July 22 – Today isn’t a terribly early morning – we have scheduled the bus to pick us up at 9:00 am. Peter and I are up relatively early – I decided to take advantage of finally having electricity for an extended period of time at the hotel – and take another shower at the hotel – this time the water is hot, and not just for a few minutes. We head to breakfast and I am surprised we are the first ones there! Normally Lynn and Adam are the first to breakfast, but this morning they are taking their time to organize their things.
The breakfast at the hotel is simple, but nice – coffee, tea, oe fresh juice, – eggs or omelettes cooked to order – sweet chapati – fresh pineapple and watermelon – yoghurt – bacon, sausage and what looks like baked beans – and toast with butter and jam. For me I keep it simple – first coffee with milk, then the pineapple (which is so, so, so delicious!); and finally two eggs over medium with toast. I think visiting Eastern Africa, puts food and life in perspective – I am so grateful for all we have, and realize how overly blessed we are.
Soon the rest of the group begins to join us. We all have a nice breakfast, then we head back to our rooms to gather our gear and load the bus. Before we depart, I head to the reception area to get my boots – for $2.00 – they clean my dirty and very dusty boots from climbing. This is probably the best $2.00 I have spent!
With the bus loaded, we head back to Nairobi. The first order of business – we need to answer a question posed by Lacey – “What did you learn about yourself on this trip?” Over dinner each night on the climb, we would ask each other questions, but as this question was much deeper than most of our questions – so we saved it for last. Most of our questions were simple – such as – “What was the first concert you saw?”
Next on the agenda – I gave the team a task of creating a nickname for everyone based on the this experience. So here they are:
Me: Dad, I think more than once either Lilly or Lacey said to me – “That is such a Dad thing to say.” And as the team leader, I had to make sure everyone was on the bus, where they needed to be, etc.
Peter, or should I say Prince Peter – let’s put it this way, Muhammad would always bring Peter hot tea to his tent in the morning, and when we came down from the summit to Barafu Camp – everyone wanted warm water so they could wash up – but we were told that we were in a desert and that we would have to wait until we got down to the Mweka Forest camp – well, everyone but Peter – Muhammad seemed to find enough water for him to have a bowl of hot water brought to his tent. All joking aside, Peter does make an effort to meet and introduce himself to anyone – be it the support staff on the climb, a waiter in the hotel, the bell staff in the hotel – etc.
Becky or should we say Princess Becky – Princess Becky also received some special treatment. But all joking aside – this is one of the great things about Julius’ team – their main focus is our safety and comfort – they go out of their way to ensure we have everything we need. So back to Princess Becky – well as an example on the last night – we all gathered in the tent, well everyone but Becky as she was truly exhausted and tired from the 14+ hour day – and Muhammad recognized the importance of her needing to eat, so first he brought her soup to her tent, then her meal. I am happy to say, she ate her entire dinner.
Lilly and Lacey – The Sisters – they have know each other for most of their lives, and are just like sisters. And everywhere we went, shop owners, etc. would think that they were sisters. They would fight like sisters, the help each other out in difficult times like sisters, they finish each other’s thoughts like sisters and they look our for each other like sisters.
Adam – he became Ansel after the great outdoor photographer – Ansel Adams. Adam is an avid photographer and I am excited to see his photos from the trip. And unlike me, who always uses the automatic settings, Adam adjusted the aperture and shutter speed for perfect pictures.
Lynn – Adam’s Mom soon became known as Mama Mountain Goat. Living in Colorado, she hikes frequently, and it was evident as she hiked up rocks with ease – even with her hands in her pockets. Whereas I was hugging the rocks!
Cathy – she too was looking after everyone, especially Lilly and Lacey – so her nickname became Mom. So be it medicine, money or emotional support – Cathy was there to take care of everyone.
And finally there is Deb – she became JW or Julius’ Wife – Julius would always joke on the trip and say , “Where is my wife?” when he was looking for Deb or he would ask “How is my wife?”
Soon after we finished with everyone’s nickname, the bus ride got pretty quite. I think everyone was still a bit tired – despite a good nights sleep in the hotel. Our first stop – the Tanzanian/Kenyan border – about 1 1/2 to 2-hours from Arusha. I spent most of the trip listening to music (Sugar Free Radio by Ron Seikly – he is Greek – like me – an ex-college and professional basketball player – who played for my childhood team – the Syracuse Orangemen – an now is a DJ in Miami) and I continued writing my blog. I have alot to catch up on as the internet was being a little finicky this trip.
The drive also gives me time to admire the beautiful landscape and countryside as well as watch the Maasai people as they tend to their animals and farms. The Maasai are so thin and tall, and in their native garb look regal and royal.
We reach the border, and we first have to depart or check-out from Tanzania. A fairly quick process, but it is a little busy, and outside of the office, the Maasai women are selling jewelry and such – it feels like a scene out of a movie. We are soon rebound the bus, where we drive across the border and back up a street to enter or check-in to Kenya. The scene is the same, just a different country. However this time we are detained a little – our driver tells me customs wants to check out our luggage and I have to go into an office – I follow him, the driver and a customs agent talk, he looks at me, then he sends us on our way. I am not sure what happened or why, but I am happy we didn’t get delayed.
So we are on our way again – the next stop – the souvenir stand, restroom, drink stop – that we stopped at on the way to Arusha. It is only 5-minutes away and a welcome stop for all. I buy my favorite soda (I actually rarely drink soda, but enjoy this when I am in Kenya) – Stoney Tangaziwi – a Ginger Beer. Other than that, I did’t buy anything. So back on the bus – next stop the Stanley Hotel – Nairobi. I continue to write and listen to music – soon the urban sprawl of Nairobi is upon us – and we begin to feel the traffic congestion. We move slow as we weave in and out of the traffic. And soon the bus becomes a little more lively – I think everyone is anxious to get to the hotel and to enjoy the facilities – hot showers, the pool, the restaurant and the bar. Next on the agenda – guess our arrival time.
As we get closer to the hotel – we get a little bad news – Nairobi was the host for UNCTAD 14 – The fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development – which brings together Heads of State and Government, ministers and other prominent players from the business world, civil society and academia to tackle global trade and economic development issues. And as our hotel is a key hotel for the conference, and the fact that some of the meetings were being conducted near the hotel – streets were closed off, there was a heavy presence of police and they military, and we could not pull into our hotel with the bus. I think this added at least 30-minutes to our trip.
We were finally able to check-in to the hotel – but my adventure was far from over – Peter and I were given a room with a single bed – so back down to the front desk to straighten this out. We finally get it a room with 2-beds – I then find out where everyone else is staying and distribute their certificates from summiting Kili.
That afternoon/evening – Deb, Becky and I decide to go around the corner and eat lunch/dinner at the Java House. We have a nice meal and celebrate our journey with their famous ice cream – a Double Espresso Milkshake for me and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae for Deb and Becky.
The Java House’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae
We head back to the hotel where we are going to meet Edwin from Flying Kites. We end up also meeting the rest of our group who are eating dinner at the hotel restaurant. We enjoy some wine with the group as we wait for Edwin – he too is caught up in the Nairobi traffic. When Edwin arrives – we spend a little time catching up in the restaurant – then a few of us head with him up to the Exchange Bar where Peter so graciously buys us all a round of drinks. It’s a nice way to celebrate and wind-down our trip. As it gets late, and we hear last call, we decide to go to bed. Tomorrow we are all off – Lynn, Adam, Becky and Deb are off to Safari – Peter to Mombasa for a beach vacation – Lacey back to Rwanda – Lilly and Cathy back to the US – and I am headed to Switzerland for a week.
So until tomorrow. . .
