Baboon Haikus and Summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro

Wow. Some amazing stuff since the last time I wrote. It's definitely been a bit of a fast paced itinerary, though, making it hard to update frequently...

So, after my visit to Zanzibar, I flew into Arusha, Tanzania and immediately wanted to embark on a safari tour beginning that same afternoon. However, I quickly discovered that safaris in Africa, and Tanzania in particular, are not so cheap. So, i visited a local ATM and withdrew several million Tanzanian shillings, or roughly 6 inches of stacked bills. At first i feared that walking around town with gigantic wads of cash literally ballooning all of my pockets was asking for trouble, but the good folks of Tanzania proved my initial concerns wrong; the only theft i encountered in my entire time in Tanzania was the loss of a Snickers bar on Mt. Kilimanjaro to a clever, raven-like bird, apparently with a similar appreciation for that great peanut, caramel and chocolate combination.

The safaris were great. I saw lots of elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, impalas, baboons, impalas, wildebeasts, water buffalo, warthogs and even a few lions and a leopard. The animal activity and concentration is particularly intense in Ngorongoro Crater, which is a natural crater about 15 kilometers in diameter and is literally packed with animals and land-rover-filled tourists. It's almost too easy, as you basically get driven around in your land cruiser to the animals of your choice until you have seen them all. I'm a little concerned too about the psyche of some of the less "cool" animals, as there is such a distinct hierarchy in the popularity of the animals among tourists with the much coveted leopards, lions and rhinos getting all the attention and glory. While a lonely leopard sleeps in a distant tree, barely visible, dozens of land rovers crowd around and wait for HOURS for it simply to move. Meanwhile, the plentiful zebras are practically doing backflips, the gazelles breakdancing and the baboons writing haiku just to get a glance from an occassional yawning tourist. Imagine the emotional scars that those poor, less popular animals must suffer from contant, insensitive tourist remarks such as "I hope we get to see a lion kill a wildebeast" or "This haiku lacks any creativity or substance. What baboon wrote this?"

Although the safaris were great, the real highlight for me in Tanzania was my Mt. Kilimanjaro experience. It is often said that climbing to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of those "big life moments", and indeed it was for me. On the surface, one might think that the combination of extreme cold, God-awful toilet facilities, constant exhaustion and sleep derivation, frequent high-altitude induced headaches and loads of overly-geared up Europeans would be an experience to be avoided, let alone worth 6 inches of cash. Even after all the effort, money and color coordinated branded hiking accessories, a large percentage of climbers don't even make it to the summit, due to altitude sickness.

However, the 6 day climb, going from 1800 meters to a whopping 5895 meters was nothing short of spectacular. The final, 1200-vertical-meter leg of the hike to the summit began at midnight on Day 5 and was a grueling 6+ hour ordeal. However, my guide, and now friend, Julius, not only led me to the summit, but we were the first of the day from our route to reach the top and were there just minutes before a glorious sunrise. And no, the 15 degree below zero temperature at the summit did not stop me from busting out my yellow Carleton t-shirt for a picture on top of the roof of Africa.

In addition to the satisfaction of making it to the top, the experience was enjoyable as i befriended several people, including Julius, my chef, Samwel and another lone American traveler, Alex. In fact, one of the highlights of the trip was immediately after we returned to Arusha after the climb when Julius, Samwel and I were having drinks just chilling out. At one point i noticed how much at peace I was, as I was gently jamming to the music playing in the background. Somehow, never before have Boyz to Men ("Until the End of the Road") sounded, uh, dare i admit, so pleasant.

I'm now in Nairobi, Kenya and feeling a little less comfortable than my beloved Tanzania. Not only is Nairobi nick-named "Nai-robbery", but within minutes of arrival here, I took a taxi drive in which we backed into not just one, but two pedestrians (one separate occasssions!). Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, but suffice to say that each episode included an audible "thump". Seemingly trying to secure an untouchable record and confirming my hypothesis that the driver doesn't think it important to look while backing up, the taxi driver was about to back into a third pedestrian, but this time me and fellow passenger were well prepared and called out a successful warning scream.

Tomorrow morning i leave for my next little adventure which first will take me through the Masai Mara National Park, then across the countryside of Uganda and then, the big finale, to see Mountain Gorillas in Uganda...

As uploading photos is a bit slow on this computer, i will have to upload more pictures (e.g. Kilimanjaro) later...