A Heroic Error.

Sorry to interrupt the flow of the Kili stories......but this one must be told too.

I have been having headaches that are quite painful these past two days, waking up during the night in tears from the pounding. Not sure why....regardless, this morning Phil brought me Tylenol extra strength, along with my usual iron-deficiency meds and a glass of water. I quickly swallowed the stash of them and continued to prepare for the school day.

DUN, DUN, DUN....stomach trouble! In the middle of my morning routine, I had to dash to the bathroom to throw up. Phil, in the middle of making breakfast smoothies, followed after me to ensure I was okay. Yes - I was....just didn't eat enough prior to the pill-swallowing (or so I think). And so we went back to what we were doing before the incident.

(INSERT LOUD, REALLY AWFUL, HEADACHE-ENHANCING SOUND HERE).

"PHIL!!!!! What the HEK is that?!!!!!!! There is something IN THERE!!!" I screamed as he blended our morning meal. "STOP THAT!!!!!" I (also) screamed, haha.

Phil opened the blender to find he had left a baby spoon inside!

"Oh hun! I completely forgot! I was so worried about you that I dropped it in the blender and ran to see you!" Phil explained.

He removed the spoon and poured the smoothie into two glasses.

"Mmmmmmmmmm!" I said.

"Taste's like SPOON!" he replied.

(For the curious - the blender is still alive......just needs a little help when it comes to "securing it in the base".)

Kilimanjaro, Day Five: Would Give Anything For a Warm Shower

"Porridge, AGAIN?!" we moaned. At this point, we sure did miss those eggs from day one and day two! Scrambled, fried, boiled, WHATEVER! Toast, cereal, fruit....who cares! Just SOMETHING other than porridge to leave a smile on our post-breakfast faces. Oh well....out of luck we were and out in the cold we went.



Brrrrrrr....the journey to Kibo was a chilly one. Our walk through the alpine desert was smooth and flat (PRO), yet windy and un-protected (BIG CON). The most shielding we received all day was from a patch of rocks that offered the best lunch-spot along the way. However, we ate quickly and carried on, as sitting still only makes you colder and a good rest at the camp was needed before the midnight summit attempt.



Today was the first day that Phil and Mohamed REALLY joined the adversity experience. Phil was feeling quite dizzy and "drunk", while Mohamed was bent over in stomach pains that failed to cease. We all found it a relief to reach the Kibo huts at 4 p.m., as we anticipated a solid 5-7 hour nap before our 11 p.m. wake-up for Uhuru. Unfortunately, a solid sleep we slept not. The inescapable cold at this altitude, our body's adjustments to low oxygen levels, and the butterflies in our stomachs kept us wide awake and wishing time away. In addition, the rooms at the Kibo huts are shared and the hustle and bustle of other climbers served as a constant revival.

At 11 p.m., Gilbert the Dragon Slayer came to wake us. "It is time to prepare," he said as he flicked the lights on. "Shhh," Phil replied, "...the others are still sleeping!". "Oh....tea and cookies are coming," he whispered back.

For the next thirty minutes, Phil and I struggled to put on the many layers necessary for -20 degrees protection. It was cold and we were tired. Neither of us slept a wink and our headaches and other symptoms had failed to disappear as we laid there restless. We ate a few cookies in silence, went for our final pee, and said farewell to our good friend Mohamed. Robert came shortly after and it was sad to walk away without TEAM YELLOW, but we were explained that on summit day, all teams go separately. The un-merging could only be grieved for a minute, as we stepped out into the dark and began our long trek of footstep-following.

Kilimanjaro, Day Four: Pole-Pole

"You can sleep in", Robert said. "We won't wake you until 8am". It's not like the extra hour sleep was a gold nugget, but when you've hiked 6 hours uphill the last two days you'll take it with a smile on your face.

Upon awakening, we met our new friend Mohamed for breakfast and were "thrilled" to see that the eggs were indeed nowhere to be found. We had hoped that Robert was playing a cruel joke on us the night before, but somewhere the mongoose were "frying" and "scrambling" away.

