Aftermath

I have two days of my trip to Karatu that I will blog in a sperate entry! I did want to let you know how we all fared out int he end. Dhaval and Sonal were better before leaving for the safari. Pradeep was on the mend and was better before coming back. Ranjana fared the best of all of us and was fine.

I had my knee checked out and besides being bruised up, it is fine. No long term injuries to worry about. I did go into a little output failure for multiple reasons: high altitude, stopping of Diamox and returning home quickly! I was put on Lasix for 6 days and am doing much better. I am not sure about the others but I have lost 7 pounds in total!

We are all back in the United States and are trying to get back into the swing of things.

Commons words in Swahili

1. Pole Pole: Slow Slow


2. Pole: Sorry


3. Asante: Thank You


4. Caribou: Welcome


5. Mambo: Hello (cool way of saying)


6. Poha: Okay


7. Jambo: Hello


8. Dawa: Medicine


9. Twande Sasa: Let's go now


10. Kitabu: Book

LOL: Daftari: exercise book!!!!

10 myths about Kilimanjaro

1. It is NOT a novices mountain, You need to be an experienced hiker and camper!


2. There are no real rescue services!


3. No climb time is REAL time unless you are a seasoned climber!


4. Nothing is 15minutes away! No point or no camp!


5. You will need a lot of water. 5L per day minimum. You will need steripen with filtration or tabs!


6. There are options that you can hire: porta-potties, showers, porters to carry your day pack, etc. The outhouses are not cleaned all the time and are nasty!


7. Take Swahili for Dummies! English is only for tourist! It helps to know what they are saying!


8. Camp food is Camp food! Take snacks like chocolate, cliff bars, granola bars, crackers etc. You will need them there!


9. If you don't live at an altitude already, TAKE DIAMOX!! (unless you are climbing over 10 days).


10. Don't forget to take cash! You will need it for tips. Also, they will ask you for your belongings so be ready to know what you are willing to depart with and what you are not!

July 5, 2009

We are all up and ready for a 10am departure. We have packed and are ready for breakfast. We all order an omelet and eat well. The experiences from here will be different. I will go visit a school that A School Bell Rings has helped with and my colleagues will go on the Safaris. We will be riding in separate cars but will be together for half of the way. The experience has been surreal. I think it is a dream. But the photographs prove otherwise!

Our last photo is at the Impala Hotel that was our savior for warm showers and a bed!

July 4, 2009

The sun is out and we realize that we are still above the clouds. It is 6am and we are all awake. We decide to get ready and moving. Dhaval is feeling better as he has urinated a lot of the excess fluids at night. Pradeep is still wheezing. I get ready and can't fathom eating but decide to try to eat. Porridge and eggs again. We ask for a jeep at breakfast and are told that we have to go to Maweka camp and from there we can get a jeep. We are all ready to head down. We meet in the mess tent for a meeting with Paul about tips. Pradeep shows me photos of the stickers at Uhuru peak and I can only sob. It is very touching to see education and children at the top of the mountain. Highest stature!! I can't thank Pradeep enough as I fight my tears. The tips add out to be about $350 per person. We are short on cash and will have to figure something out in Moshi!

We steripen for the last time. We take a Kili Trek photo with Kili in the background. We are ready!! We start our hike down with Porters carrying our packs for us. I have my brace on and am slow and careful as it is rocky! It is all down hill and it is difficult! We take photos along the way as we are all happy to be going down to a hot shower and Indian food!

My second fall comes on some muddy rocks. Once again, I hyper extend my right leg as I fall and hear a pop. My knees is aching! We are 30 minutes away from Maweka camp. Bonnie decides to help me my carrying me piggyback style. Paul helps out a couple times in the rotation. I am totally embarrassed and in pain!!

We make it to Maweka and the guys all make fun of me. They think one of the Chinese girls are being carried down. They all help out and for the first time in 6 days, we have a carbonated drinks. I have a coke along with Sonal and the guys are having beers. We meet the Indian Dude, Sharad, who is suppose to get a couple, The New Cheus, married at the top. He has not made it well and has descended. The couple will have a civil ceremony later. Sharad will wait at Maweka for them.

