I was twelve the first time I climbed Kilimanjaro. The black and white photograph is me with my certificate to prove I made it to the top. (Coincidentally this picture was taken in Nairobi Bus Terminal which is My Map Pin (1).) The traditional garland of everlasting flowers is made by the mountain guides, and given to climbers once you make the summit. I don't know if they still do this.
It was a five day expedition. Three and a half days climbing, and a day and a half descending. The photograph below really hasn’t aged very well. These were the ten of us, all schoolboys, all much the same age, photographed at Marangu at the end of the trek. Now I come to look at this photograph I can’t even figure out which one was me. Maybe there were eleven of us and I took the picture. Who can tell? It was a school trip, of a sort. The expedition leader was our teacher, Mr Cowie. I have forgotten the names of almost all the boys in the photograph – so if, by a miracle, you read this blog and remember being there, please, please write and tell me.
Kilimanjaro is one of the best things you can do. It is challenging (very), exhilarating, exhausting, exotic, and one heck of an achievement. If you ever
get a chance to climb it, don’t even think about passing.
The What3words (below) take you to
Kibo hut, the highest overnight resting stop. It is the location for the second photograph. You set off from here at 2am for
the summit. It is brutally cold. Breathing is hard work. But you get to the top
for the sunrise and I promise you, you won’t ever forget it.
what3words /// The simplest way to talk about location
What3Words: bacteria.name.twirling #Kilimanjaro
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