With both Sue and I having FOUR bags in tow, we felt immense gratitude for the help it took to get us to the airport in Denver. I have literally never travelled so heavily!
Mark drove me to Julia's in Erie, and from there she popped me into her fancy electric car and we set off for Sue's. It was 3pm on October 7th. At 3:45pm the addition of Sue and her luggage completed us and all that remained was a drama-free delivery to Denver International Airport, the acquiring of an $8 luggage cart (you read that right! DIA should be ashamed of itself!) and checking the heck out of 4 big bags. No-one was more relieved than I that Turkish Airlines decided not to weigh my small but hefty camera bag, aka "personal item" or the rolling suitcase I like to call "carry on baggage" filled with battery and computer dense what-nots.
Global Entry and TSA pre-check worked for me but do you think TA could get Sue's to appear on her printed boarding pass?! Nope. And the sweet guy gave it several good tries. Needless to say, TSA-pre kicked Sue from the special-persons line and we resorted to Plan B... I met her at the train.
We drank the wine and lurked about DIA until boarding and from there, I didn't see Sue until Istanbul. Our seats were arout 12 rows apart.
The flight to Istanbul, while direct and laden with good food, entertainment and quite lovely attendants, requires an economy class gal like myself to squish into 22 square inches of space and maintain a nice demeanor when the guy in front reclines himself back to the point you need reading glasses to decifer the entertainment screen. I was still enjoying myself though and had made friends with the adventurous couple next to me who were off to Egypt to sail on a yacht and kiteboard! She had climbed Denali and was ex-military, a nurse who had done 4 tours in Kuwait and Kosovo. Their spirit and positivity was contagious and like me were embracing the interesting food while sparing a ton of patience for the endlessly crying baby nearby.
In Istanbul, dying for a coffee (not as easy to order as it seems like it might be) and happily resting the hour before flight #2, I was feeling very confident that Turkish Airlines would get my bags to Kilimanjaro at the same time they got me there. Istanbul Airport was a dream... spotless, trendy, beautiful, efficient, peaceful and SUNNY! Kudos to the planners and staff.
Yeah... I spoke too soon. :-(
Two flights to Kili leaving at side by side gates within 5 mins of each other; FLT #568 and #564. What could go wrong? Yep, that!
They ripped our boarding passes and put us on waiting bus for transit to the plane. Then realized a few on the wrong flight must have slipped through and unloaded said bus. Back we went into the gate area and proceeded to get back the other half of the boarding passes - only to begin again. I felt for the poor lady, who's job it was to butcher 200 foreign names at high volume in a confused and crowded area!!! I became Da-Lee-Chay-Mon-Ee-Cah, FYI since my two names always print as one. At least I recognized myself.
Once we restarted the boarding process it was kinda smooth. Passengers just needed a dress rehearsal and reminder of their Flight # I guess.
Wheels up! 7:55pm... not bad and since I've got nowhere else to be at 4am tomorrow morning, I don't care if we are running late. :-)
On the ground in Zanzibar for a technical stop at 2:20am, most of the passengers departed. The resort crowd, apparently. The dozen or so of us left onboard diligently lifted legs and moved about inconveniently as the staff trying to confirm all the left overhead luggage did indeed belong to a Kili-bound passenger too. A handful of cleaning crew vacuumed and removed trash, restocked flight essentials and dished out little passenger gift kits (toothbrushes, eyepatches, socks etc).
Less than an hour in the air and ... Welcome to Kilimanjaro International Airport! At 4:20am, in the pitch dark, I huffed my heavy camera bag onto my back and carried my roller suitcase down the portable stairs to step foot on the ramp - Tanzania!
Why this felt like coming home, is a mystery to me... or is it?
18 months of prepping, planning and YouTube immersion could be the reason. Or maybe somewhere deep inside my primitive brain, I know we all connect back to Africa and it is resonating?! Or perhaps it's just that 26 years ago when I left Africa and vowed I'd return, I planted a seed that waited patiently to sprout and tonight as I inhaled warm, earthy-smelling Tanzanian air, a seed casing cracked wide open.
We (10 of us) piled into the empty airport, applied for Visas and cleared passport control. There was no customs! Bags went through a scanner and out the door to the real world we went.
Ali, our Habari Adventure driver, met Sue and I with a deeply genuine smile that only special people have at 5am. He welcomed us, carried bags to the van and flew down the bumpy road toward Moshi at speeds which surprised me. Dark people in dark clothes, no illumination, occassionally crossed in front out of nowhere. Personal responsibility is huge here. Braking... not so much! 45 mins later the Kili Wonders Hotel greeted us and magically had a room waiting.
It was October 9th. A recovery day for us after the 28 hour journey to get here. We showered and crashed. By lunchtime I actually felt mostly like a functional human being again and it was time to make the most of this lovely hotel. I wrote this post, in my journal, poolside - under a shady tree, enjoying a warm breeze. My slightly sausage-like hands and feet were starting to deflate.
Now for the most interesting part of the day:
That evening as we sat in the outdoor terrace overlooking the pool and waiting for "Kuku Paka" (East African/Indian fusion curry) the BLIND KILI HIKERS were gathering! Shut the front door!!! This is what happens when you ask the universe to send you a sign that this journey is not going to be too much. The universe slaps you in the face with a dose of relativity and snaps you back to just being grateful to be able to enjoy the view and see where you are putting your feet.
Just FYI, the The Blind Kili Hikers had summited. Nine of them, with helpers, made it to 19,300' and set a new record. It was mind blowing... And then they told us they were going on safari. No way?! WAY!
Today I am more grateful for the view, legs that are forgiving and capable, a travel partner who rolls with everything and being back in Tanzania - the land of big smiles and honest warmth. From the rooftop, we watched the sunset as Mama Kili smiled down at us. She's a big lady!
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