On the way off the mountain and back into the town of Moshi those heading home (including myself) had to make a stop at the regional Health Ministry Hospital to get a RT-PCR COVID-19 test. Everyone exiting Tanzania must take this test before they can get on trans border public Read more…
One of the challenges of being ”off the grid” so to speak, is that we depend so much on technology to do our day-to-day things. For instance, I depend on power sources to keep everyone informed of my progress for the duration of this trek. I could certainly have waited Read more…
I arrived in Moshi today in the early hours of the morning. Moshi is at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Coming off the airplane the shock was the bureaucracy of Tanzania government, especially under COVID-19. Before I left Portland I had to get a PT-PCR test, which showed negative, 96 Read more…
It’s been about 21 years since I made a flight connection at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on my way to visit the Dominicans in Pakistan. At that time I thought it was one of the most opulent airports in the world. They had outlets of all Read more…
Flying overseas these days requires a great deal of patience. COVID-19 restrictions, procedures, and regulations change constantly, and various countries implement them differently. What was true yesterday isn’t necessarily true today. Furthermore, not even the airlines know all the details. Case in point, a Delta flight en route from the Read more…
During the course of the year, one Mondays one can find me in the local mountains near Portland. Sometimes I have to go further afield, depending on the weather. But I do like to stay close. After all, I don’t want to spend the bulk of my day off in Read more…
In 2002, a Canadian friend was planning an ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro with her 62 year old mother and she asked me if I wanted to join her. As an outdoor enthusiast I readily agreed. Plus, the intrigue of going to Africa was thrilling. We were also going to tack Read more…