Title image - BAI takes you to: Kilimanjaro

Doc Martin 75th Birthday Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

June 18, 2012 – Life is Good at 16,000 Feet

When we arrived at our high camp below Stella Point and the Crater Rim on Monday afternoon everyone on the team looked surprisingly good for being at such a high altitude. This was Doc Martin’s 5th trip to this special camp. He has dreamed since his last trip here in 2007 of returning with his family and friends. Today the dream came true.

The team walking through Barafu Camp, bound for a snowy Kilimanjaro.

The camaraderie and fellowship with our Tanzania staff is a big as Kilimanjaro itself. It is this spirit that brings Doc Martin back to Tanzania time and again.

Before the porters descended there was joyous time spent singing and dancing in the high thin air. You would not have known by looking at anyone that we were so high in the atmosphere. It began when the man who has become known as the “choirmaster” on BAI climbs, began chanting in a deep resonant voice to call the others together to sing. For a few minutes the mountains and glaciers around us beamed with our spirit – at least 60 of us, and everyone was smiling.

Later in the afternoon we got together in the big tent of some cards. It gets a little bit animated and intense when this group plays Ono, and the high altitude did not diminish the level of play at 16,000 feet.

We had our usual popcorn and cookie tea break in the afternoon and at 6:00 pm the food staff served a fantastic meal. We had pasta with fresh vegetable sauce, kebabs with fresh meat, mixed steamed vegetables and bread. One of the best indicators that someone is doing well with their acclimatization is having a good appetite. Perhaps it was the quality of the food, but if you had watched this team enjoying dinner at 16,000 feet you might have thought that they were at sea level.