Arrival in Africa - Day 1

August 9, 2009 - Arrival

I arrived in Africa after a relatively painless red-eye flight on a Kenya Airways 777. I'm not sure why I expected my flight to be an uncomfortable ride in an old airplane but it was anything but. Thus died the first of many stupid misconceptions about East Africa.

On my arrival in Nairobi I had a lengthy wait for my commuter flight to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. Seats were at a premium in this airport and I soon figured out you have to divide your time between walking around and staking out a seat that looks like it may be vacated soon. At first I was irritated with my long wait but as I looked around there were people everywhere sitting on the floor, reading and generally settling in for their own long waits. The stopover did give me the chance to take in my new environment as a spectator and do some people watching. My first gaff of the trip came when I went to one of the currency exchange counters and changed a bunch of US Dollars into Schillings. After receiving the wad of notes from the teller I started packing them away in my various travel wallets until I realized that I had just purchased a bunch of Kenyan currency which would be all but useless in Tanzania. I sheepishly went back to the currency counter and exchanged the bills for Tanzanian Schillings.

In due course I was on my flight to Kilimanjaro airport. The captain came on the PA and pointed out Mt. Meru on our right - the 2nd highest mountain in the region. People frequently climb this mountain as well and I looked at it's craggy peak soberly. A few moments later the captain came on again to announce the Mt. Kilimanjaro was coming into view to the left. After looking at Mt. Meru it's safe to say the Kilimanjaro left me a little awestruck. In contrast to Meru's black unattractive features, Kili was majestic with its glacier crown and cloak of white clouds. I was taken aback by its sheer size and for the first of several times I wondered whether I was in way over my head.

Soon we were on the ground and getting processed through customs and immigration. For the first of many times my preparation paid off. My documents were completely in order and I breezed through quickly to find all my checked luggage intact and my tour representatives waiting for me outside. I joined several others who were headed to the same hotel and I had my first taste of driving the roads of Tanzania. The plain was incredibly dusty and dry. Every kilometre or so we would pass one or two young boys coaxing a herd of goats along the side of the road.

The Springland Hotel in the town of Moshi is run by Zara tours and it essentially caters to the many people arriving every week from around the world to tackle the Kilimanjaro climb. Our van drove through the iron gates that quickly closed behind us and for the first of many times I would notice the disparity between the everyday world of Africa and that which is enjoyed but those visiting from other countries. Outside was dust and the smell of cooking fires on the side of the road, animals both alive and dead and ramshackle huts in various stages of completion. Inside was a lush garden with tables set under the shade of palm trees. Around the corner people were lounging by a brand new swimming pool. Before long I was situated in my room, all checked in and reasonably organized. I sat on the end of my bed and tried to get my head wrapped around where I was. With an effort I shook offer the sense of disorientation, grabbed my journal and walked out into the garden to have the first of many Africa beers. There is an excellent selection of good beer in Tanzania, ranging from Tusker, Safari, Serengeti and of course, Kilimanjaro beer. I later learned my favourite was Serengeti.

One of the many pleasant surprises of my trip was how easy it was to meet others and generally socialize. I spotted some people who were on the van ride in and soon we were drinking beer together and discussing our expectations of the next few days.

We had a while before we were scheduled to meet our guides and have the pre-climb briefing. When I arrived I was greeted by a pretty cool Maasai guy who served as a kind of bellman and general helper. If you needed something he was only too happy to help you, in exchange for a thank-you of a few schillings. The Maasai, I would learn, are a tribe native to Kenya and Tanzania who remain fiercely loyal to their traditional ways. For the most part, they continue to life a nomadic life, herding cattle around the countryside. Even those like my helper who have chosen a more urban life continue to wrap themselves in brightly coloured blankets. This unmistakable clothing visually sets the Maasai apart from everyone else and their sense of pride is obvious.

I needed a new SIM card for my phone so I could send text messages home without huge roaming fees. To my surprise he was well versed in this procedure and, despite the language barrier, was able to get me set up with a new SIM and 20,000 Schillings worth of pre-paid phone time on ZAIN, one of the local carriers. (I was amazed at how pervasive mobile phone technology is in Africa - more on that later.)

After my phone was configured he offered to take me into the nearby forest to catch a glimpse of the somewhat rare Colobus monkeys. After some hesitation I agreed and he took me on a very pleasant walk across some rice fields and into the forest where we eventually spotted the elusive monkeys. It was hard to get good pictures of them and soon I was content to just watch them with my own eyes. My guide was having none of this and eventually grabbed my camera and proceeded to burn up a huge amount of memory with endless pictures and videos. When we would get a particularly good look at the monkeys my guide seemed immensely pleased with himself and giggled like a little boy. They he would rest is chin on my shoulder and watch from behind me, not hesitating to physically turn my head with his hands if he didn't think I was looking in the right place.

Later that evening we were back at the hotel and being briefed by our guides about the schedule and generally what to expect. Their English was reasonably good but it regardless it was obvious they had done this many times before and immediately I was comfortable that I was in good hands. We finished off the evening with some dinner, another beer or two and then bed. I fell asleep to the sound of a crazy group of South Africans partying by the pool, ecstatic for having completed their climb of Kilimanjaro. I looked forward to feeling the same way.

Trip Log - Departure Day

August 6, 2009

The big day finally arrived. There was much to think about beforehand. The company I work for has its fiscal year end on July 31. As a salesman this is a busy and somewhat stressful time of the year as we work towards meeting quotas, achieving bonuses and taking full advantage of year end financial incentives. Gladly the year ended well and after a little year-end celebration I as able to turn my attention completely to my trip. On the final days my apartment was strewn with clothing and gear, some items not yet even removed from it's packaging. On the eve of my departure I stood and surveyed this mess and wondered how I would ever get it all packed. I did manage to get the lion's share of it tucked away but there was a lot of stuff - probably too much. This fact would haunt me in the days to come.

Brenda drove me to the airport with plenty of time to spare and I crossed my fingers that I might luck out and score a business class upgrade on my flight to London. I hate long flights and I had deliberately saved my Air Canada upgrade coupons for this trip. An upgrade from Vancouver to New York is a pleasant perk. An upgrade from Vancouver to London is a gift from God. Sure enough, my upgrade came through and no time I was sipping champagne and perusing the menu trying to decide between the beef and the lamb, and between the Chianti and the Bordeaux. The trip was off to an excellent start.


The next morning I arrived at London Heathrow. I had decided early in my planning to break up the flight to Africa into two segments. I had never been to London before and this was a great opportunity to explore a little bit and spare myself a gruelling 24 hours in transit without a break. So I settled conveniently into the Hilton at Heathrow terminal 4, snoozed, showered, and headed out to explore. There was direct access to the London Underground from terminal 4 and it was a straight shot on the Piccadilly line directly to the heart of London.



I had time for two trips to the city before my departure for Africa and I saw most of the mandatory sights including the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and just for fun on Saturday morning, Portobello Market in Notting Hill. It was all good fun. The only frustration came on Friday night when, after hours of exploring, I desperately wanted a cold beer and some dinner at a pub. Given the millions of pubs in London this hardly seemed like a problem but to my surprise every pub on every corner was bursting with people just finished work. Not only were the pubs full inside but people were crowded outside on the sidewalks with their beers. It was a bit of work getting my pub dinner that night.