Midway through a season of "Survivor" there is always a merge, and our version was no different. Team Yellow and Team Green decided that now was the time to join forces, and formed the new tribe "Team Success". Lindsay, Mohamed, and Phil, LMP, or as we liked to call ourselves the L egendary M ountain P eople, would take on the rest of Kili as a group.



The idea of the hike on our Acclimatization Day was to get up about 500 metres before descending back down to Horombo for the night. Along the way we were able to take a break at the Zebra Rocks, and we made it all the way to the turnoff to Mawenzi Peak. There we were able to have a distinct view of the Uhuru Peak, as well as being able to see Kibo Huts where we would be headed the next day.





Climbing a mountain is interesting because each day that you begin your hike you find yourself out of breath searching for air that will fill your lungs with oxygen. Often you feel like you'll never have enough, and you begin to gag, panicking about the condition. This feeling went away fairly quickly the first two days, but lasted almost the duration of this climb (4200 metres) which made my asthmatic self weary of the remaining challenge. Lindsay was also facing adversity, as she had much trouble heading back down the mountain upon the realization that your knees are taking much of the load. We laughed at ourselves for skipping the "Leg Raise" machine in the gym, as that would have further prepared us for the impact. These struggles reminded us that slow and steady wins the race, and Pole-Pole was readapted as our team motto. They also reminded us that we were a team, and that conquering this mountain could only be done together.



Along the day's hike we were impressed with the swift changes in vegetation, and depressed by the migraine like headaches we were left with back at Horombo. Altitude was beginning to really be a factor, and there was some doubt in both of us about whether we would be up to the task.

At dinner, Lindsay and I drank several glasses of Milo (The Energy Drink of Future Champions), and repeatedly explained that it was much tastier then our other options on the table which included Cadbury's Hot Chocolate. Knowing Cadbury was a company from the UK (and one which Mohamed personally loved) we got a kick out of pushing his buttons about Milo's superior taste, freshness, and overall satisfaction.

Before heading off to sleep we decided it had become too cold to really do much of a job when cleaning ourselves, that we really should have brought along our camel pack, and that headaches on a mountain were much worse then you could ever really prepare for. Outside of our cabin we heard a fellow Canadian tell stories of his failed attempt at the summit the night before, and his distinct feeling of helplessness searching for air. He mentioned dizziness, disorientation, and disappointment in not succeeding. For the first time on the mountain, I can honestly say that fear was taking over my confidence. I privately hoped Lindsay and I would be able to dig deep, and complete our mission...

Kilimanjaro, Day Three: Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

Eeeeeeeeeee! The peak! It was on our way to Horombo when we first witnessed the highest point in Africa. Wow - a mission sure comes to life when you can see it! Of course, I couldn't let the moment pass us by without a TEAM GREEN photo shoot and we needed to wait for TEAM YELLOW to arrive in order to digitalize the memories. TEAM YELLOW consisted of two key members - Mohamed (who we met at the previous night's dinner) and John (coincidentally, Robert's older brother). The pair were happy to capture our "there it is!" excitement and we gladly exchanged places to return the favour.



The hike to Horombo was very much like "The Lord of the Rings", or so Phillip describes it. (I wasn't as in to the comparison, as my attention span is not suitable for three hour films). We traveled over bridges and streams, past cliffs and meadows, feeling as though we were the only "tribe" on the entire mountain. Pole-pole we went, stopping only for quick washroom breaks, water breaks, and a horrifying lunch break. The latter rest was terror at its best. It entailed crummy sandwiches of hobbit-size proportions and hovering crows of hulk-size proportions. If you know me, you know I have an intense fear of birds - or crows, in particular. It tested my nerves being on those metal picnic benches and I hoped and hoped we would be on our way up soon. Luckily, breaks are just that and we continued along until Horombo was reached.



