Kilimanjaro

For several weeks I have been trying to put out one blog per day rather than being like London buses where there are none for ages and then three come along at once. Or SFMuni buses for that matter. This week has been more of the same. Well, OK, I skipped labor day because…labor day. All you IC types will be busy eating chips not designing chips.

But actually I’ve been in Africa all week with three friends. My first time here unless you could Tunisia and Morocco which are technically Africa but not really. I am in Tanzania. It is easier to get here than you might expect. Fly direct to Amsterdam and there is a direct flight from Amsterdam to Mount Kilimanjaro airport and Dar-Es Salaam.

The connection was riskily tight so we spent a day in Amsterdam. The new Rijksmuseum is incredible if you find yourself there. I haven’t been since I was about 20 going around Europe on Interail. It was closed for a ten-year refurbishment and re-opened last year. Also, if you find yourself in the Netherlands, make sure to go to an Indonesian restaurant that serves rijstaffel (rice table). Indonesia was a Dutch colony so in the same way that Britain has incredible Indian food, and France has great Moroccan food, the Netherlands has great Indonesian food. Rijstaffel consists of many small dishes and some rice. It is best with a lot of people. In the Cadence days I often had to visit Philips in Eindhoven since I was their executive partner and the local sales team would always take me out for it.

We arrived in Mount Kilimanjaro airport last night late. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a 9 hour flight before where you end up pretty much in the same time zone as you started (one hour difference). I’m more used to flying to Europe or Asia from San Francisco with 8 or 9 hour time differences. The plan is to go on a safari for a couple of days and then on Friday we start our assault on Kilimanjaro. It starts in the heat at about 6000′ and ends up in sub-zero temperatures and snow on the summit which is nearly 20,000′ (19,341′ if you want the exact number). The lack of oxygen on the final day is apparently a challenge. I hope we all manage to make it. It is a lot higher than Mount Whitney, my previous highest ascent.

More news and photos later.

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