Leaving the big city of A'town for Mt. Meru. We departed the town's center, from the clocktower, at 8:30 am to begin our all-day 'practice hike.' Destination: Waterfalls in a Maasai village. Emmanuel charges ahead with a smile.
Ready to summit (from left to right): Anna, Neema, Vayan, Paulo, and Emmanuel (Shaban unfortunately couldn't make it). I told the girls no skirts on the mountain! That'll take some getting used to.
"We think we can...We think we can..."
Ushirikiano(Teamwork). Vayan places a rock in the river for Neema and me to pass.
Fun in the waterfalls.
The boys standing under the main falls. Victory.
Discussing our upcoming climb while studying a map of Kilimanjaro, highlighting our route. The excitement builds...
Tupo pamoja. Arusha town sits below us kuleeeeee.
August 17th, we'll be embarking on our adventure up Mt. Kilimanjaro's 19,340 feet, returning to solid ground on the 23rd. We invite you to support us via prayers and positive thoughts. I have faith we'll all return changed, having overcome a major feat together as 6 Westerners, 6 Tanzanians (6 females, 6 males).
Who and where from are those 6 Westerners might you ask? They will be flying in this week and they are (in order of their arrival): Erin Popek (friend from the School for International Training; Alaska resident, yogi and globetrotter), Jeannette Howell (a new friend hailing from Atlanta, GA), Elizabeth Williams (friend from UNC-Chapel Hill; born in North Carolina but now residing in Sydney, Australia), Logan Williams (Elizabeth's husband; originally an Oregonian, now surfing the waters of Australia) and last but not least, Warren Steyn of "The Works" media company in Dar (originally from South Africa) who'll be serving as videographer on our climb. We look forward to sharing stories over pictures and our short piece on DVD once produced. Who knows - this climb may not be the last, mungu akipenda...
Asante sana (thanks again) to all the donors who are making this climb a reality!
"When we wake up in the morning, we have two simple choices: go back to sleep and dream, or wake up and chase those dreams. The choice is yours."
-Naden Naicken