Dinner proved much more delicious than lunch and Phil repeatedly commented "it's delicious" when the waitor came, using the Swahili we were taught two days previous. He had been using some well-rehearsed words to express his satisfaction with the chef, although tonight we found out he had rehearsed the terms improperly. That poor cook, Jackob.......Phil was referencing his culinary preparations as "viruses". JEEZ PHIL! You really do have the worst of luck!

After dinner, our waitor, Gilbert, became our guide as we took a short evening walk to acclimatize. It was a fun excursion up, as Gilbert worked hard to converse in English while Phil tried his best to talk "football" in return. It was even more fun to see Phil describe the game of "ice hockey" to Gilbert, who smiled in awe at the idea of skates and rubber pucks. Our relationship with Gilbert really blossomed over this short hike and Phil termed him "Gilbert - the Dragon Slayer" in honour of his long, dragon-like toque.

Before we began the descent back to camp, I took a break and warned Phil of my pounding headache. It was the first time I had doubts about my success on the mountain and I was worried that I would disappoint Phil if I couldn't go all the way. "This is for you," he surprised me as he handed over a heart-shaped rock. "I found it earlier and was saving it for a time when you need to be cheered up." Ahh....and my bottom-of-the-mountain "YES!" was solidified again. I gained some spirit from the gift and we returned to Horombo for bed.



Just before we hit the sack, Robert came to ask us how we would like our eggs in the morning. "We want to make them special for you!" he said. "How sweet," we thought as Phil placed an order for scrambled and I requested them over-easy. Wow! Talk about personal service on a mountain....our mouths watered as we looked forward to the upcoming breakfast. But then, "Oh no....I forgot!" Robert panicked. "All of the eggs are broken! You can't have eggs!"

Haha, and so it goes.....

Kilimanjaro, Day Two: Survivor (Kili)

"Aaaaaaaannnnnnnts! Ants! Ants!" She screamed, as if super human, venomous ants had overtaken our peaceful hotel room. I looked left, I looked right, and still in a daze from being awoken didn't see anything alarming. "What is wrong Linds?" I inquired. "There are ants on the wall, there are ants on my bag, there are ants in my clothes, AAAANNNTTTTS PHIL!!!!" Though we hadn't actually started our journey, I guess the nerves were running pretty high in both of us.

We made it through the first "big" test of the day and were picked up outside of our hotel. We were headed to the base of Kilimanjaro but had one stop to make (to pick up walking sticks, and sleeping bags). We cozied up on the side of a road in Moshi and parked. Once parked however, several construction-vest-wearing parking attendants headed toward us with chains, and piercing eyes. We had broken what is apparently a major traffic offense by parking in a NO PARKING zone! Our tires were chained, and after much humiliation, negotiating, and prying we still weren't allowed to move. Luckily, our guide came to the rescue in another Safari Jeep, and it turned out great, as we rode in a caravan with all of our porters, our guides, and our chef.



We arrived at the base of Kilimanjaro and were surprised at how "Egyptian" the Tanzanians here appeared. We were surrounded by locals trying to sell us all kinds of gimmicks for making it to the summit. Our guide safely pushed us through the gauntlet and sent us out of the crowd to our own peaceful, shaded, rest area where we were to wait for him to gather all of our things.

I had originally decided to propose to Lindsay by faking an injury on our first day's climb. After falling, I was to surprise her with the ring and request, but after being left completely alone in our protected paradise I knew that this was our moment. I pointed in the distance, pretending to be interested in a particular view, and showed her to the edge of the hut. When she was searching for what I had pointed to, I slowly dropped to one knee, prepared in this beautiful moment to tell her why I wanted her to be my wife. I had planned to tell her that my times of accomplishing things alone were over, and that I wanted this climb to be the start of things we could accomplish together. I had planned to tell her that the mountain could represent our lives together. The unpredictability of the experience, the ups and downs, the smooth trails and rocky patches. I had planned to tell her that we would need to support each other on the mountain like in our lives, and that no matter what (make it to the top or not) it would be special as long as we were together. I had planned to remind her that I would devote myself to protecting her, both here and always, and I had planned to tell her how much I loved her now, and forever. I wanted her to know how thankful I am to have found her, and I wanted her to know that in many ways I feel my life is only now beginning. I wanted her to know that I chose her, and I that I could only hope she would also choose me!



