Mark and team called me today (support team in Arusha!) from Kilimanjaro to say they are having trouble getting a good signal to stay in touch. It was very exciting to hear them all and Mark especially wanted me to tell everyone he is FINE!! and today they are progressing up to Lava Tower. The […]

Since I have been here in Tanzania, there is a term “pole pole” (po-lee po-lee) that I have heard a lot. It translates as “slow, slow” but when used as a single word “pole” it can mean “I’m sorry” and an expression of condolence or it can mean, “I really appreciate what you are doing”. People […]

Hi Everyone. We are doing fine and we had a good day but haven’t had a chance to get a good signal and have not been able to communicate as much as I would like. This is day three. At the end of day two we were able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. I am having […]

As Mark climbs Kilimanjaro so will his avatar.  Watch for updates here in Mark’s Blog or on Facebook  and Twitter

Many people have asked me what my experience of Africa has been since it’s my first trip to Africa.  One of the things that I have noticed is that things change unexpectedly and often.  The day before we left for the hike we had no power for long periods of time and it was uncertain […]

I just met with my team to go over final preparations. Our route has changed slightly with the hope that spending more time at altitude will increase our chances of reaching the top by spending more time at higher altitudes.  So, night 4 will be spent at the Lava Tower; night 5 at Baranco camp; […]

  I’m just back from a tour of a spice farm. Amazing! What do you think of the hat a local boy made for me?  

I hope that you all are enjoying the long weekend. We went to a park yesterday and saw lots of amazing wildlife including elephants, hippos and zebras. Meeting people has been great too and I have been trying out my swahili but can’t really get past hello. I will post at some point about fear […]

  Before leaving for Tanzania, Mark wanted to answer questions about how he had prepared for his Mt. Kilimanjaro climb.  You can view his video by opening this post and clicking on the You Tube icon.    

Habari! I have arrived in Tanzania. I survived the 13 hour flight from Washington to Addis Ababa. I have only had small glimpses of Mt. Kilimanjaro as it is fairly cloudy here. I was surprised that we flew through Libya and saw Benghazi at night. Highlight so far are the amazing variety of birds and […]