Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak -- 19,345 Feet Above Sea Level

Courtesy of Lani and Val's Flip Camera Christmas present, I present my first video entry (in HD!) on this blog.  Apologies for the out-of-breath narration and not-so-good camera work.  19,000+ feet and 8 hours of hiking will do that to a person.

More pictures and full(er) stories to come, but in short: Hiking Kilimanjaro was difficult.  We did the last day in a blizzard (see video below, click here for larger) and were at the summit at "sunrise" though in practice that only meant the sky changed from black to gray.  Of our group of 14, all of us made it to the summit at Gilman's point, and another 10 of us went on to Uhuru Peak, Africa's highest point.  We're all back in our respective homes now, 10 of us back in Swaziland, and the other four, including my high-school friends Nick Potter and Matt Flanders, are back in the US.

I do think this video gives a sense of what it was like up there, maybe hold your breath while you're watching it to bring your oxygen levels down to further simulate the experience.

February Pictures 9: Unusual Signs

The sign on a a men's room door at a restaurant in Johannesburg.  Sadly, it was the only thing memorable about the restaurant.

**P.S.  I had planned to put up ten pictures in advance while I'm away for the next week in Tanzania, but work and other things have conspired against me.  I will make up for it when I return.  In the meantime, wish us luck as we climb Kilimanjaro.  Wish us luck as we try to summit on Tuesday morning!

G

February Pictures 8: Our House

Not much to say about this picture, except to say that it's where I live.  It more than does the trick for Joe and I, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.  We do seem to have a lot of ants these days, but otherwise no complaints.  And you already saw the view.

February Pictures 7: Malolotja Reserve

Expats in Swaziland travel in packs (there are 11 of us hiking Kilimanjaro next week).  This picture is from a day hike in Malolotja Reserve.  We hiked from the top of the hills to the bottom of the valley where this photo was taken. I think about half of the group is visible in this photo.

Malolotja is about 30 minutes from Mbabane, and all the hikes begin at the top of a ridge and then go down into the valley.  The park has several waterfalls, and some of the best views I've seen in Swaziland.

February Pictures 6: Giraffe

Though I don't think about it that much, we do live pretty close to some amazing animals.  I'm partial to the giraffe.  This picture was taken in July, at Mkhaya (Mih-kay-a) Game reserve.

February Pictures 5 -- Roommate Joe

No comment.  Okay, one comment.  Joe's main partner in the Swaziland government referred to his beard as one that belongs on a "peasant farmer".  He got rid of it.

In case the title wasn't clear, Joe is my housemate.

February Pictures 4: Beer Brewing for Beginners

Beer Making, day 1.  That's the 5-gallon jug I carried back with me on the plane from Boston to Swaziland in order to brew beer at home.  It was in a box, but it was pretty awkward anyway.   In this picture I'm marking 5 1-gallon lines on the side to ensure the right amount of water was in there at the end.

We will be bottling the IPA this weekend.  Hopefully it tastes good.

February Pictures 3: Traditional Swazi Dress

This picture from the 2010 Umhlanga--translated from SiSwati as "reed dance"--is of a young Swazi princess in her family's traditional women's dress. The reed dance is an annual gathering of thousands of "Swazi Maidens" who join together for a week of celebrating the queen mother. The maidens must be unmarried and have no children, and a significant amount of time is devoted to celebrating the chastity and values of the girls/young women.  You can tell this girl is a princess because of the red feathers in her hair.  As she gets older she'll graduate to a larger knife -- her oldest sisters were carrying machetes. If I were more aware of the culture, I could probably tell you what that means.

And no, Lani, you can't adopt her. 

February Pictures -- 2. Rural Swaziland

Part 2 in a month-long picture-posting series.

A traditional homestead in the hills behind the signpost for Meleti, about an hour's drive but only 25k north of Mbabane.  This is a comparatively wealthy homestead with a 4-sided metal roof on one building and a tin roof on the living quarters.  The proximity to the dirt "highway" also sets this apart from the many homesteads that require a lengthy walk to the nearest road and the public transportation that can take people to/from town.

February Pictures -- 1. The View from My Window

I have a plan to meet the growing requests for more pictures.  Each day this month (or as many days as I can remember to do it) I'm going to post a picture of something around and try to put a little blurb with it.  Hopefully it will be interesting.  If it starts to feel like spam, let me know.

This is the view from my bedroom window.  Over the top of my car lies the hill that runs up the eastern side of a part of town called "Pine Valley."  In the middle-left window pane you can see the back of Sibebe, which is a huge rock/mountain that makes for a great short hike.

More to come!

G