We inquire about the jeep from here. There is no jeep service here. You must descend more to get jeep service. It is 2 hours to the bottom and the porters will all take turns piggy backing me!! I see no enjoyment in this service. My knee is hurting along with my thighs and arms from holding on down the trail! We get down to the jeep trail and there is no jeep waiting. They tell me it is 30 minutes to the gate and that it is best to continue down and not wait. URGH!! We make it down to gate at 2:15pm. I wait in the waiting area for 30minutes as I talk to many different people including three generation family who all summited. Sonal arrives and tells me she was trying to catch up as she thought the rest would jeep it down. So she essentially came down by herself with Alfred. As we chat, many little young boys ask us to clean our shows with them for $2. We advise them that we will later. At 3:10pm, the jeep arrives and our guides send it to fetch Dhaval, Pradeep and Ranjana. At 3:30pm, we all sign the book, get our shoes cleaned and leave for the hotel.

Dirty shoes versus clean shoes!!

We all have hind site and feel we should have not skipped camp and used the extra day to recoup. We would have all made it to Uhuru peak. Pradeep is still having a hard time breathing. As we pile into the can, we decide to stop and get him Lasix and cash my TCs, and get Dhaval some cash. We are all ready for a hot shower and food. I want room 105 again. I wish I had gone on to Uhuru now. I feel better so I am thinking better!! Oh Well.

We get our cash after a few tries and some shady situations. We pay the necessary extras after arriving at the hotel. Pradeep and Ranjana are giving their shoes to Paul and Bonnie after much debate. We get our certificates after our briefing with Kili Treks. Everyone has exciting Safaris ahead and I leave for Karatu in the morning.

We all order our food and leave to take showers. I pull everything out to clean and shower with it so as to have a clean backpack and bag to fill stuff in. All the grime is nasty. Even my nose has dust IN it. I leave all to dry and go for dinner. We have daal, naan, paneer kadhai, chicken 65, lamb mughlai and rice. I have a diet coke too. Pradeep piles on bananas due to his lasix.

We all head back to our rooms afterwards and go to sleep. I charge Pradeeps Iphone and pack my stuff before going to bed. I will be carrying some of Sonal's stuff and everyone's poles back to the US. I try to sleep but to no avail. I am just not sleepy.

July 3, 2009

We are all up at 4am at Barfu Camp. It is freezing. I have slept in my hiking clothes minus my last layer. I slowly put on my last layer and pack everything but my sleeping pad. Sonal will not be climbing with us to the summit today as she is feeling bad. She will go down to high camp (millennium camp) when she gets up. We have breakfast of porridge and eggs. I can barely eat as I have not slept much at all. We leave camp at 5:30am. It is hard to climb in the dark. I see some head lights ahead of us and wonder how we are to make it up there. My head is hurting from the lamp itself. We are huffing and puffing in the dark as we climb over rocks. it is about 5 degrees in the dark.

It is dawn now and it is about 6 am. we turn our lights off at about 6:15am. It is getting warmer and the temperature climbs to 15 degrees by 6:30am. We are all climbing with partners. Ranjana and Bonnie in the lead, Pradeep and Paul, Hashim and I , and finally Dhaval and Alfred. They are also carrying our packs. I take some Motrin at daylight to help with the headache. Dhaval and Ranjana each take 500mg of Tylenol.

We are all a little dehydrated. Ranjana and I have had to go to the bathroom (behind rocks) but Pradeep and Dhaval are still dehydrated. Everyone is moving slowly. We all take frequent breaks and are sleepy (due to lack of oxygen). Our guides keep us moving despite the tiredness. I am dazed and not sure of what is going on. Everyone looks up and are told that we are close to the ridge. We get to the ridge and are told that 100 meters ahead is Stella point (summit on the crater at 5773 meters). I am winded and confused. Dhaval, Ranjana and Pradeep make it to Stella Point. I am 20 steps away and can't move. Hashim and Alfred pull me up after threatening me that they will leave me where I am standing if I don't move.

At 2pm, we all make it to Stella Point. We sit behind the Rock to block the wind and for the first time we are all hot and happy. We have summited the mountain but we are not at the highest point on the crater. The highest point, Uhuru Peak, is 5895 meters and roughly 120 meters higher and 2 hours away from where we are. The guides tell Dhaval and Ranjana that they will make it if they try. I am told not to even try. Pradeep is wheezing and is told not to try. We take photos for 20 minutes here.

That is Marwanze in the back ground. Around 4600m, it is a sister peak of Kili.

