mosquito repellent, we ate a nice dinner with some Kili beer we bought at the local market. A good first day. :-)

Kili Climb - Day 7 (Sept 7, 2009) A run through the jungle

2009-09-19T23:04:00.012-04:00

We slept like babies that night. That was a lot of freaking hiking and the most I've ever done in one stretch. We were all ready to get back and have a nice HOT shower (And we really needed it). But before we departed that day, the crew sang us a song about our climb to the summit (I've got video). And in the song, they mention each of our names. It was quite a catchy tune, I must say.

We took a few pictures, and then started our decent down (19km) to the main gate of Kibo. On our way down, I gave Msafiri my iPod and played some Thievery Corporation for him. He was really getting into it as the crew seemed to like a lot of reggae. (You can see him in one of the photos with an orange iPod). I felt awesome this morning and wanted to descend quickly. I noticed that when I'm in a groove hiking, I can't slow down. I like to move; especially when I’ve got tunes. So, I kind of took off and got into my zone for a while. I descended down through the clouds, hopping from rock to rock until I got to the jungle section. (This would be the cool part!) Msafiri and A. Minja caught up to me and it was Minja's duty to stay with me as they are responsible for not losing us.

So, I decided to have some fun (and Minja was all for it as he wanted to get home and shower as badly as I did). I took off and started running down the trail. I felt so good, which was probably due to having more oxygen. It's amazing what you can do when you have plenty of air to breathe. :) So for the next 10 miles or so, Minja and I ran. I tried to lose him on several occasions but each time, I would look back and there he was - smiling. It was so cool, running through this African jungle with U2 cranking on my iPod. I'll never forget it (and so will my feet -- altitude makes your feet swell! On the way down, my toes got pummeled and are bruised black and blue now. I know, but it so was worth it :)).

At the main gate, I said goodbye to Mr. Minja, hung out at the main entry, made some new friends and drank a couple of ginger ales (that tasted awesome)! The rest of the team finally arrive an hour and a half later and Team Kilimanjaro treated us to some burgers on the way back to our hotels. We listened to Ziggy Marley with full bellies and eventually said our goodbyes. What a great experience! Our group throughout this trek ended up hiking 55 miles throughout the 7 day adventure. As such, I was so tired, but this Tanzania trip was only half over for me and there is no time to rest. I have a safari starting tomorrow and then Amani after that. I would soon realize that I packed in a lot into this trip during a short period of time. That being said, I will need a vacation when I return. :)

Kili Climb - Day 6 (Sept 6, 2009) SUMMIT DAY!

2009-09-19T20:15:00.022-04:00

We were awakened at 11PM on the 5th of September to get ready for our final ascent. None of us really got any sleep in the 3 hrs we were given even though we were pretty tired from the day’s climb earlier. Today would be a long day. Jonas wanted us on the trail no later than midnight to beat the many other summiteers that morning as well as make it to the summit in time to watch the sunrise. (It would be 8hrs before we reached Uhuru summit, then another 6 to 8hours before we returned to Horombo).

I woke up feeling great; so great I didn't take any Diamox or Advil as I felt pretty damn good and strong. We were warned that it could get extremely cold at the top so I wore about 5 layers on top and 3 below. I felt like that kid from "A Christmas Story" who couldn’t bend his arms or legs in his snowsuit but it was better to be too warm than too cold. Jonas warned us that if he saw anyone shivering toward the top that they would have to come down (Not gonna happen). Along with all my layers, I carried a full pack with extra water and all my camera and video gear. My back was still pretty sore from the week, but other than that, I felt light and strong.

It was a perfect morning, a full moon was present and there were clear skies with no wind. You couldn't ask for a more perfect night/morning to summit. The pace was slow and a bit frustrating at times, but this was no time to rush. Pole, pole. Keep it consistent. Most of us used head lamps, but I ended up just turning mine off because the moon really lit things up for us. A cool thing was when you looked up the trail and back behind us, you could see lights (like car traffic) wind up and down the trail. Pretty eerie and somewhat surreal. We kept up a good pace, passing quite a few groups, including the Belgian group ahead of us (we didn't really like those guys anyway). As we made our way up the mountain, we started taking notice of the carnage along the way. Some groups had climbers who were succumbing to the altitude. Don't know if they made it up or not, and honestly I didn't really care as I was just focused on getting to the top. However, we were not without our own problems on our team. Nancy started getting severe headaches on the way up and we needed to stop a few times while she tried to recover. At this point it didn't look good for her as she needed to get back down because of her headaches. We had to leave her with Jonas as we all continued to push ahead.

