August 15th: travel day from he....#@!&*!!!!!!!!

Susanne back at it.

Monday, August 15th

Well, everything had overall gone extremely smoothly to date.......besides a few people getting sick for a day or two, all had gone quite well. Too well maybe...... :)

(Suspense...)

We left the hotel early and instead of the anticipated 20 minute airport ride, we were there in less than 10 minutes. We walked into an open, but deserted airport with no one at ticket counters or anywhere else beside two sleeping security guards at the front entrance (well, it WAS 4:30 a.m. after all).
The first flight went well.....we got into Johannesburg at the anticipated time around 8 am and were supposed to be on a 9:40 am flight to Nairobi to catch our connection to Kili.
Well, this is where the ``smoothness`` sort of stopped. Chelsea and Steve were ahead in line, had gotten their boarding passes and went on to security. When the rest of us got to the counters to get our boarding passes, we were told that the flight had closed as it was now only 45 minutes until the flight departure time.

We had been in line for a while and no one did the habitual roll call you would get at the airport at home ``anyone going to xxx location , please move to the front of the line``. We tried many ways to still get on board...pleading, complaining (someone had actually further delayed us by giving us the wrong info and sent us to the wrong counter)...we finally found a wonderful South African Airlines Supervisor who spent about an hour trying to get us on another flight two hours later, so that we could maybe still catch our later Nairobi connection to Kili. To make a long story short, it was a bit of a roller coaster morning. We went from yes, to no, to `not today`, to `yes, but at a cost` when trying to rebook flights or find alternative ways to get to Kili where we are supposed to start our ascend tomorrow.

4 of the 6 remaining climbers ended up getting onto a 11:40, including me, and kept worrying a lot about the other two that did not make this one. But we figured that it would be easier to rebook 2 versus 6 people and we could at least try to find and take care of their luggage. We were all supposed to be checked in but at the last minute, the paperwork for 2 was not right and somehow they were not in the system. The Kenya Airways counter guy was awful, moved slower than a snail and we are not fans at all. Glenda, the other supervisor who helped us, deserves a medal: I have never seen someone try so hard to help someone. She literally ran back and forth behind counters and floors in her high heels, trying to make this happen. The 4 of us on this flight hope to catch the 6 pm Kili flight from Nairobi. we weren`t holding our breath as the connection was tight already and we left 30 minutes late. The last option was a $300 charter flight at 10 pm. we had to just play it by ear....grrrrr......well, something had to happen sooner or later.

Some of us had said that there is definitely a break on any wine or beer in prep for the Kili climb as it obviously dehydrates you...but we all ordered a drink as soon as it was offered on the plane. What a stressful morning......let`s hope we all get there sometime tonight and are able to stick with our departure date of the 16th tomorrow. We also had a bumpy first flight and have started taking our Diamox altitude pills as our ``trial day`' so we are all a bit weary, tired and ticked off.

We made the 6 pm flight by running from one gate in Nairobi to the other (much smaller airport than we thought, and did not have to go through passport control...but I may have run one or two strangers over on the way with all of our carry-on and waterbottles bouncing around our little backpacks) and arrived in Kili at 7pm....without luggage.  So after a ride to the hotel, we had a nice dinner and I am now sitting in the same outfit I had on all day and which I might have to wear tomorrow starting this climb. If we are lucky, the flights will arrive with the two missing group members at 11 pm tonight, if not, then at 9 am tomorrow and we have to get our stuff on the way to Kili. Not the preferred method, but likely the only option without starting our climb late.

One very noteworthy mention: we flew by Kili  at 19,000 feetand my stomach just about dropped. I had been feeling great about the build, but flying by it and seeing the peak above the clouds is certainly intimidating when thinking: hey, you get there via plane, but can we REALLY climb up there? Hard to believe!!!

So folks, this might be the last entry before our climb tomorrow. Wish us luck in finding our luggage and on the climb :)

Hope to drop a note on the 23rd when we are back down. Hopefully 9 for 9 for our might Canadian group.  Actually: I am sure it`s 9 for 9....great little group and we`ll push eachother up.  We already planned drinks and called first showers in the rooms for when we return.  The altitude pills are already working:  they act as a diuretic and people have been peeing all day...great, just what you want. Lots of washroom trips without washrooms unless a lunch or night rest stop!

Other thoughts about the trip:

• 7 days without washing our hair.......yikes, not the happiest thought....you thought helmet hair is bad!
• Actually: this is one I think about a lot.....will leave it at that. Will be a first :)

Cheers, take care, all!!!