Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was an amazing, amazing experience. It really pushed all of us to our limits, in terms of discomfort level, and even though it was physically taxing, it wasn't *that* bad. I felt fantastic when I woke up for the summit trek, and had no problems making it to the top. It's almost random whether your body will decide that it's unhappy at altitude. However, we met an older gentleman at the hotel who had trained every day for a long time in order to make it up the mountain, so it seems that the amount of exercise one should get to prepare for the climb increases with age.
 
Having our luggage never show up during the climb changed my perception of what is "necessary" for a trip like this. Almost everything I packed was not necessary, but it all would have made me a lot more comfortable. And, if there hadn't been a big bright moon, we might not have made it up on summit day because we didn't have suitable flashlights or headlamps to illuminate the way.
 
As a group of three, we tipped each porter $30, and the cook $40. They all applauded after being told their tip amounts, which made me feel uncomfortable. Wally and I tipped Alex $160, and Photo $120. Alison tipped Photo and Alex as well (Photo more, since he was her primary guide). Margo also tipped Alex for getting her down the mountain safely. Guides apparently do quite well in Tanzania's economy. We heard about a guide who was injured after five years of taking people up the mountain, but he had purchased a house for rental income during that time, so was able to not work while healing.
 
Photo's story saddened me. After finishing secondary school, he wanted badly to go to college. Despite having good grades, he was forced to bribe the admissions officials for a chance to attend. He started climbing the mountain as a porter to scrape up bribe money, but after handing over money twice, he was still not admitted (he expressed... mild unhappiness that students whose grades were not as good were getting in because they were wealthy, or had parents of higher status). Frustrated, he gave up and started as a guide. He had guided Kilimanjaro 25 times in the past, and really led clients with his heart. It was a pleasure to be in his company on Kilimanjaro.
 
Alex had been up Kilimanjaro over 100 times in his five years as a guide. He was competent, but didn't invest emotionally in us. Actually, he didn't invest anything in us, as he couldn't even remember our names. After the climb, he came to our hotel room to say hi (which was nice of him), and we had an awkward few moments recorded on video camera that showcased him as what you'd expect from a big fish in a little pond. Oh well. He got me up the mountain.
 
ZARA Tours did an excellent job, and it seems that they have a good thing going for them. At the Springlands hotel, we hung out for a few hours with Roger Ansell, Zainab's Swedish husband. He detailed for us their entire operation -- it was very interesting. I couldn't help feeling like I was special because I was suddenly a friend of "the family." I mean... they have a bullet-proofed car, and they live in a gated paradise in Moshi, complete with Maasai security guards. Anyway, so it was neat to get a behind-the-scenes verbal tour of how a tour company in Tanzania works.
 
I enjoyed getting to know Alison as well. She assured me that as a respectable lawyer in New York, she looks very different (Prada shoes!). If you know her personally, ask her about the slugs we saw near Mweka gate on the last day. They reminded us of something she liked to do on the mountain. Oh my god -- she's going to kill me when she reads this.
 
After the descent, I had a few residual, physical problems. My back was tingling along a stripe in my back just to the left of my spine (it has since gone away). I also have pinched a nerve in my right hand using the trekking pole -- pressure in between my thumb and first finger causes sharp, unpleasant tingling in my hand and thumb, and the tip of my thumb became numb after the first day on the mountain (it has since healed). The tip of my right big toe is still numb now (a month later). However, it's less numb than it was just after coming down the mountain, so I'm hopeful that the nerves are healing. After returning from Africa (after a week climb and a week safari), I was not able to eat anything for almost three days. I forced soup down my throat during that time, but it was pretty bad. I weighed myself, and discovered that I had lost ten pounds (!). Wally lost twenty pounds, but he had more than I had to lose, since he's a big guy. The physical repercussions weren't too bad, considering the accomplishment! I've heard of people losing toenails on the descent, so I count myself as fortunate.
 
So... go climb Kilimanjaro! It's one of the few, high mountains you can climb without being a "real" mountain climber. Our party consisted of a city-girl from New York and three Silicon Valley tech-heads, so... well, anyone can do it. :)
 
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