Kilimanjaro Expedition Underway

Words and images by Logan Talbott

It’s adventure time.

We are ready to head to the mountain – bags are packed, jet lag has been overcome and the team is ready. These first few days here in Tanzania have been filled with incredible food, hiking through the surrounding forests, coffee plantations and lots of packing and logistics. To spice things up we’ve also received a little bit of rain for good measure.

Marjolein and Tima, the owners of the Arusha Villa have made our stay at this fantastic little hotel quite memorable. We’ve got to get to Kili before we put on too many pounds! The rainy season is running late this year – it falls in sheets at night and the forest comes alive with all the precipitation. Word is the mountain is missing the brunt of the downpour, it’s further to the north east and quite a bit higher. Tomorrow we will find out, we’ve got our rain jackets ready just in case…..

While we will go on safari after the climb, we didn’t have to wait to start seeing wildlife. The most incredible birds and monkeys live in the forest surrounding the Villa, they remind us that we are indeed in Africa! Our midday warmup hike today brought us through coffee plantations, thick jungle, mountain trails and small local villages. The local kids walking home from school got a kick out of us, and screamed with glee when they saw their photos on my camera. The team was grinning ear to ear by the time we returned to the hotel, just in time for our team meeting and dinner.

Tomorrow morning we drive east through Moshi Town, around the far side of the mountain and begin our journey up Kilimanjaro. See you next week!