Pradeep decides to move on. He is going to go to Uhuru Peak. We all tell him not to go but he decides to go with Paul and ask the guides to stop him if he does not look capable. Bonnie follows them with the oxygen in case. I give Pradeep my stickers of "A School Bell Rings" and "Kids4Kids360".

Ranjana, Dhaval and I all descend down. We are in Scree the whole way down. It is like skiing on rocks. About 1.5 hours down, I start throwing up, and get dizzy. Alfred helps me down, and Hashim buckles on to me to help me down. I am dry heaving after my tummy is emptied. I am crying and asking to get off the mountain. I am so done!!! I just want off the mountain and away from here. Ranjana is left to climb down on her own behind us. Dhaval becomes ataxic and is helped by Alfred. Two thirds of the way down, Hashim calls for porters to come help us down. He also calls Paul and Bonnie to see how they are doing. They do not answer, so we are told they should be fine. I am helped by a porter, two porters help Dhaval and one helps Ranjana.

We make it to Barafu at 5:30pm. We are told that camp will wrap up here and we must move on to High camp. There is no water here for us and we are unable to stay here. I am still sick and Dhaval is very tired. We both tell Hashim that we are packed (he only had to pack my pad) and that we are not coming into camo, but rather want to leave to the High Camp from here. This will save us the energy of going down and coming up. Ranjana must go down to pack and she is worried about Pradeep. We look up at 6pm and see some people coming down the mountain. Also we are informed of porters being hailed to go up to help them bring Pradeep down. He did make it to Uhuru peak but was very tired and needed help.

Dhaval and I leave with Alfred and my pack to High Camp. Dhaval's pack is with a porter and is not to be located. He may have moved on. We set out at 6:15pm. We realize that the sun is going down and we have no head lamps. My headlamp is in Ranjana's pack and Dhaval's in his. I have a small flash light. We turn it on as soon as it gets dark. It works for about 15 minutes and then we are in the dark guided by only the moon light. Our own porters pass us by in the dark. Alfred finally hails one who stays with us and shows us the way as Alfred does not know the way.

For the first time, I fall about 2 hours into the hike. I hyperextend my right leg and it hurts really badly. We continue slowly until one of the other porters finds us and we realize he has Dhaval's pack. Dhaval finds two lights in there so we both put one on and descend another 30 minutes to find our camp. We arrive at 8:45pm. We are cold and tired. Sonal is feeling well and helps both of us change and eat something. I had 4 bites of rice and that is it. Dhaval actually eats a full meal. I hear Ranjana come in about 45 minutes after us with no idea of how Pradeep is. Hashim comes in and informs us that Pradeep is not well and will be stretchered down. I am tired and turn in to go to sleep as Ranjana makes it to the mess tent. As I am falling asleep, I hear Pradeep come in huffing and puffing, totally out of breath. HE HAS HAD NO EMERGENCY STRETCHER OR OXYGEN. He is wheezing badly and informs us he has taken 60 mg of OraPred. Dhaval is also wheezing and he take 60mg of Orapred. They both have HAPE.

They are all talking in the back ground as I fall asleep. Wakeup time is 8am tomorrow.

July 2, 2009

We get up at 6:30am again for a 8am departure. The camp site is very dirty and yucky!! I had to walk far to find a semi-clean outhouse. We finally leave at 8:45am. The Baranco Wall sits in front of us and is a straight hike up a wall with a narrow path through the rocks. Sonal is not feeling well today but she is told she must go tot Karanga Camp. Our guides tell us that we will eat at Karanga quickly and move on to Barafu Camp. This will allow us to leave at 5am for summiting instead of midnight! We recruit porters to carry our day packs today as we are very tired. The boys carry their own and the girls give them up!

We make it up the wall and have a slightly downward and then upward path to Karanga. We go thorough a valley where old glaciers may have resided once. We make it to Karanga at 1pm (one of the last groups to arrive and leave). Our lunch today is salad with mayonnaise and french fries. We quickly eat up and leave camp by 2:15pm. Sonal is still not well but she will have to go to Barafu for an easy descent if she needs to go down.

There are alot of ups and downs in the hike towards Barafu. We are exhausted and crawl into camp at 6:30pm. Dinner is being served as we walk in. We are so tired that we just want to go to sleep. We eat as fast as we can and go back to change into our gear for the morning. There will be no steripenning tonight as we are going to use tabs. They take four hours to work but the cook and Hashim are willing to fill all of our bags and tab them for us to help us out.

