Back at Heathrow on a Bank Holiday Friday, sat in Terminal 4 waiting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. Always mixed feelings at this point. The, always heart wrenching goodbye to my long suffering wife, Carolynn and the excitement of heading to a new part of the world, Africa, a continent I’ve never visited and a mountain that is the highest single standing mountain in the world… Mt Kilimanjaro.
I’m doing it for the usual reasons, selfishness and solitary self satisfaction, not for charity, not because it’s there or to fulfill an inner journey to self-enlightenment! I’m sure my honesty will upset the dreamers amongst you, that believe life is a journey to another level of consciousness. I’ve lived too long and have become far too cynical to believe any of that high handed rubbish.
I’m meeting an old friend, Colin Zee who I first met on the Annapurna Sanctuary trek back in 2007 and then again to Island Peak in 2011. It’s a trek put together purely for the two of us by Ann of Trek Mountains. I believe the trek up the Lemosho Route is in total 67 km with a vertical ascent of 4,900 metres. The height gain is greater than that of Everest from Base Camp, but an 8,000 metre peak is at a different level of difficulty than Kilimanjaro and around 25,000 people attempt Kilimanjaro each year compared to 600 each year on Everest and the scant 306 that have ever summited K2!
Flight leaves in 20 minutes and still not on the plane, get the feeling it’s going to be late taking off!
Yep, an hour late taking off! And then at 11:30 they offer me a three course meal. I have to admit that after the delicious meal that my cousin cooked my stomach is screaming to be left in peace.
One of the flight attendants leaned over just before take off and asked if I minded moving to another seat… I could feel an upgrade coming on. It seems my feelings are forever optimistic! Another passenger wanted to sit with the rest of her family, how could I refuse. So I end up sitting next to a Scottish expat who now lives and works in Malaysia as a physiotherapist specialising in children. But appears to spend most of her time traveling.
Sleep time now. Next stop Doha.
I’m sat in the bowels of Doha international airport. I’ve found in the past that, that’s not always a good sign on what type of plane I’m about to board. Let’s hope it’s bigger than the planes that takes you from Kathmandu airport into the Himalaya!
First view
Kilimanjaro – isolated in its splendour