Nuru took over, the pace quickened and we soon started passing groups ahead of us. I felt really good and strong. I was following Nuru's pace and as I turned to look back and notice we were gapping our team. We needed to slow it down for everyone to catch up. At this point, and I don't know why, I started to get concerned about everyone on the team. I kept looking back and asking if everyone felt OK. Don't know why I felt this; maybe it was the altitude. Anyway, at that point we started to take multiple breaks. Each time we stopped, I had to stretch my back as I could feel it tightening up on me. I was also stupid hot as I had on way too many layers and needed to unzip my jacket to let some air in. It was so quiet, and the air was clean and crisp. The stars were so bright and along with the moon made everything a beautiful site to see. I couldn't wait for the sunrise. We were getting close to Stella Point (main ridge that we would first summit then traverse over to get to Uhuru peak) and the morning was near. It's funny; your mind totally wanders when in this state. You think of everything but always seem to focus on climbing forward. Just as I was drifting off into my own thoughts, out of the blue came Jonas and Nancy. She battled back (with the help of a Red Bull) and was able to join us on the final ascent! Nice job Nancy!

We all continued to the top together. As we approached 19K feet and the rim to Stella, the altitude started affecting us all. The pace was sooo slow. I felt like I could use one of those walkers old people use. The pace was that slow. I honestly think an old lady with a walker could have beaten us that day. At this point however, my back was killing me -- I felt like someone was jabbing me with a knife. (I've had back issues for a while that stemmed from doing heavy squats when I was young). The week of carrying all that equipment was finally taking its toll. So, as we stopped for one last break I proceeded to stretch my back on a rock. Jonas asked me if everything was OK and I responded with a 'yes' but that my back was a bit sore. He asked me to remove my pack. Which I did, thinking he was going help me stretch. But, I was wrong. He gave my pack to A. Minja to carry. I was like no f-ing way! Give it back! (We went back and forth with this drama for a few minutes) until there was no argument. Now, I don't know if it was the altitude or what was playing tricks on my mind but I felt really emotional (I didn't cry BTW ;)), but at that point I felt like I failed or something. (Thinking back, how weird…) As I looked at the rest of the team, Alex, Jonas, Nuru and MSafiri were all carrying packs from our entire team, not just mine (except for Chris’ and Catherine’s; must be the SA altitude they live in). Even so, I guess I shouldn't have felt so bad. As we continued to summit, I tried unsuccessfully to coax Alex into giving me back my pack. He would, but not until the ridge.

Without my pack I felt so light and quick. We were so close to Stella Ridge and I could see the top! This is where I made the biggest mistake that day. The adrenaline was pumping in me and the sun was coming up. I couldn't take the slow pace anymore, so I hiked pass A. Minja and sprinted up to Stella Ridge to be the first to the top. (What an idiot -- there's a reason you go slowly…) I got to the top and the view was spectacular. I was in awe and felt incredible and incredibly tired and then the headache came (hmmm, could have used the Advil now) . It was excruciating and felt like a really bad hangover. But I really needed to power though it as we still had about 1.5 miles left to hike up to Uhuru peak. Along the way, I was snapping pics like crazy. So many beautiful images from the top. I can't describe it, really. It was just spiritual and a remarkable experience.

We continued our trek up to the top very slowly this time. At least the incline was not as steep as the climb up to Stella. As we neared Uhuru, I was feeling a bit of nausea but again powering through it. (Altitude affects people differently, it doesn't matter how in shape you are, some people react well while others have major issues. You just don't know until you are that high.) We got to Uhuru Point and we all took photos. It was an amazing sense of accomplishment and I'm especially proud that our entire team made it. I didn't want to lose anyone. As we gazed at the view around us at the massive glaciers, the moon, the rocks, color and the other mountain peaks, it felt like I was watching a movie. Didn’t seem real, but man, this was so unbelievably cool.

After about 30 minutes, it was time to head down. And I wanted to head down. Man was really not meant to be at that altitude. My head was still pounding and I started getting sick to my stomach. We descended quickly. First past Gillman’s Point, then over a lot of rocks to come down the side to reach Kibo Hut (where we would eventually have lunch). On the way down, we descended through I’d guess about 4-5 miles of scree (I think that's how you spell it). Anyway, this was so much fun! It was like downhill skiing without skis. Killer on your legs but not your knees. I wish I had taken pics of this. We finally reached Kibo Hut around 10AM I think, and there we had to force down food. Ugggh. Nothing looked appealing. Especially the same soup we'd been eating for the last six days. But we had to eat, because we still had about 10km to walk down to get to Horombo.

The reason I didn't take any pics at this moment or the rest of the day was because I/we were so incredibly tired and spent even though my headache went away. All I could think about was lying down in my tent. So the next few hours were spent getting down that freaking mountain as fast as I could. Stick a fork in me, I’m done!! Finally, my tent!