I once again sleep with all my electronics. How uncomfortable is that!! But we need our batteries so there is no other choice. We will be getting up at 4am. So off to sleep it is.

July 1, 2009

We get up at 6:20am and get ready. We will be hiking 7-8 hours today. We leave 8:30am after breakfast of eggs, porridge, and toast. My tummy is hurting so I eat very little. Our first 2 hours of hiking are tough and we are all breathing hard. We finally ask about our day pack porter availability and they tell us that tomorrow it is possible to find someone to carry the day packs for the girls. We finally see the junction to Lava tower and Baranco wall. Lava tower will take us to 4100m where we will acclimatize. We have a pack lunch at the junction. (We were given lunch in the morning but most of us decide to eat cliff bars and the likes. The pack lunch consists of a pastry/muffin, chocolate bar, pineapple juice, and a boiled egg)

We start our ascent to Lava tower. We see three glaciers including Arrow and Heim. Heim is the largest glacier on the mountain but it changes practically every week. Almost 75% of the glaciers have receded. We move towards Lava Tower but Hashim decides to help me with my pack (my tummy is still hurting). I think the dust is getting to me and my lungs. It hurts to inhale. We spend about 30 minutes at Lava Tower and eat more cliff bars.

We descend downwards after a nice rest. We go down rocks and a very steep path. Since we are feeling good and have no acclimatize issues, we will skip 4th camp and go to 5th camp. As we descend, we see the SENSIA tree and the White Neck Raven. As we descend, Sonal and Pradeep have run out of water. Sonal has run out 2 hours away from the camp and Pradeep about 1 hour away. Dhaval runs out about 20 mins away. I have about 20 ounces left when i get to camp.

It has started to get cold, so we will change quickly and take a wipe bath. We now find out that we could have rented our own porta-potty for $400 for the whole week! OMG!!

We are all famished. Dinner is soup, paratha (pancake) and bland macaroni. Pradeep and Sonal head off to bed. They both are dehydrated and need rest. Sonal actually has nausea and vomiting which is concerning.

Dhaval, Ranjana and I steripen at 8pm and finish 26L. We will all keep our battery operated stuff in the sleeping bags to keep it all warm.

GPS of route

http://7summits.com/kilimanjaro/waypoints.php

this will show you the route on google earth!

June 30, 2009

We are all up at 6:30am. We get hot water for washing after we get hot tea! I use the hot tea water to brush as I normally don't drink tea before brushing. I am the first to be ready and Sinha's are the last. They have not tried their packing up before so they have technical difficulties. We leave at 9am after Ranjana and I get the steri-penning down to a science. We sterilize 20L of water (4L per person). Breakfast today is porridge (yuck!!), eggs and toast.

We take off to a steep ascent. It is steeper than yesterday. We go Pole Pole (Swahili= slow slow). It is a strenuous climb. We finally make it to lunch at 1:30pm. We have Bread, zucchini soup, corn & avocado salad and hot drinks. We fill up and leave at 2:30pm. We have another 1 hour to our destination. We come to a ridge and go over it to see a clearing.

We see a very interesting flower call the lobelia. It lives 5 years in the rain forest and 1 year on the top of the mountain. It has a purple flower. We also notice the moon out at 2:30pm.

We finally make it to our camp site at Shira Rock. I use the outhouse for the first time and almost throw up! I wipe bath and change for dinner. After dinner we steri-pen, Dhaval, Ranjana and I . Sonal is sick and Pradeep is tired. We get 15L of water done. We all head to bed at 9pm. It is really windy and cold. It will be a long night!!

June 29th, 2009

We all get up early and get ready. After a quick eggs and toast, we move our luggage and separate what is to stay and what is going. Our packs, shoes and all look clean....too clean for a Kili trip.

We are on our way to the gate and are stuck in traffic (many hikers and buses). There is a non-4 wheel bus stuck so all the porters come and help push. To no avail, a whole bunch of guys get on to the roof top and add weight to the back. 20 on top and 5 pushing!! It is extremely muddy but it works and the bus is out of the way. Another gets stuck too and we are just waiting now. It is our turn and we make it into the gate. We unload and start gearing up. Water, gaiters (to keep mud out) and registration. Once finished, we wait for all the porters and stuff to be weighed in. There are 23 people going with the five us. Cooks, porters, asst. cooks, guides, asst. guides, etc. One person can only carry 15 Kgs so we need a lot of people. We finally start climbing at 12:30pm.

