Day in Arusha

Well, for a day with no formal plans, it sure turned out to be busy. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the coffee lodge with Dean and Lydia, discussing many of their mountain climbing stories. Dean has summited Mt. Everest seven times and Lydia has a claim to fame of being the first woman to summit Everest without oxygen. They just spent their holiday time rock-climbing in Greece. Needless to say they are adventurous!

We decided to do our gear check after breakfast which turned out to be a good idea. Dean ran through the checklist and we managed after an hour-and-a-half to have our items organized. We un-packed and re-packed our gear several times before finalizing our bags. We then had the opportunity to meet with our local guides from Nature Discoveries that operate out of Arusha. Tom and our local guide Godlove briefed us on all the logistics of the climb. Mentioning a possible temperature of -20 on summit brings back memories of February in Sudbury.

After lunch we ventured into Arusha to experience the local sights and sounds, and that we did! A quick stop at a roadside "Cultural Museum" included some wonderful displays of African art. The museum was the focal point but there were several large gift shops that were fun to browse through. The items included ebony carvings, cow bone items, leather goods, and all sorts of beaded jewelry. After purchasing a few items we drove to the local Maasai Women's Market. The streets of downtown Arusha were BUSY? People, bikes, motorcycles, cars, vans, and buses. Noise, dust, total mayhem! But what an experience that was. Over a hundred booths of Maasai vendors begging you to step in to view their wares. We planned on an hour, but didn't get out in under two. A short drive back to the lodge to enjoy dinner and a drink before we head to bed. Anxious, excited, and a bit nervous for the morning and our real adventure to begin. Not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully we'll be able to send some short updates during the climb.

Until next time...
Karen