![\"Boarding](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7180\/6777078088_d82e23db19_z.jpg\")
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It started out early last year. \u00c2\u00a0A friend suggested that I think about joining him (and a couple other guys) in an attempt to ascend Kilimanjaro<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0 Getting a view of Africa from\u00c2\u00a05,895 metres\/19,336 feet? \u00c2\u00a0Who *wouldn’t* want to do that?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0As exciting as the idea was, though, I just couldn’t make it work in the planned timeframe. \u00c2\u00a0So it was with no small amount of jealousy that I followed along with the planning as I helped out with some of the provisioning over the year (they’re based in Dubai, which is sadly short of excellent stores like Casual Adventure<\/a> and REI).<\/p>\n Then in October, one of the original crew fell ill and the trip got pushed off to\u00c2\u00a0February. \u00c2\u00a0I let it roll around in my head for a while, and by the time we were in December, I knew I couldn’t skip this. \u00c2\u00a0So I signed on, and from there the trip snowballed. \u00c2\u00a0What started out as an in-and-out summit attempt with a few people turned into a six person Kilimanjaro expedition. \u00c2\u00a0Then (assuming no one died or otherwise did something inconvenient), we’d head to Zanzibar – adding a few more adults and children – for some rest and recovery. \u00c2\u00a0And since it was on the way home, why not hit Addis Ababa for a few days?<\/p>\n So that was the plan for my February. \u00c2\u00a0Interested in how it worked out? \u00c2\u00a0The first of several installments is on the other side of the jump.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, though the closest major air hub is Nairobi, Kenya. \u00c2\u00a0This seems to have many people thinking it’s in Kenya. \u00c2\u00a0Being the brilliant geographer that I am, I managed to make it to the correct embassy in DC, easily securing visas in advance of the trip. \u00c2\u00a0For once, the visa process was far less painful than the pre-trip immunizations (tetanus, hep A, yellow fever*, oh my!). \u00c2\u00a0The equipment prep is another entry on its own, and will be my own detailed contribution to the What’s In Your Bag?<\/a> genre.<\/p>\n Most people do route through Nairobi, switching to a local carrier for the last hop into Kilimanjaro International Airport<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(JRO).** \u00c2\u00a0We had some miles in the back with United, though, and decided to take advantage of Ethiopian Airlines recent entry into the Star Alliance<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0Not only did this get us the benefit of being able to stick with one carrier (i.e., lower the potential for lost baggage, a big concern on the way in), but it eliminated any need for a European stop on the way there.<\/p>\n Ethiopian flies a 777 directly from IAD to its base in Addis Ababa at Bole International Airport<\/a> (ADD). \u00c2\u00a0We left Dulles on Monday morning, and our flight clocked in at a little over 13 hours, landing early on Tuesday in Addis Ababa (8 hours ahead of EST). \u00c2\u00a0 I’ll review the Ethiopian flight offering later (preview: eh.). \u00c2\u00a0The connection at ADD was \u00c2\u00a0. . . curious. \u00c2\u00a0Despite a rather nice looking (from the outside, anyway) international terminal with plenty of empty gates, we parked out on the apron. \u00c2\u00a0I rather like disembarking via stairs – fun views of planes!\u00c2\u00a0unfiltered sun! fresh air! Kinda jet-fuel flavored!<\/p>\n Then we got on a bus which took us to the domestic terminal. \u00c2\u00a0Which was really more like a holding pen than a terminal. \u00c2\u00a0Not even a place to buy bottled water. So, fair warning – if you’re switching flights at ADD, you probably want to bring your own provisions. \u00c2\u00a0There’s free wireless, but you practically have to plaster yourself against the glass\u00c2\u00a0separating\u00c2\u00a0you from the rest of the terminal, and really, it was too early in the trip to start looking like a refugee.<\/p>\n After a couple of hours of little more than counting how many times the janitor mopped the bathroom floor at ADD (11), it was back in the air and on our way to JRO. \u00c2\u00a0Except first we had to stop at Moi International Airport<\/a> (MBA) in Mombasa, Kenya. \u00c2\u00a0It seems, if the deplaning passengers were any indication, to be a rather popular beach destination for Italians. \u00c2\u00a0I thought we’d take on a few passengers here, too. \u00c2\u00a0Instead, we just sat. \u00c2\u00a0And sat. \u00c2\u00a0And sat some more. \u00c2\u00a0Just as my mind was drifting to really unwarranted places<\/a>, we were off to JRO. \u00c2\u00a0So I’ve still not been to Kenya.<\/p>\n It’s a pretty quick hop to Kilimanjaro from Mombasa, but it’s enough time to get the plane to altitude. \u00c2\u00a0At this point, it’s just short of 20 hours into the journey. \u00c2\u00a0Also, for someone who can’t really sleep on a plane, that’s putting me a bit past the 24 hour mark for being awake. \u00c2\u00a0So it was with a bit of a fuzzy mind that I first saw this view<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0Yes, that’s a mountain – Kilimanjaro, in fact – at eye level from a plane cruising at 19,000 feet. \u00c2\u00a0And I was just a couple of days away from hiking up it.<\/p>\n Honestly, after seeing that, I spent some time trying to come up with a way to fully convey just how much of a breath-catching moment this turned out to be. \u00c2\u00a0Instead, I think I’ll just stick to what immediately and actually came to mind:<\/p>\n Holy !@#$.<\/p>\n Such eloquence, no? \u00c2\u00a0For me, that’s not a bad analogy for the rest of the trip – I surrounded myself with incredible and inspiring circumstances, yet ended up focusing in some very basic ways.<\/p>\n We soon landed at JRO and collected our luggage. \u00c2\u00a0All of it, much to my relief. \u00c2\u00a0I’m the sort that takes pride in being able to manage long trips with little more than carry-on. \u00c2\u00a0However, given the equipment and clothing intensive nature of this trip, we were traveling with three duffels (ready for everything from diving in Zanzibar to freezing at the Kilimanjaro summit). \u00c2\u00a0Plenty of our fellow passengers had taken advantage of the oft-given advice to wear your essentials (i.e., boots and other hard-to-replace gear) on the plane. \u00c2\u00a0That’s not a very comfortable style of travel for me, though, so I opted to roll the dice and trust the airline. \u00c2\u00a0And hey, it worked (no near-term plans to test that again, though).<\/p>\n Next up, we had to locate our driver. \u00c2\u00a0We’d altered the original plans a bit by arriving a couple of days ahead of time, and the pre-flight communication didn’t leave me entirely certain we’d be met at the airport. \u00c2\u00a0And initially, my fears seemed to be well-founded – out of many many placards, there was no “Blacknell” (or even “Blackwell”) to be spied. \u00c2\u00a0Alas, it turned out that our driver simply had a very interesting conversation to conduct while leaning against the wall on the far side of the terminal, name comfortably tucked under her arm (but with the “nell” just visible). \u00c2\u00a0Hakuna matada, no problem. \u00c2\u00a0(Yes, they really say that there. \u00c2\u00a0It is not, in fact, a Disney creation.)<\/p>\n Soon we were on our way to our hotel in Moshi, and not far away from some much needed sleep.<\/p>\n