We break for lunch at a picnic table at 1:30 and have lunch. We start up after lunch and take several breaks at outhouses. We talk about everything from Michael Jackson to politics. We are all in th emood for future trips like Macchu Picchu. Pradeep did not want to waster water so he carries 7L of water as the rest of us only carry 4L. My pack could be lighter. Tomorrow for sure.

The gate was at 1800m and we ascend to 3000m at Machame Hut. We make it to registration and then our tents. We eat tea and I break out the Chevdo. We get our bags settled in and proceed to dinner after a wipe bath and change of clothes. Dinner menu: leek soup, salad, vegetable sauce, spaghetti and tilapia for the guys. We go to bed at 9pm. We are to get up at 6:30am for 8:3am departure.

June 27-28, 2009

June 27th, 2009

4pm

We have boarded KLM flight to Amsterdam. Sonal, Dhaval, Pradeep and Ranjana are all seated separately, so they move their seats to be together. I am in 10J (window and bulk head) and next to a teacher who talks a little too much. I am already missing the kids and Tapan and am a bit nervous. After a quick nap, they serve dinner with alcohol but we are to stay far away as it will further dehydrate us when we are too stay hydrated for the trip. I have started my diamox at 125mg twice a day but Pradeep convinces us that 250mg twice a day is the way to go. I will have to adjust my dose when I land.

I take my Bose headset out (thanks tapan for convincing me to take it) and watch some movies. Taken and Slumdog Millionaire. I take my travel pillow out too and it is much better than airline pillows!! I get my food preference (veggie) and after eating I sink into the seat to try to sleep.

6AM: Amsterdam airport

We all get off and walk around to find the Sinha's toothbrushes. We tried to go to the Delta lounge but it is shared with KLM and does not work for us to get in! Bummer! We all reboard after freshening up and getting some bottled water. I am in 11J (window again) and the others are towards the back. Most of us sleep for this leg. I get Indian Veggie food for snack including daal, paratha, aloo ki sabzi and rice!! We all take our meds with food and sink in. I watch Dostana and fall asleep only to be waken by the sounds of landing gear and announcements. I am very very nervous as are the others. We will get to the hotel, get a briefing, sort our stuff and rest for the morning. The things that remain behind will be given to the hotel.

KILI here we come!!

Charity starts at home!!

As you know, I leave for Tanzania on Saturday. Surprisingly I came home from my last trip (hopefully) to REI to find a box from Pennsylvania. As I opened it, my eyes just got bigger and bigger. There were two very beautiful cookbooks, one for us and one for Tloma, cards for the kids in Karatu and some quote of the kids along with the commercials they made to sell the books.

It nearly took all my energy and more to stop the tears from rolling out of my eyes. Here at 37 (in my mind 21) years of age, I figured out what true fundraising and charity is, but the kids at the DENVER Primary School, figured in out a few decades before I ever knew what charity is!

Some of the kids said the following (there are more and we will post them on the website)

• It made us work harder because we knew the money was going to a good cause and we wanted to help. Plus we were helping kids like us! (the whole basis for kid4kids360) We can relate to them. Alexa, age 9

• This project tool a lot of teamwork and effort. I enjoyed this project not only because it was fun, by because it is helping a school in need. I am also proud of myself and the other kids for their hard work and time. Adella, age 9

• This was meaningful to me because I knew it was going to help people just like us. Also it could make a difference in someone’s life. Summer, age 10

• It was just amazing to me as a kid, knowing that I could help kids across the world, just by selling cookbooks. Emily, age 11.

Okay, so I am sobbing for joy!! It is so nice to see kids getting the sheer concept of what we are trying to promote at Kids4Kids360 and A School Bell Rings. Kudos to the kids, Amy, student council and Pia for seeing this through and for letting me be the messenger to take this over.

As I climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, it will be this feeling that shall help me summit and conquer as these kids did. I will be leaving a flag for both of our programs ASBR and K4K360 at the top (if I make it). Children and their education shall be at the TOP!!

Final Preparations

You think that you have gotten everything and how will it all fit in 30 pounds?? Well I have one more run to REI. Thanks to their frequent flyer....I will be getting monies back to spend. Well I have trained all I can (two more days of working out) and now comes time for the test. I am glad there are friends going with me as we will all keep each other company. We are all taking playing cards and other things to keep us occupied. I hope my Ipod lasts too as i will need that to keep focused.