That night after dinner, I busted out the Swiss Chocolate I had bought at the airport in Zurich that I had been saving. I spread it out on a plate and busted in on the staff meeting they were having in the porter’s tent. I thanked the guides and the staff for getting us all up that hill safely and wanted to turn the tables for once and present them with what was probably something they've never tasted before. As I left their tent, I could here them going crazy inside. Pretty cool. The lead cook returned the plate to our dinner tent and thanked us all. The plate was quite clean I must say.. :)

Kili Climb - Day 5 (Sept 5, 2009) The Climb Really Begins Today

2009-09-19T11:07:00.016-04:00

It was a beautiful morning at Camp Horombo; the day was clear and sunny and things started off well. The more I reflect on this climbing challenge, the more I realize that keeping healthy was the key. Eat, drink and sleep well and you will be successful. So far so good, except that I noticed some irregularities in my system last night and later today they would come to get me. The lesson to be learned on this day was that no matter what, re-treat your own water. Now I'm not saying the porters messed up on the water (porters gather water from nearby streams and are supposed to boil/treat with iodine), but let’s just say I wasn't the only one experiencing this phenomenon. As such, our team name today came to be known as "Team Imodium".

That morning at breakfast there were a couple of changes on our support team. Jonas, a well respected porter/guide was brought up to be our lead ascent guide to Kilimanjaro. This guy has more than 100 ascents to his name and he knows how to successfully get folks up that stinkin’ mountain! Some concerning news on this day was that we found out that our lead cook had come down with malaria. Not good as he has been preparing our food each day! Jonas brought him to our meal tent and I felt like we were school faculty determining that “yes, this student was indeed sick, please send him home.” In all seriousness though, malaria was nothing to laugh at. He needed to get it treated immediately or face serious consequences. Poor guy, we gave him his tip before he left to get treatment.

We left camp Horombo today knowing that we would be back here tomorrow after our ascent. Today would consist of a five hour hike up to base camp Barafu Hut, then rest for a few hours, getting up at 11 PM and then starting our assent up to Kibo. We projected that we would reach Stella Point around sunrise 6AM-ish on the sixth day. But once we reached Stella Point, our climb was not over. There was still another 45 minute hike up to Uhuru Peak (highest point on Kibo at 5896m (about 19400 feet). After that, we had to get back down to camp Horombo another 20 to 30km hike. In essence, this would be a long day.

The hike began on a beautiful day and would eventually lead to my favorite trail on this trek so far. The hike didn't start on a good note for me health-wise ( I had to take a long break at the beginning of the climb to let's just say purge any remaining toxins out of my system ;-) )! However, this was not a good way to impress upon our new leader my sense of fitness as he was concerned at the potential for dehydration (the first symptoms of altitude sickness). So, to show him I was fine that day (even though I was secretly feeling incredibly weak) I guzzled about 3 liters of water before lunch. This really helped get my strength back to where it needed to be for that night, although I was then known as Mr. five-minute break man as it seemed I continuously had to relieve myself during the day. :) Even though I wasn't feeling the best, there was nothing that was going to keep me from making it to the top. I would seriously have to be on my death bed to keep me from that goal. I know what suffering is and this was far from it; just some minor discomfort. Nothing to be concerned about but later the next day I would realize a new issue would affect me much more than I would have thought.

On this trail we would see some magnificent landscapes and end up napping at 4600 meters (over 15K feet -- the highest altitude I’veha ever slept in). The vastness of this region is unbelievable. It's HUGE! The trail up to Barafu was relatively new and not extensively trekked which made it special to me. (Wish I had had my mountain bike on this one!) We would have two major climbs on this hike and the second would lead to Barafu Hut. You can see on some of these images, Barafu is in the distance that seems like it's hanging on a cliff. The important thing here is to conserve energy as we would need it tonight.

I finished the day feeling very good. A little tired and weak, but overall pretty darn good. The pics of Kibo from Barafu were awesome, the peak seemed so close and the views of the glacier valley and Mt Mawenzi were incredible. The air was thin, but I felt acclimated, light on my feet, and could feel myself gaining strength by the minute. I was pumped for what was coming in the next few hours. The summit couldn't get here soon enough.

Kili Climb - Day 4 (Sept 4, 2009)

2009-09-19T09:52:00.008-04:00

On this morning we woke to frost on the ground and we now were starting to feel the cccooold and I'm starting to run out of layers. Again, we also woke up to some more amazing views of the clouds below and Mt. Mawenzi with the morning sun. I don't know, but there's something about that mountain (Mt. Mawenzi is an ancient volcano that is now crumbling) that makes me not able to take my eyes off of it. Absolutely stunning as the wind would generate puffs of clouds off the warming peak.

