Airletter This has been updated and printed as a book. To order online please visit www.createspace.com/4563113. When the Peace Corps invited me to teach in Tanzania, I was delighted. I had passed through East Africa on my way home from Malawi two years before while I was in college. I joined Crossroads Africa for the […]
From Loitokitok, Kenya Fifteen hours out of Mwanza, the rattling bus made its final turn into Arusha, Tanzania, and a solitary snow-capped peak swung into view. My heart flipped. I was on my way to join the Outward Bound Mountain School (OBMS) and to climb the legendary Mt. Kilimanjaro that loomed enormous in the sky […]
Pooped, on Top of Kilimanjaro I left school early to get to Loitokitok, Kenya for the start of the Outward Bound Mountain School. It’s a tough course, and usually it’s for policemen and other leader-types. This was the only course for young women that year. Most of the male instructors went to the coast for […]
Almost back to the school after the climb. The day after coming off the mountain, we began another set of challenges, the low ropes initiatives. Summit or not, it was time to test the girls’ skills and newly-acquired confidence. These ropes, close to the ground, were designed to force the teams to problem solve various […]
After days of physical conditioning and orienteering classes, practicing with maps and compasses to find their way, it was time to test the students’ abilities. Our next challenge was in the bush: a flat landscape flanked by Tsavo and Amboseli Game Reserves. Cape Buffalo Recently, one of the school employees had speared a lion near […]
At the morning meeting of instructors, John announced our first expedition. My heart flipped. When he announced this to the students, the room started buzzing with excitement. A few were quiet, though everyone had been told the agenda at the beginning. In any case, being active at the higher altitude of the school had given […]
August 21, OBMS, Loitokitok Kilimanjaro waited while classes and physical conditioning resumed. Each person prepared for the final expedition with excitement, some with a touch of fear. I’d only hiked a few lesser peaks in central Oregon on trips that took a whole day up and back. Mount Kilimanjaro rose to 19,000 feet, its legends […]
Chapters: Escaping the Heat | El Salto | Into the Valley | Dogs in the Night | Hiking the Valley, Hunger Lurks | Discovery | La Ciudad The short commercial strip of La Ciudad lined the highway. Our mouths watered as soon as we spotted a “Restaurante.” I was first through the door and nearly […]
Chapters: Escaping the Heat | El Salto | Into the Valley | Dogs in the Night | Hiking the Valley, Hunger Lurks | Discovery | La Ciudad Waist high grass that surrounded an abandoned barn was heavy with rain water, so we discarded the idea of using it for a night’s refuge. Nearby Robert found […]
Chapters: Escaping the Heat | El Salto | Into the Valley | Dogs in the Night | Hiking the Valley, Hunger Lurks | Discovery | La Ciudad Abandoned Railroad Tracks It felt good to be walking, able to stretch out our legs without feeling as if we would collapse from the coastal humidity. Pines, cedars […]
Chapters: Meeting Damiana | Going Fishing … or Not | Exploring | Camp Life | Trips to Town | Looking Back One day there were ten kids in camp and for several days there were none. Then five more children and one mother arrived with another great load of food. That night the treat was […]
Chapters: Escaping the Heat | El Salto | Into the Valley | Dogs in the Night | Hiking the Valley, Hunger Lurks | Discovery | La Ciudad Homestead The first named community of the day was La Lecheria, a name we remembered from the bus ride. Farmers, busy with chores, nodded as we passed as […]
Chapters: Escaping the Heat | El Salto | Into the Valley | Dogs in the Night | Hiking the Valley, Hunger Lurks | Discovery | La Ciudad Robert’s feet were hardening and we continued in the morning. At the next community, we turned off the road to try for more tortillas. Three men lounged outside […]
Chapters: Meeting Damiana | Going Fishing … or Not | Exploring | Camp Life | Trips to Town | Looking Back San Carlos sign After a wonderful stay with Damiana and her family, Robert decided he was getting neither better nor worse, and that we should pedal on. The thrill of discovery had worn off […]