My bottom lip quivering, my heart beating at an incredible rate, I began... However, "Lindsay, I wanted you to know how much I love you...." was interrupted with "JAAAAAMMMMMMBBBOOOOOOO!" as a local with 'boot gators' in hand had apparently 'Usain Bolted' up the hill thinking that we were an easy sale. I was caught off guard, and didn't know how to respond. "Just a minute please!" I warned the patron as I tried to refocus my efforts on the proposal. "Mountain.... Love.... Lindsay....Forever?" or something to that effect was all I could muster as our new friend looked on still determined to make his sale. Thankfully as she is so understanding, Lindsay did indeed accept my botched proposal, and I had formed the strongest alliance that "Survivor: Kilimanjaro" had ever seen.

At the gift shop (which Lindsay of course headed straight towards) I was pleasantly surprised to see Survivor Buffs! We each bought one, put them on and formed the tribe "Pole-Pole" (English translation of "Slowly-Slowly").



We began on our trek, and headed through Montane Forest on our way to Mandara Hut, up the Marangu Trail. We began at 1980 metres, and were to climb approximately 5 hours to 2700 metres. Waterfalls, twisting trails, and vegetation already changing we strolled over bridges, around streams, and up the base of Kili. We met "Money, Molly, and Mo" the family of Mongoose, randomly ran into 2 cows "Daisy and Cooper" that were grazing, and found out that blue monkeys get their names due to the colour of their testicles. Our guide Robert gave us the Swahili names "Phillippo, and Simalindi" and this added to the excitement.



My competitive side came out at times as I was interested to find out what the record was for climbing up the mountain, and we laughed as one of our porters (who we were essentially paying to carry our things) was caught taking a ride with the ambulance up the first day's trek.

We finally arrived at Mandara Huts and had snacks and tea, and a bowl of warm water to wash with. We were introduced at dinner to "Mohamed" from the UK, who you'll get to know more about soon, and I was able to introduce Lindsay as "My Fiancee" for the very first time. We took a stroll after dinner to view the Maundi Crater but it was too cloudy on this day to see the peak of the mountain as promised in our itinerary.



We headed to sleep at 8:30pm, but due to excessive water consumption (that is necessary during the treks), we seemed to need washroom breaks every ten minutes for the entire night. It was particularly entertaining for me to see Lindsay fear for her life from the giant crows, and monkey noises that were heard in the distance. The sky was filled with stars all of which were dancing for us, and though we thought it must be thundering outside, it was only the wind...

Kilimanjaro, Day One: Five Countries, Twelve Hours

You heard me - FIVE countries in TWELVE hours! From Cairo to Khartoum. From Khartoum to Addis Ababa. From Addis Ababa to Mombasa. And from Mombasa to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If you do the math, this Ethiopian itinerary equates to four take-offs, four landings, and eight imperative "hand-holding sessions" with Phillip. Now, I wish I was talking about those cute, "let's hold hands and skip!" hand-holding sessions...but I am not. These sessions were grasps for dear life, holdings of constant strength........cement-like in nature. These sessions left my hands reluctant for any more run-way activity...and over-joyed with excitement once our final destination was reached. "If he made it through THAT, he can make it up the mountain," I thought to myself. And really, "If I could make it through THAT, I can make it up the mountain too," I hoped!



Once we arrived in Moshi, we visited the Tuleeni Orphanage to deliver the school supplies we had collected at work. My brother, Graeme, volunteered at this orphanage last year and told me "Linds - it is the happiest place on Earth." Well, by GOLLY, GREAT DESCRIPTION, little brother! It was nice to have experienced a place so dear to your heart.