Today we would retrace our climb up the side of Mawenzi and climb back down further to the valley and down toward Camp Horombo. This would be another 1/2 day hike where we would get to sleep at a lower altitude. I sense our porters’ strategy: get us all well rested for the first 5 days, then hit us hard with 2 days of non stop climbing at the finish. But after 4 days of hiking, we were not real excited to hike back down the mountain; we just wanted to get to the top. It was a bit frustrating to not be hiking toward Kilimanjaro but around it and down for that matter. But we get it; our porters are amazing and they know what they are doing. They need us to walk slow, save our energy and acclimatize. Along with climbing high and sleeping low, you increase your chances of success on summit day.

Today's hike took us through some amazing scenery and I could not keep my camera put away. I took so many pictures of rocks, flowers and landscapes because the coloring this morning was amazing. This is such beautiful country! There was a mist of clouds in the air as well that made some of the photos incredibly beautiful. On the way down we saw an unusual rock formation called Zebra Rock that was naturally striped (you guessed it) like a zebra. There were all sorts of what looked like cactus trees in the valley below that contained amazing shades of green (I love green) that looked so untouched and bizarre for this area. You'll notice in many of the photos there are rocks that are stacked on top of each other. No this is not natural. :) Kili park management uses these rock settings to mark the trail when there is snow on the ground.

On another note, I think we were all really starting to smell at this point as none of us had showered since we left. So. Much. Dust. Although, we've been able to wash our faces and hands in the morning and in the evening before breakfast and dinner, you never get rid of the dirt. I feel I have developed so many layers of dirt, sunscreen, deet (for mosquitoes, even though there are none at this altitude) and soap on my skin that if you could probably perform an analysis on my skin alone and determine how long I've been camping. ;-)

The good news at this camp however is that they sell Beer!! While relaxing out on a rock that afternoon, we saw another team just come down from the summit... and they looked tired. One of them had a lot of trouble, but all succeeded. That would be us in two days.

Kili Climb - Day 3 (Sept 3, 2009)

2009-09-18T06:11:00.007-04:00

On this day we would be climbing up to 4400 meters (14432 feet). My previous highest climb was Mt. Torrey at 14267 feet so this height wouldn’t be a first. Waking up at camp to a little bit colder weather and some amazing views of the clouds below... Fortunately, we have not been rained on yet so handling a little cold is no big deal. Today, we would need to climb to our next camp (Camp 3 Turnback?) by noon, then rest a bit and do another shorter climb up the side of Mt. Mawenzi and climb back down to camp. During the morning climb, I saw some plants, flowers and rocks that I have never seen before. After all, this was an active volcano millions of years ago that left its mark on the earth. Hence, it has created a habitat for unusual plant life and rocks formed from glaciers and lava flows long ago.

Once we arrive, we had a bit of tea and soaked in the scenery. This was by far the best camp we've been at so far. Perched right at the base of Mt. Mawenzi (a much older Volcano than Kilimanjaro and was crumbing. I asked about climbing to the top of Mawenzi and was told that it was not permitted due to the fragility of the mountain). That afternoon, we would go on our first acclimation climb then come back down. Along the climb, we got in some amazing views of the valley (where we would be climbing down to tomorrow), our camp, and the mountain. The skies were not clear enough to see Kili yet. That night we ate well and laughed our asses off telling each other jokes - not sure it was the jokes or the altitude that was making us all laugh. :)

Kili Climb - Day 2 (Sept 2, 2009)

2009-09-18T04:53:00.010-04:00

This would turn out to be a long day as we needed to cover eight hours of hiking during a very hot day. We were up at 6AM at SIMBA camp and I felt like I had had a very good night’s sleep. After our awesome porters made us a killer breakfast consisting of porridge, toast, and eggs we were all ready to go. (There is a reason we were fed so well and so much. It was important that we all take in a lot of calories as we would be burning so much during the climb. Also, our guides would use our intake as a barometer to measure how well we were doing and if we were getting sick). Initially, I was really taken aback by how much work these guys were doing for us and felt like we should be helping more. But I soon realized that this is how they get people up the mountain. From what I was told, you're actually not allowed to climb Kili by yourself unless you are licensed and have a permit. Had we tried this on our own, the task would have been huge as you have to deal with water, supplies, food, equipment etc.

The first half of the four hour day was spent hiking the Rongai route. (This route was less traveled than most and was a bit more technical than others, which is why I chose it). I soon realized during the first part of the hike that I packed way too much in my pack, since my neck, shoulders and back would be quite sore the next day. I was carrying camera and video equipment as well as all the rain gear and extra crap I really didn't need. Tomorrow, I would lighten up for sure. Then again, looking at the porters, you realize how mortal you are and how amazing they are. They would be carrying heavy packs on their backs AND huge bags on their heads and still pass us on the climb! Geez, and I thought I was in shape.