There are many times that I keep thinking I must really be "stupid" to consider doing this. With my family left behind, I have tried to communicate all that I can incase there is a situation in which they will need to know where things are. It is a nervous and anxious feeling.

Kili will be kind to us and will allow us all to climb it. ALl the good wishes and prayers will come in handy. Keep them coming!!

Final Itinerary.....

Day 1: June 28: Arrive: (five arriving p.m flight) You will be met at Kilimanjaro Airport and transferred to Moshi and your hotel for overnight (1hr journey time).

Day 2 : June 29: Kilimanjaro climb – Machame route: (5 climbers) After breakfast you will be transferred to the national park gate at Machame. Taking a picnic lunch, you will begin a gradual ascent through fascinating rain forest to reach the ranger hut at Machame in approximately 6 to 7 hours. Here you can rest in your tent or enjoy the scenery while your dinner is prepared. (Machame Hut – 3000m).

Day 3 : June 30: Beginning your climb after breakfast, the route takes you through steep rocks and open moor-land, with views of Shira Plateau and Mt Meru in the distance. After a picnic lunch you will reach Shira Hut in approximately 4 to 5 hours hiking. After a rest you have an option to hike to Shira Plateau and Caves to help with acclimatization. Dinner and overnight camping at Shira Hut. (Shira Hut - 3,840m)

Day 4: July 1: Leaving Shira after breakfast, you will cross the Baranco Valley to reach the Baranco Wall. You have the option to slightly extend the route (for acclimatization) to pass to the base of the Lava Tower before reaching the ranger hut at Baranco and your tent. The walk will take approximately 4 to 5 hours walking. (Lava Tower – 4,100m. Baranco Hut – 3,900m).

Day 5: July 2 :This is a short hiking day to help your body to acclimatize to the high altitude. In 2 to 3 hours hiking you will reach the shelter of Karanga Valley, where you will rest. Dinner and overnight camping.

Day 6 : July 3 : After breakfast, you begin hiking through alpine vegetation, stopping for lunch on the way. The steep climb out of the valley takes you high enough to see rock icicles. You will reach Barafu camp site after 4 to 5 hours hiking. After dinner you will be briefed on making the ascent to the summit before retiring to your tent for a rest. Barafu 4,600m.

Day 7: July 4: Beginning the ascent at midnight, it will take approximately 5 to 6 hours hiking to reach Stella Point. It will take another 1 to 2 hours to reach Uhuru Peak – the highest point in Africa. After a snack and a brief rest on the top, you descent to Barafu for breakfast and a rest before starting the hike down the mountain to Mweka Hut for dinner and overnight camping in the rainforest. (Stella Point - 5,700m. Uhuru Peak – 5,895m. Mweka Hut - 3,100m).

Day 8: July 5: This is a relatively easy days hiking down to the national park gate at Mweka (4 to 5 hours). Successful climbers pick up Kili summit certificates before joining the waiting vehicle for the transfer to your hotel in Moshi for refreshment break (showers at Impala hotel) before starting your onward journey.

Anisa: Join the waiting vehicle for the journey to Gibbs Farm, Karatu. Packed lunch provided

Day 9: July 6: Anisa: Return to Moshi and the Impala Hotel for refreshment (shower) before transfer to the airport for evening departure

Final Preparations....

Pole....Pole is slow slow in Swahili and that is how we will take the mountain. Slow and Steady wins the race! The final packing is under way. Tomorrow, my camera comes in and that will be the last piece of equipment needed to pack. I will sleep on my sleeping pad and bag today to get use to the idea. Four others and I will leave Atlanta on June 27th. Luckily, all four are good friends and we will all see to it that we all keep each other going. On the return, we all have different plans. I will go on to see the school that A School Bell Rings helped expand in 2008. It is in Karatu and I will spend the night there at the historical Gibbs Farms before boarding a plane to come back to the States

Another day closer to leaving!

Well, finally all the shopping is done!! From the smallest to the biggest, all is finally in. I now have to pack all of the stuff in small, large and XL bags. Why you ask!! Well we have been told that there is always a possibility of a heavy downpour and having wet clothes is not really fun. ZIPLOC!! here I come!

I had the last of my physicals today, and I have been cleared by my cardiologist to climb. Yeah!! At least the ticker will make it back! Onward and upward...Pole Pole..OR...Pole, pole kama kobe


(Wonder what this means? Next time!)