Pole Pole

I have absolutely always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro.  I made it one of my life goals.  So of course when crossing through East Africa it was on the list of things to do.  What I knew, but hadn't completely sunk in yet, was that Kili is bloody expensive.  So after some soul searching and pragmatic budget reviews we decided to climb the much less famous but equally beautiful Mt. Meru to it's west. 

Meru was great.  It is an old volcano that one side has collapsed and formed Africa's 5th peak.  Meru is a 3 day climb from 1500 m.a.s.l. to 4566 m.a.s.l.  It makes up a big part of Arusha National Park.  Also the rangers convinced us that Mt. Meru is actually harder and more rewarding than Kilimanjaro.  The climb was tough near the summit, but we had a great Ranger Josef who taught us the meaning of Pole Pole, or Swahili for slowly.  Going Pole Pole got us up the mountain without any altitude problems and Eva even said she had fun!

A Black Colobus Monkey jumping from branch to branch.

Looking at the ash cone from the crater.

Sunrise over neighboring Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The service is meh at 4566 meters.

So cold.  So very very cold.

Looking down at the ash cone.

Some not-so-friendly cape buffalo on the mountain.

Arusha National Park looking up at Mount Meru

A crown crane.