Something else I need to mention about these lower trails -- the DUST. It's everywhere and gets into everywhere including your clothes, mouth, nose, you name it. It would be a consistent irritant throughout the trek; it doesn't sound like much but believe me sneezing out black soot every 20 minutes got a bit annoying.

To be honest, the hiking pace drove me crazy at times as I just wanted to get where we needed to go. But I tell you what, by the time we got to Camp 2, I was spent and really needed to stretch. Good camp, but the outhouses left something to be desired... they were pretty nasty. (Outhouses are important on the mountain for sanitation and environmental purposes since so many people go up and down during the year)

We were now at 3000 meters (9,840 feet) in altitude and dinner that night was special as our team started to bond and got to know each other. Our friends from South Africa shared a lot about their country and politics and we were able to commiserate as well. Another bit of news we got during the day was that Justin Timberlake was going to be climbing Kili the very next week for a charity. We could all agree that if Justin can do it, so can we.

Kili Climb - Day 1 (Sept 1, 2009)

2009-09-15T01:50:00.015-04:00

The day started by with being picked up at my lodge with all my gear and getting stuffed into a small bus with six trekking partners and about 24 porters. (Most vehicles here in Tanzania are packed like this as space is limited.) They work for a company called www.teamkilimanjaro.com and they know what they are doing. Our lead guide, James, has done this climb over a hundred times and has a very high success rate. One thing I quickly discovered was that all of the guides and porters were extremely friendly and only concerned about our health and safety. I’ll speak more about our porters later.

BTW, in these pics, you’ll notice that we are all wearing goiters. There is so much dust/dirt that gets picked up along the way, you have to have something covering your boots or that stuff gets in everywhere)

We had about a 100km drive to Kilimanjaro National Park to begin our climb that day and it would be a long one. Unfortunately, James got called away for another assignment but there were good backups on that team that immediately stepped up to take over. On the drive up to Kili, we drove through many interesting villages and surrounding areas. Along the way, locals would all stop what they were doing and wave. Especially the children; they were everywhere -- on the streets playing or working, all mostly alone and by themselves.

Our truck/bus wasn't faring so well as we had to keep stopping to check underneath to see where this loud obnoxious noise was coming from. Eventually, we made it to the main gate and base of the climb (I later realized we drove almost completely around the one side of the mountain to start our climb up the Rongai route.) After a brief stop for lunch (I’ll talk more on the food later), we finally started our ascent as we were all eager to get going.

The first day would consist of a three hour hike to Simba Camp site. We all used that time to get to know each other. My climbing mates consisted of 3 other couples Chris and Catherine from Joeburg (South Africa), David and Courtney from, yes, Alexandria VA (I just can’t get away from Americans can I ;)) and Larry and Nancy. Larry is a professor at a university and for some reason reminded me of one of the members of Fleetwood Mac. Anyway, I have to say, our porters were a bit concerned about Larry's age (65), but he would surprise us all as he really kicked butt. Both he and Nancy do triathlons and are very active. Hopefully, I’ll still be going like that when I'm his age. (Larry would soon to be referred to as Babu - a term of respect (labeled by the porters for age and wisdom) although Larry didn't seem to like it much :)).

Right off the bat as we started our climb, we noticed someone (from another group) being helped back down the mountain due to altitude sickness. Not a good way to start the first day, I must say. I believe we were only at about 2000 meters at that point. But it’s common on a first day to want to hike hard. Our lead porter that day, Nuru, taught us the first in a series of Swahili lines that would define our climb...”pole, pole,” which means slow, slow. There is a method to their madness and as much as we all wanted to hike fast, this was all part of the acclimation process by not using more energy and breathing more than can be consumed. I decided before our trip to document and film as much of this experience as possible, as such I would be called "Mr. Cameraman" throughout the trek.

At Simba camp, all of our porters introduced themselves and did an amazing job of settling us in with dinner and hot water. The camp itself was not very nice or clean (there were out houses they wanted us to use that were not so nice :). But hey, we’re climbing Kili and we are roughing it for the next seven days! Got a great night’s sleep that night, and as it turned out, we would need it.

Amani Update

2009-09-12T11:46:00.004-04:00

Jambo,

It's me again. I just wanted to get you an update on how the first day at Amani went (the main reason for this blog).