After Tuleeni, it was off to our hotel where we enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea on the patio and watched the "magic employee show". It was simply bizarre to see the pool man turn into the security man and then turn into the reception man. Almost as bizarre as it was to see the chef turn into the waitress and then turn into the bathroom custodian. Each transformation left the employee as happy as the last....and we never failed to receive a friendly "JAMBO!!!" as they passed by our outdoor table.

This same evening, we were introduced to Robert, our Kilimanjaro guide. He came to the hotel to brief us about our upcoming adventure, to ensure we had the necessary equipment, and to answer any questions we had. Although shy at first, Phil was able to ease Robert's nerves and we all laughed as we agreed to meet at "10 a.m. - MAZUNGU (white person) time"!

When we were alone once again, Phil and I ordered our dinner and shared the excitement of "TOMORROW!!!". In normal circumstances, I would have been furious with the two-hours it took for our meals to arrive, but it was so peaceful and warm that Phil and I were able to have a good chat as we waited. It was such a memorable time for me and I am happy we had that period of relaxation before "game day" approached us.

By 10 p.m. it was off to bed! After a short viewing of "Animal Planet" (our new favourite channel), we felt prepared for the climb and drifted into a sound, nine hour sleep.

24 hour feelings.....

Excited. Scared. Curious. Tired. Nervous. Happy. Stressed. Anxious. Motivated. Overwhelmed. Eager. Intimidated. Exhilarated. Worried. Hyper. Confident. Proud.

Kilimanjaro, HERE WE COME!

Back on the 20th. XOXO.

An "Out of the Blue" Question.

Lindsay: Phil, what if we have a kid one day who wants to be a painter?! (in a pre-judging, "the kid needs a back up plan" tone).

Phil: We'd buy them PAINT! (in an "obviously we would support their passion" kind of way).

Haha, I love him.

Pre-Trip To-Do List

"TWO MORE SLEEPS!!!", we realized as the alarm went off this morning. WOW! I cannot believe we leave for Tanzania in TWO DAYS! How exciting (for both of us)! How stressful (for one of us - ME)! There is much to do in preparation of our March Break excursion, as we are not embarking on a "lay on the beach" vacation. We have to check and double check that we are all set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Here are some of the things we MUST do prior to Thursday's departure:

1. Go on a "water purification tablet" mission. We have already been unsuccessful with this task at two different pharmacies. Luckily, there are many more to search!
2. Do laundry. [Yes - my long johns and fleece track pants are in the wash, Phil. It was still a (little) cold this week!!!]
3. Make cupcakes for Rolando's birthday.
4. Play with Oscar. A LOT. Tell him we love him. A LOT. Pray he doesn't rip apart another couch cushion. A LOT.
5. Purchase batteries. Good ones. We anticipate many photo ops throughout the voyage.
6. Buy snacks. Almonds, craisons, granola bars......
7. Develop a group photo representing all students who donated to our "Tuleeni" school supplies drive. (Phil's idea - very clever and sweet.)
8. Do an inventory of all school supplies collected. Go and purchase any supplies in shortage, using monetary donations from staff and students.
9. Finish "Survivor - Samoa"....and I say this ONLY BECAUSE Phil may die of suspense if the big winner is left "lingering".
10. Call my Daddy. I haven't talked to him ALL WEEK!
11. Pack. Ick - a word and activity that I dislike very much!

Please note: Numbers 1-11 are IN ADDITION to daily trips to the gym, Phil's baseball schedule, lesson planning, eating and sleeping.

Can you believe Phil isn't stressed? Perhaps he is saving it for the flight....we have four "stops". Mom P - I have the gravol on standby.

Lindsay's "Timeless" Advice for today...

Today I was in the kitchen fixing us up some dinner, and I was astounded to find that although mixing eggs with paprika, garlic, and pepper doesn't look delicious, its taste is off the charts...

"Don't judge a chicken before it hatches!" Lindsay offered...

"Uhh Linds, are you sure you don't mean, don't judge a book by its cover?" I countered...