We hiked part of Mt. Kilimanjaro with the kids before saying our final goodbye. We accomplished the 7-hour hike along with 15 kids from TunaHAKI and 15 adults plus our two guides. We began our hike at 11 AM through the lush tropical jungle landscape at the very base of the massive "Kili", the largest free standing mountain in the world. The air was thick with cool moisture and smells of damp green plants. Being such a large group, we split into separate sections throughout the hike. After having ants crawl up our pants and spotting a few different monkey species galavanting through the tree branches, we arrived at the first base camp at 9,000 ft elevation by 3 o'clock. Then we had lunch and made a further trek up to a small crater where we could see views of Kenya. The children giggled as they ran wildly down the slope into the midst of the crater, where the soft grass reminded me of pillows and fluffy blankets. We all rolled around and laughed together. Our dessent into the crater seemed like a scene from "The Sound of Music". The children ran down a steep dirt path all in a row until they reached the bottom and then they began singing the Tanzania welcome song that we have grown to love. They then began to do handstands and flips. They were so happy there surrounded by so much love and beauty. What a great day.
It's been difficult to get much access to internet so these are our final entries on how the travels in Africa have been.