First a little background:

I had no idea what this country is going through and didn't realize that it is the seventh poorest country in the world. You would think because of tourism and the beauty of the land that the people would be better off than neighboring Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. But such is not the case. Tanzania withdrew from the Eastern Africa Alliance because so many educated people from other countries were coming in and taking most of the few skilled positions that are available. Most make only 1 to 3 dollars per day for an incredibly hard day’s work. Most are farmers, some others choose to work the mountain (I will describe their duties in the coming posts; so incredible), or they can work the mines (very dangerous). The government does not make it easy for children to get an education. Families have to spend money on books and uniforms for each year that their child attends and therefore many go without any kind of education. Amani provides something that no one else will, a place where street children can go to be safe and have the opportunity to grow up in a healthy environment.

OK, I will talk a bit more about Amani and how the donations were spent in coming posts but I wanted to just give you all a quick update as to how the day went at Amani. One thing I had to do before going there was to think of something to do with them that was entertaining and fun (like games, sports etc.). So going back to my early teen roots, I decided to give them an impromptu magic show. :-) Now this is funny, I was setting up at a gazebo in the back when Joe told the kids inside that there would be a magic show starting out back and if anyone was interested to go toward the gazebo. Then next then you know, I had 75 kids running toward me (wish I could have gotten that on film). They don't ever get to see anything like this EVER. Needless to say I got a lot of "do it again" in Swahili thrown at me. Amazing!

These kids are so special, all they want is love and don't ask for much. For all that I collected and donated, I raised a total of $700 that went toward buying rice, beans, sugar, cooking oil and salt. I went to the market with the supply manager and got a truck load after negotiating for several minutes. :) Thank you all so much for donating! The amount that was bought today will feed 93 children for two months. Pretty incredible if you think about how far that goes. Also, I came just at the right time as they were down to two bags of rice. Amani is completely self sufficient and do not get any support from the government so this little bit went a long way. Asante Sana everyone!

Well, I will be posting my entire trip in the next couple of days including photos and video (will take a bit longer for that) so check back in a few to get the latest.

Take care for now,
Asante,
Tony

Post Summit and Safari Update

2009-09-11T13:50:00.003-04:00

Jambo Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post in quite some time as I've really packed in so much into this trip and have not had the access or time to update. I will be updating each day as it occurs for the Kili climb starting in the next couple of days. I just completed the Safari section today and will be heading to Amani tomorrow. So amped for that! So until then, here is a very brief overview of my last two sections completed.

On the Kilimanjaro Climb:

I don't have the words at the moment but the experience was amazing. Too many images to capture. On summit day, we started the climb at midnight (after a 5 hour climb earlier that day). The weather was clear and perfect and we were aided by a full moon. There was a bit of drama on our team as we almost lost one member, but she battled back with a shot of Red Bull. :)

On the summit itself, one thing I can tell you, is that man is not meant to be at 20K feet. Felt very strong right before the summit to Stella ridge (about 1.5 miles from Kibo), and I made the mistake of sprinting to catch the sunrise. As such, I had a Maj headache after that. You Just don't know how your body reacts at that altitude till your there. Got some great images of the view of Mt Mawenzi, The Glacier, the moon and landscape. Will be posting these soon.

On the Safari:

Just returned today and to be honest, I was not all that jazzed for this section. But what an incredible experience, I've never seen animals in this setting before. I came soo close to some huge animals including a couple of very old elephants and a Lion. On top of that, I was able to venture into one of the seven wonders of the world: The NGoranGora Crater which houses some of the most unreal set of animal and plant life. Got some great shots of all these animals including the Big 5. :)

But for now, I've got to get some sleep as I have another busy day tomorrow. Take care and I will update you soon with a day by day synopsis.

Asante,

Tony

Night before the Trek up Kilimanjaro

2009-08-31T12:47:00.005-04:00

Jambo,

Tomorrow I wake up early for the start of the Trek up to Kilimanjaro. I'm traveling with about 7 others and about 12 porters. Since I won't be able to blog while I'm climbing, I'll have to do it when I return in 7 days. I will also be doing daily video logs so when I get back home it will be nice to post the commentary. Hopefully I'll be able to film the final push to the summit (at 12 Midnight) which will be during a full moon. Nice!!

As far as how I'm doing physically, well I'm tired and I haven't even started the trek yet. Jet lag is a Biotch, and of coarse it doesn't help when you stay up late drinking tequila shots with the Belgians. So I guess I deserve any repercussions. I've pretty much tempted fate with my health here as I probably could be taking better care of myself i.e. Eating street food in Zanzibar, combined with taking about 30 tablets each day ranging from Malaria, Diamox and Vitamins. Last night I pigged out on dinner which included raw vegetables (they were soo good!). As a result, this morning I woke with a bit of a stomach ache. Gee, was it the food, tequila, weird to no sleep hours or perhaps the three mosquito bites I already got. Hard to tell what symptoms are what with all the stuff you put into your body. Main thing I'm concerned with is drinking enough water and eating enough food. The good news is I'm feeling pretty good tonight and hopefully it will carry forward through the rest of the week.

