Kili, Kenya, Cathy, and Silver Back

Well, I am glad that the internet computers, and all other electricity, went out during my blogging 2 days ago. That is because yesterday was absolutely amazing. And, painful.

But, first, Kili. Well, I certainly got exactly what I bargained for. I was expecting one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I got that and more. The 6 day hike began with our "team", which consisted of our porters/cooks/servers, 3 to a climber, and then Wilson, our guide. Our porters put our packs, their packs, the food, water, tables, chairs, and I'm sure a sink somewhere in there as well, right up onto their heads and/or upper backs and literally ran up the hill. We were paced by Wilson, to help our acclimatization. Wilson is a 60-year old, senior guide, who has been climbing Kili for over 18 years. He claims we were his 902nd group he has taken up the mountain. As, he was huffing and puffing just minutes into our walking, we had our doubts. All of us actually looked at each other and asked if he was going to make it up the mountain. He did. We camped at proper camp sites, in tents, and were fed "gourmet" meals of chicken curry, fresh fruits (esp. mangoes...), porridge, tea, coffee, etc. etc. Quite a bit above what I was expecting. There were hard days and then there were harder days, but with Wilson pacing us, I felt pretty fresh at the end of every day. Mark and Tracy were the other two people in my group, and they experienced headaches and a bit of nausea and appetite loss; signs of altitude sickness. Thankfully, they were only mild. We arrived at the last camp and prepared for our summit push, which would start at about 11:00 PM to allow for a sunrise on the summit. Well, we did exactly that, but were immediately caught in a major blizzard. January is summer and "the best time to climb Kili". We found about 80+ mph winds and major snow. We battled for about 4-5 hours, but due to the extremes, we had to turn around or we would have come back with fewer appendages. I had minor frostbite on my fingers, basically just really rough skin, that has since flaked off. We got back to camp at around 6 or 7 and fell into our tents. We woke up at about 09:00 to crystal blue skies and sun. I asked what the chances of getting Wilson to try it and he agreed pretty easily. Mark was spent, so he declined, but Tracy decided to give it a go. We all set off. Mind you camp was about 15,000 feet, higher than anything in North America. We plodded up the slopes at Wilson's pace. Around16,500 or so was the level where I started to really feel the altitude. By 18,000' I was literally using accessory muscles, gasping as deeply as if I had just popped out of a pool in which I had held my breath for 2 minutes... every 5-10 steps. We made it to Stella's Point, the second highest peak on Kili, just 300' feet or so below the true peak. We took pictures and got congrats from every one there. But, Tracy started to vomit horribly and she definitely had to get down. I waffled about going the extra 45 minutes to the peak, but decided knowing I could make it was enough. We all went down as quickly as we could manage. Tracy stopped vomiting the next day, and in all, it was one of the best things I have ever done, and certainly the most physically demanding. Knowing what high altitude does to me, I have my doubts about Everest... 19,000'+ will be enough for me.

As for Cathy and Kenya, I am sure you guys know that there is still violence happening. I have not been able to get in touch with Cathy or her family for some the past couple of weeks. I will obviously continue to try for updates. Prayers will suffice for now.

And now on to Silverback and my tour. I have started my overlanding tour, which is basically a huge 4x4 trucks specially outfitted to carry a bunch of people to all the sights of Africa. Mark and Tracy are still here, as well as another 12-13 people from Canada, NYC, Britain, Japan, Cyprus/Turkey. Others will join in a few weeks. Our first stop, after our starting point re-routing from Kenya to Uganda, was Jinja. Jinja is Uganda's adventure sports mecca, and it is well-deserved. Here is the beginning of the Nile. Here is major white-water rafting. Oh yeah!
Grade 6 is the most extreme and can only be done non-commercially. Grade 5 is over-the-top nuts, done to Grade 1 which is like the log ride at an amusement park. In a raft of 6, plus our river guide, and numerous kayak rescuers, we set out for a full day of rafting the White Nile. We hit a couple of Grade 2 and 3's and we were primed, excited and fully oblivious to what awaited. The first two 5's were awesome, huge crests, whirlpools, and crazy speed. Super-thrilling. Then came SilverBack. Each graded rapid gets a name, and this one was appropriate. There were 4 consecutive parts to this section, each crazy by itself. We made it upright in our boat through the first 0.3 seconds of the first wave before being shot out of our boat as it flipped crazily. I was sucked under the water for what felt like about 15 seconds, though I was told beforehand, that the max recorded time ever was only 12 seconds. While underwater, I met that big hairy gorilla's fist about 20 times, being spun end over end and then around and around, being sucked this way then that, all in pitch blackness with no end in sight. Then, just as they said, I was shot out of the water. I gasped for a breath and was met with the next wave. After asking what I did in life to deserve all of this, I then realized my kayak safety guy was there to save me. He pulled me to the waters edge, where it was calm and I slowly recovered my breath. It was then that I noticed I couldn't hear very well. When I banged my head to the side, water came from my nose. As I thought that peculiar, I tried the other side. Normally if I have a problem that is symmetrically bad on both sides, I feel better thinking that, as a set, it must have been there all along. But, with river Nile exiting my nose, I concluded that this was bad. After SilverBack we had an easy 6 km on the water to eat lunch and relax with no rapids. My right ear cleared mostly, but my left ear still had a bit of residual muffled-ness. So, I carried on with a couple more 4's and one last 5, in which of course, we flew into the water again. It was on this one that I got smacked by the boat across my nose. I only am scrapped a little, nothing big. At that point it started to hurt, so I abandoned the last Grade 5 and walked to the truck. Today, there is no more nasal-Nile thing going on, but I am still muffled in my left ear. I think it is going to heal fine after a few days, and this is what all of the professional rafters said. Something like severe swimmer's ear. Anyway, all of the rafting was videoed by a professional on the shore, and we got to watch it last night at the camp. It is absolutely nuts, the water we went through. It is absolutely one of the most fun things I have ever done. Added cool factor, is the fact that NO ONE will ever get to do it again after this season, as they are damning this section of the river for power. So, I am banged up, but smiling from ear to ear! We move on from here to Rwanda to meet a real Silver Back. I am really hoping this one treats me better than the first. We will also get to see the genocide museum, which I am really looking forward to...

Finally, though a bit vulgar, something that we laughed so hard at...

Our river guide would tell us and prep us before each wave, telling us what to expect and what to do, like "I will need you to paddle really hard to get to the wave" "the wave will take us this way" and "I want you to lean to this side of the boat" then "I will scream 'HOLD ON'" etc. etc. David, one of the brothers from NYC, said for SilverBack, the only orders should have been "paddle hard towards the wave, then stand up turn around bend over and grab you ankles..."

Kili

Well, this will be my last blog for a while, as I will be heading up Kilimanjaro's slopes tomorrow!!! I have no idea how being at that altitude will effect me, but if it comes down to will, I will see the top! I am pretty excited to say the least. I am viewing it as a great way to focus on the here and now of a difficult task, eliminate all of the worry and negative images of the past few weeks. I can NOT WAIT to see the sunrise at the summit. It really was/is one the main things I looked forward to before I started out. Talk to some of you from the top!

Hanging Chads

Nothing like a little election intrigue. My trip out into rural Kenya went smoothly enough. It was the return that proved to be quite difficult. Initially, I had visions of mud-walled huts, due to descriptions provided by other volunteers that had been living at the orphanage in Western Kenya. So, I decided to leave my passport in Nakuru, locked in Emily's house. It proved to be faulty logic. For upon arrival, an underlying tension in Kakamega was noticeably higher than in Nakuru, though I still could feel no threat. Making it safely to Rose's house, I settled in and felt quite fine with the situation, as 1) I had not heard of any violence yet (the results were not yet announced) and 2) it definitely was out in the middle of nowhere. But, over the following days all of the election madness filtered in via the radio, and by the sound of things I knew it might get ugly. From the intersection with the main road, a small dirt lane led to our home amongst the sugarcane. This is where at the end of the day we saw people running away screaming from the crazy panga (machete)-wielding idiots. A group of 12 or so volunteers for the orphanage was stationed in the next town over and heard gun-shots that night. That coupled with the American Embassy warning to leave the country, if you could, made those guys jet out the next day. They had to bribe the local police for an escort to the Kisumu airport, but, in the end, they made it safely home. Needless to say all of the horrific stories started to trickle in via calls home to family and stories from locals and Rose's family. The details of Kikuyu's (Kibaki's tribe) seeking refuge in a church in Eldoret, only 30 minutes from where we were, only to be burned alive, further enhanced my nervousness. While the house we stayed in was mud, lined with concrete, and with locking doors, the 40-50 mph wind gusts at night made it sound like people were trying to break into the house. No electricity meant pitch black darkness, so I did not sleep so well during my time there.

My mission from that point out was trying to organize either: my way to my passport or my passport to me, neither of which were remotely possible with the country going crazy. Thankfully, after some time, we did manage to get a recommendation to get to Kisumu's Red Cross, which we were assured would be able to help me travel saely back to Nakuru and then on to Nairobi. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were told that even the Red Cross would not risk driving the route to Nakuru. That left only a flight, which we pursued and found only 2 days later. Thankfully, David, a Red Cross volunteer was able to let me stay at his home for those 2 days, for which I will be forever grateful. His crazy lie story I will save for another time... As Kisumu was one of the hardest hit cities, you can be assured that the destruction I saw was heartbreaking and there were a few close calls of violence directed at people transporting me. Thankfully, they really do give white people a pass, and despite my driver being the wrong tribe, he was let go solely because he was carrying me.

I made my flight, met Emily, who had packed and lugged all my things to the Nairobi airport for me, and I am now in Tanzania, safe and sound and about to climb Kili. Seems out of place to me, now that 1000's are behind starving and homeless. But, what can you do...

Cathy is safe and sound, despite her being in a conflict zone. She is progressing in her walking according to her, and I hope that things are calm enough for me to return on my trip in a few weeks, so that I can see for all of us the fruits of her labor...

Coming Soon

Well, I just dont have the energy or gumption to write right now. Just wanted to let everyone know I am up and running in Tanzania after a very hectic 2 weeks. I will lay it all out in a few days...