“No single mountain ever came to me . . . so I always go to them.”

(Erik Tanghe)

Day 1: July 7, 2017

I woke up early in the morning on Friday, July 7, 2017.  Unfortunately, I did not get a lot of sleep the night before my long flight, because I was nervous and excited to start my long awaited adventure.  I soon loaded my bags into my mother’s car and she drove me to Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia.  I arrived at the airport a few hours prior to my flight so I would be able to get through security and to my gate on time.  Although I was suppose to fly out a little after 11 am, my flight was delayed for about three hours.  So, I sat in the airport for six long hours before I boarded my plane. I thought that I would never get out of my home state.

After I finally boarded the plane I was informed by another passenger that the delay was caused by a bird that flew into the engine of the plane when the plane landed in Atlanta. At this point I was just happy that I was finally leaving Charleston, because I had about a twenty-six hour flight, including connections, ahead of me before I would land at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.  My flight would take me from Charleston, West Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia (1 hr, 20 minutes).  Next, I would fly from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Netherlands (9.5 hours), and then from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, Africa (another 9.5 hours).  Therefore, I was not in any hurry.  I knew I had a long journey ahead.

However, I did not sleep much during the flight.  Excitement consumed me.  My mind was racing a million miles an hour.  Although, I did bring a book or two with me to read. I love to read and I am a huge movie geek.  I love movies.  And Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies of all time.  However, I never read the book. So I brought the book to read during my long flight.

I love the story of Jurassic Park.  I like the characters.  I like that it is about a man who had a dream and he dedicated his entire life and all of his time and resources to making his dream become a reality (Please refer to Chapter 1 of this blog series regarding dreams and goals).  Unfortunately, he went about achieving his dream in the wrong way. He did not clearly think through the negative effect of realizing his dream would have on the rest of the world.  Here, in my situation, the only negative effect of not realizing my goal is that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did not try to reach Uhuru Peak.

I would like to tell you that I read the entire book during my flight, but I actually only got through the first 80 pages.  It was a great book, I just could not focus because I was so excited about my trip.  I could not stop thinking about what the near future held for me. (I did not read the book much during my climb, because I slept and relaxed during any down time I had on the mountain).

After a smooth landing and short lay over in Atlanta, I found myself boarding my flight to Amsterdam.  A part of me was excited because I had never flown to a foreign country before.  I also was not looking forward to two back to back nine hour flights.  However, when I boarded my plan for Amsterdam I was lucky to have plenty of leg room in the coach seating section.

After everyone boarded the plane, and after take off, I started talking with a kind lady sitting next to me.  She was very sweet and just like me, flying by herself to her next destination.  Her name was Judy and she was a retired school teacher.  She told me she was on her way to go on a international cruise.  She loved to travel and she was just as excited as I was to experience a new and exciting adventure.  Anyone who has flown before by themselves knows how nice it is to be sitting next to a pleasant individual during a long flight.  It makes a long and boring flight experience less brutal.

DAY 2: JULY 8, 2017

I had a short layover once I finally landed in Amsterdam.  By the time I landed I only had enough time to use the bathroom and buy a bottled water.  I then headed straight for my gate.  Soon after arriving at the proper gate I boarded the plane heading to Tanzania, Africa.

(Pictured above: the plane I took from Amsterdam to Arusha, Tanzania)

During my flight to Amsterdam I tried to sleep.  However, I only got a few hours of sleep. I cannot sleep well sitting up.  In summary, my flight from Amsterdam to Arusha, Tanzania was not too bad, it was just long.  I sat in the isle seat so I had a little bit of extra space to stretch my legs.  The gentleman who sat next to me was a graduate student at M.I.T. who was headed to Africa to conduct research for a certain study he was conducting for his program.  Talking to him helped pass the time for a good bit while on the flight.

After riding for nine long hours for a second time on a plane I finally arrived safely at Kilimanjaro International Airport at around 8 p.m. (Tanzania Time).  When I deplaned and took my first steps onto African soil I started to get really emotional.  I started thinking Wow!  This is for real.  I’m really going to do this.  I’ve finally made it to Africa.  I was overwhelmed with emotions.

Years ago, when I first dreamed of actually climbing Mount Kilimanjaro I just thought it was my imagination running wild and that I would just disregard the dream as another one of my crazy ideas not to pursue.  But here I was, walking onto the tarmac in Tanzania, Africa.

It did not take me long to get through customs.  I had already received my temporary Visa for Tanzania through the Washington D.C. office months prior to my trip.  After I successfully passed through customs and boarder security I was ready to find my bags and head to my lodge.  After meeting my welcome group and other climbers at my pick up spot, I was on my way to KIA Lodge, just a few minutes away from the airport.

I was very happy to finally arrived to the KIA Lodge.  I just finished traveling over twenty six hours straight without much sleep and all I wanted to do was go to bed.  After arriving at the lodge, I briefly met a few members of my climbing group and went straight to my room.  After getting situated in my room I left in search for a much needed drink.  While on my on my mission to find something to drink I ran into Steve, another member in my climbing group.  We decided to hang out and get to know each other over a beer at the Lodge’s outdoor bar area.

After having my first African beer, which was pretty darn good, and after getting to know Steve, I went back to my room to get ready for bed.  But before I went to bed I messaged my family to let them know I made it to Africa safely.  I also wanted to write in my journal, but I was way too tired.  Instead, I recorded the following video to record how I felt when I first arrived in a foreign country for the first time of my life. (Please excuse how horrible I look in the following video. My hair was a crazy mess. I had not been to bed in over 24 hours at the time of this recording).

I went to sleep immediately after I recorded the video above.  I was excited to get some rest in order to be ready for my first full day in Tanzania, Africa.  It was the best night’s sleep I would have for the next ten days.