--mt kilimanjaro, africa--
the top of africa: swahili lessons...
'Karibu': 'Welcome' Here is the log book we signed into at our first camp. About half the camps have sign-ins where you give all your info in these leger books. They seem to make up categories to fill in so that they can use all the columns.
The guides on Kilimanjaro set you on a painfully slow pace from the beginning. "Pole, pole," (pronounced pol-lee, pol-lee) they say. We go slow to adjust to the altitude each day and conserve energy. Later in the trip, I realize it's gotten me into the habit of moving more carefully and deliberately. Once we attempt the summit--it's the only way I am able to move. Extra movement wastes energy and oxygen. The pace that seems so slow at the beginning of the climb sends my heartbeat soaring when we get to higher altitude. Breathing starts to feel like you're wearing a turtleneck that's too tight, or like you're wearing a lead x-ray vest at the dentist.
'Poa kacheesi comandeesi' means cool and crazy like a banana. The guides say it all the time, probably because tourists get such a kick out of it. When we got to our hotel before the climb, there was a woman who had just fractured her leg on the downhill after summitting. Probably she was not staying poa kacheesi comandeesi. That won her a free ride on something like this, which is basically a unicycle with an old hospital bed welded to it. This is to get you off the mountain fast in case of medical emergencies. See how many precautions they take? It's all very safe really.
Kaka and dada. (Brother and sister.) 'Brother'--I find it funny that in America, the phonetic homonym 'caca' means poo. hahaha.
'Simba'= lion. We have all seen the lion king, so this translation's not very impressive, but I enjoy the caption on this calendar photograph in one of the permanent huts at Horombo camp. 'Lions look very graceful when not hunting.' Well said, calendar writer, well said.
Kibo Crater: the cone with the tallest point on the world's tallest free-standing mountain. Kibo pictures usually get credit for being Kilimanjaro, but Kibo is only one of three craters on Kili... 
4 comments:
The events of the past week in your life are beginnihg to seem more real as we look at your pics and read your comments. Thanks. Thanks for inserting comments about how safe the whole trek was. --wc
do i have the coolest friend or what!? Congratulations on your accomplishment. I love the pictures and be safe!
yes, i'm loving these pictures. more! more, i say! hope you're having a great weekend!
V. here... I love the picture of you & S at a camp with tents in the background. What a beautiful sunny day. The photo of the medical guerney on a unicycle is pretty funny, one you don't see everyday!!l,v.
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