I Am Alive

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Sorry to all for being a bit lazy. While in Africa I didn't have much internet access and defaulted to keeping a written journal. At some point, probably when I return I'll transfer it to the blog, but until then a quick recap...

The safari was incredible. I met up with the Safari group at the Airport in Nairobi and first went to Lake Naivasha and saw enough Giraffes and Hippos to satisfy the biggest fans of them. Next was Lake Nakuru. If you have seen a picture of a landscape with endless flamingos that is the place. For me, the highlight was seeing three black rhinos. After that we stopped at Lake Vitoria for a night of camping on the lake shore. It is sad you can't go in the water because of the parasites, but still amazing. Then, was the Serengeti. It is everything you see on Discovery Channel and see in National Geographic. I finally saw a Leopard, but also with its kill in a tree. The Lions were plentiful. Personally, it put Kruger National Park in South Africa to shame. After seeing animal after animal we headed to Ngorongoro Crater. If anything can top the Serengeti this is it. We witnessed a lion attempt to chase down a wart hog, imapala and a heard of zebras, but with no success. On the way to Kilimanjaro we stopped at a camp site near a Masai village. We spent an afternoon understanding their way of life, and dancing with the tribal warriors (very fun). We arrived in Marangu to set up camp the same day. The next day most of the group hiked up to the first camping spot on Kilimanjaro. This would provoke me to eventually climb the mountain. A long long drive brought us to the shores of the Indian Ocean at Dar-es-Salaam. After a night of being attacked by mosquitoes like never before, we set off for the island of Tanzania via ferry. For all you Queen fans this is where Freddie Mercury was born. The first two nights were spent in the village of Nungwi which I fell in love with and would eventually return. The final two nights were in the the city of Stone Town where you can get lost in the winding streets and eat tasty street food every night. The group and the tour guides were wonderful and I would highly recommend the company Exodus to anybody thinking of doing a Safari. If I ever have another chance I would go through them again.

While we were in Marangu at the base of Kilimanjaro I decided to sign up for the next available climb through the Marangu Hotel. The next open spot for a climb would not be for a couple of weeks, so I had the opportunity to spend some additional time on Zanzibar. After the Safari group departed I headed back to Nungwi for the next week. While I was there I got to know a bunch of locals and got PADI certified. I wish I would have done it years ago. Diving opens up all sorts of options while you are traveling. After four days I was certified for open water up to 18 meters. The final dive was the reef off Mnemba. It is the premier diving site off the island and a spectacular site.

With my tan in full gear and some great nights out at Cholo's, the best bar in town, I departed to climb Kilimanjaro. I will say that getting off the island was no easy task, but that will have to wait for the detailed update.

I arrived in Moshi and spent the night. The next morning I took a dalla dalla to Marangu to stay one night at the hotel that organizes the climb. I met the other climbers. An Italian, two Norigens and an Australian.

A quick review of the climb
Overview - I chose the five day climb, mainly because it cost less. This climb requires you to stay in pre-built huts and has been nick-named the Coca Cola route because you can purchase Coca Cola at each stop. Well, except the summit, but I would not have been surprised to see it for sale at the top.

Day one (Monday) - Hike to Mandara camp. The second time was as easy as the first. Most of the scenery is rain forest.

Day two (Tuesday) - Hike to Horombo camp. A bit of rain forest, but it quickly turns to high mountain a more high altitude forest with smaller and thinner trees. Not anymore difficult to hike than the first day's hike. If you were to do the six day climb you would spend an extra night here to become more acclimated to the altitude.

Day Three (Wednesday) - Hike to Kibo camp. The high forest turns to semi-desert landscape, and is where the altitude starts to set in. I started to get an earache while everybody else started getting headaches. The peak is almost always visible. We get to the camp around 3:00 have a bit of dinner at 5:00 and try to get some sleep before the final climb. We are woken up at 11:00 pm. We get dressed have our tea and a few biscuits before starting at midnight. The climb to Gilman's point takes a little less than five hours. Four of us make it while the Italian gets there 90 minutes later. After a short rest and a cup of tea we start out for the highest point - Uhru Peak. Another 90 minutes later we are there just before sunrise. The earache is bit more intense, but tolerable. We all take pictures and quickly head back down.

Day four (Thursday) - Hike back to Horombo to camp.
After getting back to Kibo camp we all sleep for about an hour and have some lunch before setting out to go back to Horombo. I now have a very bad headache, but by the time we get halfway to Horombo it has pretty much gone. Being very exhausted we eat a quick dinner an sleep very soundly.

Day five (Friday) - Hike back to the base. The final trek down is pretty quick, and a hot shower is on everyone's mind. We get to the bottom around 3:00 and get our certificates for accomplishing the climb. A hot shower and a rest was well deserved. We said thank you to the guides, chef and porters through tips and beer. They all sang the Kilimanjaro song before going back to their families.

All in all the climb is not very difficult. There is no technical climbing and not much preparation is required. If you are in decent shape and don't get altitude sickness there is no reason you can't do it.

After the climb I set back for Dar-es-Salaam via a flight from Kilimanjaro airport. I went to confirm my flight, but learned I was canceled off it. After an hour of negotiating and calling United back home I was put on a flight for Zürich. I ended up spending three days in Zürich before I got to Portugal.

I got into Portugal on August 1st, and spent the night in Lisbon. The next day I took a three hour bus to Lagos. My birthday was spend in a couple of bars doing what seemed endless shots. I realized that Lagos was going to eat me alive if I stayed much longer. While wandering the streets I found out about a surf camp in Sagres. Two days later I was being picked up and for the next week I finally learned how to surf. The time was great. I stayed in a house with other surfers and spent everyday in the ocean.

Back to Lagos for a few days after surf camp. I saw the major sites and took a day trip out to Sintra. There is plenty to see and the streets are easy to get lost in.

Onto London. The next week I spent in London with a buddy who is there on a project for the next year. Even with a place to stay I saw the bank account getting hit pretty hard. I had been to London a number of other times, and have seen most sites. I pretty much relaxed and took in a few sites, and finally made it out to Windsor Castle.

After London I was off to Croatia with my buddy from London. We flew into Zagreb, spending one night. Then, we took a 3 1/2 bus to Pula. A nice coastal city with an amazing Roman Colusium. However, it was mostly a family destination. I head down to the island of Hvar while my buddy went back to work. Before getting into Hvar I stopped in Split for the morning. Hvar was more lively than Pula, but did not have the ruins that Pula and Split have. After Hvar I spent one night in Dubrovnik at the tip of Croatia. The walled city is something to see, but two days is enough to take it all in.

I set out yesterday morning for Sarajevo where I am now. I will spend one more night here before going onto Belgrade for two nights. My trip is winding down with two nights in Belgrade. Then to Italy until the 18th, back to London on the 19th, and the 20th back to the states. I have a night stop in Las Vegas and then a few nights in Arizona before finally getting back home to San Francisco. At this point I am looking forward to home....

I have a number of pictures on the web. If you want to take a look check out - http://www.flickr.com/photos/brosto