I've been speaking with other climbers who just got down and from what I've been told it's no cake walk. The porters usually have to monitor and baby a few in each group; some were even crying (I'll try and get that on film :)) as some of the hikes each day are very long (up to 9 hrs). You would think being in shape would help, but altitude has no selection criteria or body type. Some people get hit much worse than others and if the symptoms are not treated, it can kill you. Other than that, I can't wait to get to the top!! :-) I'll be crossing my fingers.

Today was spent regeneration and gaining strength for tomorrow. About to have dinner and perhaps a glass of wine. Wait a minute, of course I'll be having a glass of wine :-) since there is no drinking allowed on the mountain. Anyway, looking forward to meeting new interesting people on this expedition and also being pushed to my limits.

Thanks for reading all. Wish me a safe journey and I'll blog to ya later.

Ciao,

Tony

On to Kilimanjaro....and a few more edits.

2009-08-30T05:06:00.010-04:00

Jambo,

I just arrived at my destination about 100km outside of Kilimanjaro. The place I'm staying is called the Armaru River Lodge and will be used as my temporary place to stay between Kili, the safari and Amani. I'm almost ashamed to be staying in such a nice place as I feel I should be roughing it a bit more (although I think there will be plenty of time for that in the coming days). Anyway, this lodge is in the middle of the jungle and is surrounded by coffee plants/trees (which you can smell). So needless to say, I'm looking forward to a good cup of coffee in the morning. :-) It's about 10:30PM, I just had a great meal (which I really needed because I haven't been eating enough on my trip) and a couple of beers and glasses of SA wine so I'm feeling pretty good. Tomorrow, I will post some more commentary on Zanzibar and the lodge. Upon reflection, there was so much to see in Zanzibar I realize that one day was not enough to explore the island. I already want to go back. However, I have a lot to look forward to with the next portion of my trek. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures so far.

Tony

Finally in Zanzibar!!

2009-08-29T10:31:00.006-04:00

Before I get to talking about Zanzibar, I want to say what an experience it was just getting here. I got into Dar Es Salaam late last night about 8:30 PM (BTW, I'm 7 hours ahead of DC time and 10 hours ahead of San Diego time -- I'm adjusting, but boy! do I want to nap during the day). After picking up my luggage/customs etc., and picking a cab driver amongst many, I was driven to the middle of Dar Es, to find a decent hotel in my price range. I would compare the feeling to driving through Mexico, except everyone is speaking Swahili and they drive English style (on the left). Why is it that cab rides are pretty much the same in all poorer countries? A little scary but I soaked in the experience nevertheless. And after catching a few hours of sleep, I got up at 4AM to catch a 6:30AM flight to the island of Zanzibar....

Speaking of Zanzibar, this place is simply amazing. I'm now staying in Stone Town. In the 1800s, Stone Town Zanzibar was where the origins of the slave trading industry began. Catholics, Muslims and Hindus make up much of the people living here and much of the architectural structures still remain and are maintained as they have been for the last couple of centuries. I was just having a glass of wine over looking the port and this old world scene that looked like something out of Casablanca. With the old single sail ships and market places, this place exudes kind of a classic romantic theme a la Indiana Jones. I would definitely recommend Zanzibar as a destination and if I were a writer looking for inspiration, I would come here in a heart beat. Haven't seen too many Americans tourists as there are mostly Europeans on holiday.

After breakfast this morning, I got a personal tour from a guide, Mr. Atuba. He grew up here and has a vast knowledge of the history Zanzibar. Explained/showed me everything from the sultan slave trade organization, the fish market, facts about Barbara Bush's visit, to showing me where Freddy Mercury was born (did you know that? I didn't). Tonight they are having a film festival in the oldest open building in Zanzibar that I'm going to try to check out. I leave for Kilimanjaro tomorrow for the next stage and most challenging part of my trip so stay tuned...

FYI, I'm not the best blogger or elegant writer in the world so please be patient with me. I will try to post a couple of pics here shortly as I have already taken over 150 pics today. Tomorrow I will try my hand at video. Also, I have no email capability but I can text. If you have quick questions you would like to ask while I'm on my trek, you can text me at 7039552728 and I will do my best to respond. Otherwise, continue to comment and I will get to all of your questions if you have any.

Additional Comments and Photos (updated 31 Aug):

I'll try to post a few more and some commentary later when I have more time. I overslept this morning so I'm rushing a bit before I have to get out of here. Enjoy!!

These two pictures were taken from the hotel cafe when I first arrived yesterday morning. Not too bad, eh?

These next pics were just from walking around Stone Town and inside some of the shops and market place. As a side note, there were a lot of Obama references, i.e. posters, graffiti etc. They love him here. I had one shop keeper yell to me “Yes We Did”! as I walked by giving me the thumbs up.

