Itinerary

I realized (reading Hilary's blog) that I have yet to post our itinerary!

Itinerary

To Africa
Leave NYC Thursday, June 21
Arrive Dubai July 22
Depart Dubai July 22
Arrive Dar Es Salaam July 22
Depart Dar July 22

Day 1 -3

June 22: Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport
Driver pick up from airport and transportation to hotel
Overnight Arusha Royal Court Hotel

Kili Stage of the trip
Day 4

une 25:Stage 1
Arusha – Machame Village – Machame Drive
2 hrs, 10 km, 5-7 hrs, 1200m ascent, alt 300m
Dinner/ overnight Machame camp

Day 5

June 26:Stage 2
Machame, Shira
6 kms, 5-7 hrs, 840m ascent alt 3840m
Dinner / overnight Shira camp

Day 6

June 27: Stage 3
10 km, 5-7 hrs 110m ascent, alt 3950m
Dinner / Overnight Barranco camp

Day 7

June 28: Stage 4
Barranco Hut – Karanga Valley
4-5 km, 3hrs, 260m ascent, alt 4200m
Dinner/ Overnight Karanga Valley camp

Day 8

June 29:Stage 5
Karanga-Brafu
4-5 km, 3 hrs, 500m ascent, Alt 4700m
Dinner/ Overnight Barafu Camp

Day 9

June 30:Stage 6
5 km, 6-7 hrs, 1186m ascent, Alt 5896m
Dinner / Overnight Mweka Camp

Day 10

June 31:Stage 7
Mweka – Mweka Village – Arusha
Descend – 10 km, 3-4 hrs, Alt 1600m, drive 2 hrs
Overnight Arusha Royal Court Hotel (shower !!! that will be the first in 6 days-- we will be STINKY)


Safari Stage of the Trip
Day 11

July 1:Safari
Drive to Ngorongoro Crater
Full Day Game Drive
Picnic Lunch
Dinner and overnight Tarangire Safari Lodge

Day 12

July 2:Early Game drive Tarangire National Park
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at Lodge
Afternoon game drive or relax by the pool
Early evening game drive
Overnight Tarangire Safari Lodge

Zanzibar stage of the trip
Day 13

July 3:Afternoon flight to Zanzibar
(We had the option to take a bus from Arusha to Dar Es Salam - we decided against that - not a real fan of buses)
Overnight Stone Town

Day 14 -16

July 4 - 6:Zanzibar

Day 17

July 7 Early morning shuttle back to Stone Town
Ferry to Dar Es Salam
Flight from Dar Es Salam to Home via Dubai
Arrive NYC July 8 7:50 AM

We are going to be utterly BEAT but boy oh boy are we going to have some STORIES to tell! :-)

sleeping bags

Well our sleeping bags arrived yesterday. I bought them from amazon.com. I just LOVE the internet...how else would I have been able to agonize for weeks over which bag would keep me toasty warm in the middle of a frozen tundra?

Next on the chopping block are the trekking poles. As a present, my Grandparents have sent me money to buy poles for both my Mom and I. I found some good ones are REI but I found some others on Sierra Trading Post so I will consult my Outside magazine at home and see which has better ratings.

My printing vendor stopped by the office-- we hadn't chatted in awhile and he wanted to touch base- and asked about my upcoming vacations. He laughed when I told him I intend to trek Kili. He made me promise we would get together for lunch so he can see my pictures after I get back. I really hope my camera works on the top! I think I'll bring a few just in case- including a disposable one, just my luck that's the only one that will work!

Hotels in Africa

Well our tour group sent us the hotels we will be staying in when we are in Arusha (before Kili trek), on safari we will be in two hotels (1) (2) (lodges-- after Kili we will want SOME luxury), and in Zanzibar. They look AWESOME.

The Zanzibar hotel offers spa services and it's on the beach.
Yes Please!

I can't wait-- I want to go horseback riding and I want to sail in a dhow and I want to go snorkeling or scuba diving! WOW. This is going to be the best vacation ever.

Good thing I have been going to the gym-- the one near my house just opening a completely refurbished workout floor with all new machines. Most of them have their own TV sets so I am happy as a clam watching Jeopardy or the Colbert Report while sweating on the elliptical.

Flights are BOOKED

YAY!!! We have booked our flights. It's official. We are leaving June 21, 2007 and returning July 8, 2007 on Emirates Air. We even have a stopover in Dubai, a las it is very short so we probably won't get to see our friend Tony who lives there.

Now that I've gone and booked the flight I have to really ramp up my workouts. I've been going every weekday morning for about an hour. Yesterday I included some weights. Perhaps I will do cardio in the morning and weights in the evening. That's a lot of time though. What I have found is that on my cable system (Comcast Digital in Alexandria, VA) I have TV on Demand which includes the exercise channel. I can choose "quick workouts" on demand and do abs, buns, etc for 10 minutes. May not sound like a lot but you can "feel the burn" as gym- buffs say. It's a nice little supplement to my workout.

So Monday we find out which hotels are tour has booked for us. Should be interesting, I hope they are nice!

glacier glasses

Glacier Glasses are expensive. Well, they are if you consider that up until I recently got my first pair of prescription sunglasses my most expensive sunglasses ever were $20 from Target- and I thought that was high living! But to shell out over $200 on a pair of sunglasses specifically designed to let me see (and NOT blindingly break my neck) despite the overwhelming glare of snow and ice and of course the fact that at the top of Kilimanjaro we will be over 19,000 feet closer to the sun is just a little overwhelming.

Hiking 101

I was in CT this weekend- visiting family and friends. Mom bought her hiking boots-- WOO HOO-- and Hilary and I decided we we would break in our new boots on a little local hike. You gotta love the CT/NY landscape, perfect for training those stubborn butt muscles! So we went to the Westchester Wilderness Walk for a little light exercise. If you've never been, and you're interested in a little fun and a little challenge for novice hikers- that's where you should go. Needless to say, after nearly 2 hours and 3.3 (mostly uphill) miles, we decided we were entirely justified in lemonade and s'mores at Cosi!

After a sudden cold snap that came in overnight on Saturday we started our hike COOOOLLLLLDDDDDD but after a few minutes of trekking over frozen streams and slippery rocks we started to warm up. The layers were peeled off one by one and we were really wishing we had brough some water and some snacks-- we didn't think we would need them!

We will be booking our flights this week-- the best choices seem to be either to go through London (and visit with my aunt and uncle for a few hours) or go through Dubai, possible stay overnight and visit an old family friend. We'll see what works best! If anyone has any suggestions- please let me know.