Hi this is Jim Barr. I sending this dispatch from what is know as Lava Tower. We are standing at 15,900 feet and right now I am looking at a beautiful full moon - it's just risen over the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. We've had a pretty epic day; yesterday we couldn't send a dispatch because we didn't have cell service, but no worries because we've been busy winding our way up the trail that will take us to the summit in approximately 72 hours.
We've been moving through three eco systems starting with jungle terrain, than through the moorlands and now we're into more of an alpine desert landscape. We've been having some great times with our guide, Safi, as well as our good friends Frankie and Freddie, our guides here on Kili.
They've continued to teach us some more Swahili. Some of the new words include such as Jambo, which means hello, and 'Kaka' which means brother and 'Dada" which means sister. Now I'm sorry to say Big Brothers, Big Sisters folks but we've now renamed our tour the Big Kaka, Big Dada fundraising adventure (lots of laughter from the crew as they listen in).
The guides here and everyone on the Berg staff have been taking such good care of us. Everyday when we leave camp and every night when we come into camp they give us a rousing cheer – Tanzanian bongo(chant) it's called which is just wonderful.
We have 35 staff taking care of us and helping us with this expedition. Rob, Kim, Sue and Colin and I are all in excellent shape and in wonderful spirits. We've all been enjoying Sue's enthusiasm with her MP3 player; she's been sharing her music and moving and groovin' up the trail.
At 15,900 feet we definitely starting to feel the effects of altitude; we are moving a lot slower than we were a couple of days ago, but like I say we are all enjoying ourselves and in great spirits. I look forward to sharing more stories with you over the next few days. Just think, in 72 hours from now we'll be standing on the summit of the highest peak in Africa. Hakuna matata - “no worries here” in Swahili.
The Sun's Climb for Kids Presented by Edmonton Airports supports Big Brothers Big Sisters in-school mentoring program. Please support by becoming a volunteer and/or hit your back browser to make a donation to one of Canada's leading children's charities.
Thank you to the sponsors of this project including The Edmonton Sun, Edmonton Airports, Campers Village, SHAW TV, Canada Safeway, Magic 99 FM and Berg Adventures International.