I was hanging out at this place last night having a glass of wine while they played some pretty cool down tempo tunes. At one point a tiny monkey jumped up next to me (I thought it was a cat at first). I think he wanted a drink.

I love the children shots. The children that I saw were running around and playing in the very narrow streets of Stone Town. Fortunately I was able to take these before they noticed I was there.

The fish market had the worst stench you could imagine. I held back on the close ups for this post.

I didn't notice it during the day, but while walking around at night, there are so many families that live in these old dwellings.

This was my tour guide Mr. Atuba. He was awesome!!

These last two shots were take from the patio of one of the hotels I was checking out.

Well I'm off to Kili now. Bye for now.

In route to Dar Es Salaam

2009-08-27T15:00:00.002-04:00

So after a crazy couple of days getting things done before my trip, I'm finally on my way. Canada's not such a bad place to be on a 4 hour layover, however the trick now is to get acclimated to a plus 6 hours. Need to try and sleep on my next flight to Zurich then wake up and fly to Dar Es Salaam. Thank God I'm flying First via miles, only way to go.

Tutaonana for now; time to work on my Swahili a bit.

-Tony

Thank you...

2009-08-26T08:38:00.002-04:00

...to all who contributed thus far. If there are still folks interrested in donating, please let me know via email and I will contribute on your behalf. My link will still be open during my trip and I should recieve confirmation if there are any more donations.

Well only one more day before I leave for Zanzibar and I still have so much to do before I leave. And FYI, I will be at Amani on the 12the 13th of September.

Thanks again and Tutaonana for now,

Tony

Friends....

2009-08-16T19:23:00.004-04:00

As many of you know, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro has for a long time been a major objective of mine. But what many of you might not know is that I have also been spending time lately searching for organizations to which I could volunteer my time. Well, in a couple of weeks I will be traveling to Tanzania – and working toward reaching both goals.

I have learned of a very unique home for street children and AIDS orphans in Moshi, Tanzania and I am totally drawn to their cause. The Amani Children’s Home provides healthy food, education, counseling, and medical care for needy children who are alone and have nowhere else to go.

Amani isn’t just an orphanage but a place that’s focused on giving these children and teens the opportunity to become healthy, productive young adults. They are committed to reducing the number of children living on the streets in Tanzania (often abused and turning to crime just for food) by providing a safe, nurturing home in which they can heal, grow, and learn. In addition to providing long-term care, Amani aims to reunite children with family members when possible and to equip these relatives with the tools they need to be self-sustainable. I believe Amani is really dedicated to creating a path for each child that leads to a future filled with hope.

I thought of simply donating money to The Amani Children’s Home myself, as well as asking for contributions from friends who are also interested, but in my research I discovered their Ambassador program, which gives volunteers the chance to work with the staff and kids at the home in whatever capacity is needed at the time. So for two days during my trip, I am going to help at Amani! I have been corresponding with the Amani coordinator in Moshi, and right now, they are particularly in need of basic food supplies: rice, beans, sugar, and maize. One of the things I am going to do when I am there is visit the local marketplace with a staff member from the home to purchase and deliver these much needed basics. I am really excited about this part – how often do you get to actually see directly where your donation is going? Also, I plan to document the entire experience by taking pictures and video and posting them to this blog.

Just like you, I receive requests from friends to donate to various causes from time to time, and I know that in this economic climate it is not always easy to contribute as often as we’d like, so I’d like to first say – NO PRESSURE!!! – but if this story interests you as much as it has me, I’m asking you to consider joining me in offering support to these very worthy children who have so little. A dollar stretches farther there than you’d imagine, so ANY donation is greatly appreciated! The website for the home is www.amanikids.org. Check it out yourself – there are photos and stories about the organization and the individual children themselves. Their backgrounds, the conditions under which they came to need help… some of these kids are so amazing… it didn’t take long for me to both recognize how fortunate I am, and, that being able to help was going to meet my desire to start doing more service work when I can.

There are a couple of ways you can help. If you would like to contribute to the fund I'll be spending at the market, you can do that by donating through my PayPal site: Amani Children’s Home direct contribution via Tony Sanchez. Or if you would prefer to donate directly to the Amani Children's Home, please do so at their web site: www.amanikids.org/donate/usa. Please remember that I am not looking for large donations -- every dollar makes a difference -- AND donations are tax deductible.

My visit to Amani has given my climbing trip another dimension that is going to make it so much more meaningful, and I wanted to share this in case you’d like to help too. Thank you very much for your friendship and support and make sure to follow my journey through my blog.

Sincerely,
Tony

Trek Begins 27 August 2009

2009-07-25T17:55:00.005-04:00

Stay tuned