19
LAND OF CONTRAST “Death and near death experiences are becoming commonplace.” -Journal excerpt July 12th 2006 Africa has always captivated my imagination. Wild and untamed, the land is one of contrasts; footprints from early hominids are within 100 miles of large bustling cities. The uninhabited Serengeti, site of the largest mammalian migration is separated from banana groves by an ancient volcanic range containing the largest mountain in Africa. Early in the first semester of our senior year, Joel Irby (‘06) and I came up with the idea to travel to Africa with our parents after graduation to climb Kilimanjaro (19,341ft). As the planning progressed, Jeremy Roop (‘06) expressed interest in going, and our climbing goals expanded. In addition to climbing Kili, Jeremy and I would travel to Kenya to attempt a new route on Mt. Kenya (17,051). The climbing on Kilimanjaro went quite well. Eight of the eleven group members summited. This was the first trip of such magnitude that I had organized, and I was pleased with how well it went. Watching the sun rise from the summit was quite breathtaking, especially for our parents, most of whom had not climbed above seven or eight thousand feet before. At the conclusion of the climb, our group went on safari. While the climbing had been pretty cush by my climbing standards (we had food made for us breakfast lunch and dinner) the safari quite exceeded my expectations. Our hotels were the Serena lodges, five star resorts where buffets graced the tables and music drifted through the air in the evenings. These lodges have hosted such notorieties as President Bill Clinton. It was this environment that Jeremy and I left on July 11th. Jeremy and I boarded a small 757 at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania. Upon entering the terminal, we ambled to the bar and ordered a Safari Lager, one of the national beers in Tanzania. As we took off, and the fields of Arusha became smaller and smaller, my thoughts focused on what challenges Jeremy and I had before us. In Tanzania, I had organized our Our trusty transportation vehicle -Joe Forrester trip thru a tour group, Shah Tours. They