April 6
April 6 Commencing a long hard hike at midnight seems ridiculous, and it pretty much is. I asked the guides about the rationale for such a strategy. After all, we had spent days acclimating to the altitude, it seemed unwise to disrupt diurnal patterns just at the moment we were readying for the big push. […]
April 5
April 5 Stretchers are not usually something you want to pass on a hike. Up here they have ones made with a steel frame and a single centered spoked wheel like one on a heavy mountain bike. Halfway up to Kibo huts they were rolling down a man wrapped in a sleeping bag and cargo […]
April 4
April 4 1000 meters– it is a good rule of thumb for acclimating to altitude. I tried to follow it in Nepal on the Annapurna Circuit, and here it is built into the trail. On this approach, there are clusters of huts set apart not by distance, but height. The first huts (Mandara) were at […]
April 3
April 3 Wildflowers were the order of the day, though it started with white-faced black colobus monkeys, the same ones I heard making a strange, indescribable sound in the early morning. We started the day hiking out of the rain forest, the trees so covered with epiphytes that it was difficult to distinguish their actual […]
April 2
April 2 The terrain is much different from what I’ve been in lately. Broad flat plains with that distinctive dark red soil that signals volcanos. A lot of agriculture here–good sized fields of corn along with banana plantations. All the labor seems to be done by hand. While driving to Kilimanjaro park, we passed many […]
April 1
April 1 Kilimanjaro (and the rainy season). The flight out of Dar Es salaam was uneventful and short. By noon I was walking across the tarmac at Kilimanjaro International Airport– a place that lifted my mood. It is simple, well-maintained, and has a 1950s feel to it, a time before airports became armed camps. Caught […]
March 31
March 31 Parting. I had not seen Charlie since just after his graduation last spring from Haverford College, so exploring Dar Es Salaam these past days was pure pleasure, but that does little to dampen the inevitable sadness a parent feels when a son or daughter heads off on their own again. I’ve spent most […]
March 30
March 30 Morning Rain–unlike any rain I’ve seen. Huge drops close together, almost more water than air. Then sunshine. The day veered from authenticity to cheese and then back. The main excursion was to the woodcarvers market, a skill Charlie has been developing this past year, though what we saw was more than intimidating. The […]
March 29
March 29 Everyone recommends a day on Bongoyo island, so after sleeping too late, a fast taxi ride, and a jog down the pier, we caught the boat just in time. The transfer boat was long, low-slung made of wood with a small outboard. All seats were full so we had about four-inches of gunwale […]
March 28
March 28 Exploring Dar Es Salaam, walking of course. Out of city center on a quiet holiday morning. Easter extends to Monday here, though not sure what the dominant religion is– passed a cathedral and a large mosque, no gompas though. We walked out past the fish market, a large concrete structure on the water […]