Welcome to Arusha

We have safely arrived in Arusha and we have spent the last day or so resting, re-packing and preparing for today when we will be setting out to climb Kilimanjaro.

Our flights were about as good as can be expected and everything heading through customs and meeting our group at the airport went smoothly. Devin and I both managed to stay awake for the majority of the flights so we both feel adjusted to the time change already.

Yesterday our day was packed full of a morning of information and orientation followed by an afternoon of gear checks and a guided walk through the city of Arusha. One tid bit of information I was particularly amazed at was that the population of Arusha is approximately equal to that of the Greater Vancouver area.




We had a lovely dinner with our group last night at a local Indian/Italian restaurant where I had an excellent butter chicken and Dev had a tasty seafood medley. (Pics to come as soon as I figure out how the iPad camera kit works)

I find it amazingly difficult to believe this day is finally here! Even after so many months of preparation, I still am incredibly nervous about heading up the mountain. I have checked and re-checked my bag numerous times to ensure everything is packed and I still feel like I have forgotten something important. I am sure everything will be fantastic.

The alarm is now buzzing 6:20am here. By my calculations it is about 7:20pm back home. It is time for me to get up and get ready to go.

Since wireless internet is difficult to come by down here, this will be my last post until we return from the mountain. If you are following the podcasts posted to the Alpine Ascents website, you will be able to follow along with our climb. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to say hello from the mountain on one of the days.

http://www.AlpineAscents.com/kilimanjaro-cybercast.asp


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad