Offret-Africa

2007-01-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

Arusha, Tanzania
January 26, 2007

I had the great fortune to hook up with Hasseim Jallon. I had written him before we left for Africa but he had been out of town and e-mailed me after we were in Africa. For those of you who don’t know Hasseim, he is the chief prosecutor for the Rwanda Criminal Trials. His name was presented to the Security Council of the U.N. and approved. The U.N. took jurisdiction of the genocide under its chapter 7 powers. The mandate to Hasseim was to have all investigations done by 2004; for all trials to be finished by 2008 and for all appeals to be done by 2010. The tribunal will be disbanding at that time. All the evidence they have put together will placed in an electronic repository for use by any country that undertakes prosecution of a Rwandan war criminal.

Hasseim says only 10% of the criminals will be prosecuted by that time; because they have all fled and are hard to find. There is no statute of limitations for murder so whenever and wherever these criminals are picked up any country having joined in the decision to prosecute can do it in their own country. Of course whenever any criminal is arrested there is no bail. The charges are brought by way of an Information being a legal document which spells out the factual basis of the crime and if there is a prima fascia case presented, the judge signs an arrest warrant.

It was the Rwandan government that asked the U.N. to take charge but they wanted the Courts in Rwanda. The U.N. decided to have the tribunal in neighboring Tanzania. Craig took a picture of the buildings at great risk to his life. Not supposed to do that.

Hasseim is a most gracious man, having invited me into his house where I met his children. He started practicing law in 1976. He was a prosecutor for a while, then in private practice. He was a judge on the Supreme Courts of Gambia and Sierra Leone before his appointment by the U.N. to this position. He supervises 170 lawyers from 90 countries. You must speak either English or French, and been licensed in a common law jurisdiction. There are about 70 defense attorneys paid for by the U.N. – similar to my appointment in CJA federal cases. Surprisingly the defense attorneys are paid about $110 per hour, which is more than our Government pays.

Cases have been taking 3 -4 years to complete. 1 reason is the denial by each defendant that genocide actually occurred. The Appeals court recently ruled that the issue of genocide is decided has having occurred and that is no longer a valid defense so a lot of time is saved by not having to prove that point. Cases are tried to 1 of 6 panels of 3 judges each. There are 7 Appeal Court judges.

Of some disappointment is that these trials are going on and the world doesn’t hear about it. Since there is no death penalty in U.N. cases the defendant is sentenced to a long prison term. The idea is to punish and to deter others from similar actions. Without any publicity that point is somewhat lost on the world. The U.N. Courts in The Hague and other places are getting much more attention.

After just a minute with Hasseim he seemed like an old friend, no pretenses, down to earth. 1 of 13 children. His parents were not educated formally, but his father wrote several books, and encouraged his children to obtain an education. Hasseim was the first of his family. It’s easy to see he is a good family man. His children are like all other teenagers, but well behaved and respectful of their father.

After spending some time in Arusha, I am more inclined to apply for a job at The Hague. Hasseim agreed. He will recommend me.

2007-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

Location ……Middle Of the Atlantic Ocean.

Life after Africa! After the Safari we moved into the city.. A little time spent alone on the Serengeti will spoil you. We checked out of the ever corporate Sopa Lodge on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crater early so we could spend a little time in the city of Arusha. I knew the Sopa Lodge was a little out of the mix when I paid $4.50 us for a 320ml Tusker (normal price $.50 per 500ml)

We stayed during the day at the Kia lodge where Team Roma/Doug parted ways with Team Offret. We were sad to split up but every good thing must come to an end. Here was the last photo taken of the group with our humble, patient, charismatic, genuine driver “Steady Freddy”

Dad went to meet contacts at the UN Tribunal for the Rwanda crimes, the rest of the group explored the city. “Mzungos at the Market”…. Can you find 3 Mzungos?

This picture was taken at breakfast Doug and I are merely decoys the focus is on the individual who happens to be male and wearing a pink velour 2 piece leisure suit!!??

Doug and R.A.O stand in to show their support for classic “Hitari” and Tuskers.

In Amsterdam posing around town pretending to be tourists.

I found a sign leading people to the Canadian “boots”.. how aboot that, eh?

R.A.O Kicks it up a notch and eats some “Frites” with straight up MAYO!!! Greeze the joints Guy!!

Oh the Red Light district was peeking its head around every corner.. Here is R.A.O once again mesmerized by the ladies in the window.

2007-01-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2007 Sopa Lodge

We have left the Serengeti and have traveled back into the Ngoron.oro crater. This is supposed to be where man originally walked upright 2.5 million years ago. This is where the Leeky's found the fossils of man walking upright.

We were scheduled to stay here for 2 nights but we have changed our plans to add more excitment to our last few days. We will go into Arusha tomorrow and stay in a regular hotel and be the only white people on the streets. That always draws attention. Hopefully we will survive this latest change of plans. Arusha is a big city with few police and lots of crime. Anything after dark is questionable. Craig is excited for the adventure.

The last several days have been in the Seregenti where the local people say the land that never ends, or the land that goes as far as the eye can see. The reason is because it is true. The horizen goes on and on. It is full of wildlife all together. The zebra, wildabeasts, hyenas, gazelles, impalas, lions, cheetahs all together on the plain. Hopefully craig has put on a few pictures of the animals.

We were so close to this lion we could spit at it which we did. The lion then showed us that was not acceptable, so we stayed back a little futher. I have been trying to find a smaller lion to wrestle but as you can see they are pretty big. Later.

Ron

2007-01-25T03:50:00.000-08:00

How about a picture of the Cheetahs?? Here are a couple walking around trying to make a living

Some other animals that don't seem to get credit around here very often are the Zeebs.. they are EVERYWHERE... seriously.. they are like plankton in the ocean... yet no two are alike... so put your hands together for the Zeebs!!!!

I broke the rules today and had a picture taken of me with some Giraffes outside of the cruiser... Freddy (guide) was almost in tears.. he believes there are lions and cobras in all patches of tall grass.

Hyenas are gross... Seriously the way they slink around with their back legs way too short for their bodies... plus the look on their face is always wicked... Freddy hates that they steal the cheetah's food from them
.

2007-01-25T03:33:00.000-08:00

Location Lake Ndutu, Seringetti

Today we were lucky enough to spot 13 Dik Diks I was very happy about this, mainly because they are my favorite species out here.. These things are litterally 14 inches tall from head to toe with minature antlers just like a little baby deer.

Later on in the day we did a little grass plains levitating as I am demonstrating here then posed for a group shot in front of the 50,000,000 shilling cruiser, yeah you heard right 50 mil in shillings for one of these things new... !!!!

We saw and watched another family of cheetahs today 3 total, in addition to the 2 we watched yesterday... They cheetahs are very relaxing, they just lay around like housecats swatting their tail around to keep the flies off.

Pictured below is the group of warthogs we saw close to camp and a very fine impala..

2007-01-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2007
Southern part of Rift valley in the Serengeti National park.

We just finished a 4 hour ride in our Range Rover with the top panels removed enjoying the wildlife. We came back to our tent camp on the upper bank of some lake and just finished lunch. I am looking over the lake as I write this watching a mother giraffe and her baby. The Serengeti plane goes on for as far as the eye can see. There is game everywhere. Zebras, Wildabeast, just like a discovery channel program.
Yesterday when we started we had just entered the Nogaro National Wildlife preserve and were treated within minutes to a small herd of Elephants.
Today we were treated to several young male lions (4-6 years old),and later a small pride of 3 females and 4 cubs. We watched them travel down to the marsh and rode along side for about 30 minutes. Just like on TV.
We are the only guests at our tent camp. Last night we sat out at the fire and were joking and laughing, having a good time. Craig climbed into the large tree at the camp and scoped out the area for us. He looked like a leapord. Maybe he will put his picture next to this section.
We will be here another full day before we leave for the journey back into the city.
We have been staying at some pretty lavish locations. This camp is the most basic, but also the most fun.

Hope you are enjoying our experience.

Ron

2007-01-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

Current Location.. Africa wilderness somewhere in tents.

Our Safari trip today was quite an experience.. We started out driving through the city of Arousha.. most of the folks were excited to see all the people through the comfort of the Land cruiser.

A couple hours later we made it down to the national wildlife preserve around the Lake Manyara. There was some spectacular wildlife viewing there from the Cruiser.. It was nice to pop out of the roof hatches in the Land Cruiser to get unobstructed views of the Elephants, Hippos, Gazelles, Cape Buffalo, Giraffes and countless others that crossed the path.

The favorites were as follows:

Ron: Elephants/Giraffes
Roma: Velvet Monkey
Doug: Fighting Hippos
Craig: Dik Diks

Our driver “Freddy” was about at his wits end with us. We are thinking of ways to sneak out of the cruiser without him noticing. I am working on making a to scale dummy of Doug and replacing him in the back seat so Freddy won’t know he is gone, in an attempt to get us all a little closer to the dangerous game.

We are staying in another over the top lodge in the mountains. The Kirumu tented lodge calls these tents but really they are four star rooms with giant verandas. We have had and amazing night of great cuisine and chatter about the great game viewing we did today.

Tomorrow we are checking out and heading to the Serengeti National park, we will be staying at the Ndutu camp.

2007-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Life in Africa is a couple steps off the path that you’re used to taking, combine that with a 7 day camping / hiking trip up the continent’s highest mountain and you have got yourself a real situation.

Probably the first thing that jumps out at you being here is that the people are a little musky. Everyone wears their body odor like a badge and maybe can’t smell it or doesn’t care. But every local that passes you get the full effect of their particular and unique scent. Our support team for the mountain had a cornucopia of smells on the way to the mountain so you can only imagine what was in store for us on the trail. Every porter that passed, every time someone talked to you it was impossible not to smell.

The eating ritual around here is something else. When I go camping I would just like to eat a hot dog roasted on a fire and call it good. That will not pass on this mountain excursion. Every time we had to eat, which was breakfast and dinner, we had to be seated at the table!! No exceptions. Goudez, the assistant guide with his English vocabulary 145 strong, would insist. It always went something like this:

Goudez: Hello…..Guys…….Hello……
Craig: No!!….
Goudez: Fine…. I am Fine OK…come ..Ok
Craig: No. leave me alone !
Goudez: Yes Come it is necessary you eat
Craig: I am not eating today… your food is gross
Goudez: Ok I bring tea…..Ok tea here… yes
Craig: I don’t want any tea. I have an F-ing headache.. beat it !!
Goudez: Yes good I bring tea…. Fine

No matter what you said or did, this Goudez character would persist until you sat at the silly table in the middle of a campsite at 12,000 feet. Every time the table was set with plates, bowls, silverware, salt and pepper... the usual right.. Then sugar, Instant coffee, hot water and tea. Then there were always the items we never used, such as the peanut butter, the margarine, the Palestinian quick oats (which I knew profits supported the PLO), the cocoa, the tang like drink mix called mola, some jar of black paste we didn’t know anything about and of course the marmalade jam made of some type of mango. Don’t try to tell these guys that you don’t need all this stuff at every meal they will resent you.

At altitude your appetite at least cuts in half.. Mine was totally gone. It was always another argument with Goudez when I left the table about how I didn’t eat enough.

We kept the average amount of porters around for a camp which is 4.5 per person. I was a little shocked when I found out we had 7 porters and 2 guides going along. Until I realized the necessity of them all. For example, you need one guy to carry the outhouse even though every campsite has 10 or so you need a portable one that is nice and clean. Then one guy carries the tents, 3 of them. You have 2 guys carrying personal stuff for the climbers, that was Paul and Saimon.. they were my favorites. Then you have Christian carrying an aluminum box full of food. Then the two others are carrying all the dishes camp stoves, kerosene, dry storage food and other misc items that are necessary such as table and chairs.

The funny thing about these guys is they just love every minute of this hike. They are all excited to have a job for a week and are celebrating. You would think they have special skills and taking hiking very seriously, but no, they are a drinking and smoking bunch of jokesters who stay up late at night laughing and carrying on with 4 or 5 per 3 man tent.

These fellas love to carry stuff on their heads.. there is not doubt about it. I tried my best to explain using actions and examples about the benefits of a pack with a good waist belt. I just didn’t seem to get through to them. Most of the waist belts won’t fit snug on these guys anyway because they all have about a 24 inch waist. So they put all the backpacks into duffle bags and balance them on their heads all the way down the trail.

The trip up the mountain was great. It was like hiking on another planet, actually when we were walking around on the rim at 19,000 feet I was telling my Dad I can’t believe we can even breathe up here in outer space. It is quite the spectacle when the sun finally comes up and you can see that you are walking on the highest spot on the continent. I swore I could see the oceans on either side but then again I was a little weird in the head at that altitude.

I have to give props to Dad for sticking to it up the hill, I hope when I am that age I have enough tenacity to do something that extreme.

Next stop the safari… Hopefully we are not in tents any more… Dad believes we are in fancy hunting lodges with verandas.. Who knows we will have to wait and see.

2007-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2007

We are back at the hotel. We have showered, shaved and hade a little ceremony with our guides and porters. The guides presented us with our gold embossed certificates of having climbed the summit of Kilimanjaro. We gave them a nice tip for getting us there. For Craig and me, we had a Guide, An Assistant guide and 7 porters who carried all the stuff up the mountain. Hopefully Craig has put a picture of them next to this section of my blog. I am now back in our room taking a moment to put down some thoughts about this journey.

First: I hate tents where you have to kneel down, stoop over and can’t stand up. I have hated them since I was a kid in Boy Scouts and gotten tall enough to where I couldn’t stand. I hate to sit Indian style. So the combination of tent and Indian style meant I haven’t blogged most nights, first because I was physically exhausted and second because I can’t sit Indian style in the tent. That’s why I couldn’t keep up with a daily blog.

Second: Good Son, Physical Limitations. I can’t talk about Craig until I tell you about the physical/mental trials this journey put on me. The first day we hiked what were told about 5 hours (in the rain). The second day we hiked and climb for about 5 hours (some in the rain). At the end of the first day, when in the tent (remember how I hate tents) when I tried to take off my pants it put pressure on my hamstring muscle which cramped, (not ever having been used as much as it had the day), and stayed cramped for about 10 minutes while I tried to get it our. The same thing happened on the second day when I was trying to change out of my wet clothes. Cramps in my legs hurt. Full of lactic acid. Finally I told Craig who thought it would great to hurt Dad even more and attacked the Hamstring. At night when asleep in the mummy bag, and trying to turn over, the hamstring would start to cramp. Hurt hurt hurt. Finally at the end of the third day I had no choice but to stretch out the muscle before getting into the tent which I hated anyway.
At the end of the third day we arrived at camp. The porters were always scurrying in front of us so when we arrived the camp was already set up. Including the tent I hated. That day we were facing a 2000 foot cliff.

Craig said we had to climb it. I said no way. So we got the daily description of what we going to do the next day and I swear there must be a translation problem between Swahili and English because it said “We would start the day climbing up this 2000 foot cliff, it was a little steep, about 89 degrees up, but it wasn’t a technical climb and should only take about 2 hours. Huh??? What gives? The next morning we started at about 8:00AM. By that time many of the porters were on the trial and you could see where the trial was going. I swear it was straight up. If Craig and I are coordinated he should have put a picture of this cliff next to these comments. Let me express my feelings here for a moment – what was I thinking. Wow how much fun can this be? During these 2.5 hours I had many opportunities to ask myself why. But having committed I guess you just do it. Besides if I quite I knew all of you would call me a whoosh. Nobody feel and no it wasn’t a technical climb where you needed ropes and stuff but it was dangerous, scary, and something you wouldn’t do just for the heck of it. My point I guess is that if you have mentally committed to something you go for it. The interesting thing is that I needed this days climb so the next day and the next I could answer the questions as to what the hell I was doing, by saying look at what the hell I have already done. They couldn’t take that 2000 foot cliff away from me.

The rest of the next day and the next would somewhat uneventful. At the end of the 5th day we have arrived at 15,000 feet. The air is thin. We got in quite early, had and early dinner 4:00PM and went right to bed. We had to get up at 11:15PM for tea and biscuits. We then dressed and started the ascent. After reflections I belief they start the ascent in the dark because if anyone could see how steep and how high it was everyone would turn back. Remember the 2000 foot cliff. This is way beyond that. You leave your 15,000 foot camp and go to 18,000 feet in 6 hours. It’s pitch black. The only thing you can see are what your headlamp lights up and the lights from all the other climbers. By this time there are probably 200 climbers and quides trying to get to the summit. All on one trail.

Some thoughts. Discovery channel airs a program called “Beyond Everest” where the climbers take one step and then have to catch their breath. How can that be you say. Well here it is the same. I was breathing at my maximum rate and not getting any air. If you stop, there is a trial of climbers trying to pass you and you loose about 30 positions. If you stop for more that 1 minute you start to get very cold. It was probably 0 or -5 degrees. So you keep up this constant maximum breathing hoping you don’t blow out your heart or lungs. Then there are the fools. Remember “Beyond Everest” when the Asian climbers got in front of the expedition and then just stopped, no one knew why. Well here to. You have some dumb fool who just stops in the middle of the trial and everyone behind him stops. Is he/she in distress or what. Generally not. Just someone with a gear problem who thinks he is the only one on the mountain and can not be expected to take one step to the side of the trial to let the rest of the climbers pass.

That the 6 hours was Grueling is an understatement. It taxed my very core. Each ½ hour I would have to tell myself, They can’t take away the fact I made it this far and that can’t take away that ½ hour. Then is was 1 hours, the 2 hours or 1/3 rd of the mornings climb, then ½ of the mornings climb, then more and more. It was mine to keep. I am going to finish the journey. The air is cold, my feet are cold, I can hardly breath. Why am I doing this. Then finally it was 5:00AM. I am sure If I could see where I am gong it would be easier. The sun will be up in 1 hour. Hold fast. One step at a time was all I could do. Trying to take a drink of water out of the carrier was hard, made my stomach upset. Everything was hard. But it was mine. No one could take it away. I hated to look up the mountain because the lights of the climbers above me showed me how high and steep the trial was. But at about 5:30AM I looked up and could see the climbers lights spread out along the top of Stella’s glacier. Everyone knew this was the craters edge and the hard part would be over. I had to count each step. 1,2,3,4, finally I got to 100 and didn’t think I could go any further. But I started counting over again and before I got to 100 I could see the ridge and a few steps later I was on the ridge. 6:00AM right on schedule. You walk around the craters edge going up another 1,000 ft to get to summit. At This time the sun is coming up, you turn off the head lamps and make the gradual ascent to the summit. We got to the Summit at 7:00AM. Pictures, happiness and a feeling of accomplishment. I climbed it and they can’t take it away from me.

The summit is beautiful. It is snow covered with spectacular views. But remember you are exhausted, and you have to turn around and go back down. The same steep way you came up. For a guy without an Arterial Cruciate Ligament, this is the part I knew would be tough. It was. Only a trained expert should attempt to descend this mountain without one. It was a stressor. Craig – needed to get down. He had had a bad altitude headache for about 3 days and had to get down from the 19,000 foot altitude. I was slow and kept slipping. Any slip could have meant my knee would go out. If it went then Craig had instructions to shoot me. We started down at 8:00AM. After trying for about ½ hour, finally one of the guides held one arm and we came down together. If I slipped he could at least hold me up without popping the knee. We finally got back to camp at 12:00 noon for a 1 hour break, only to be reminded we had to go down to the next camp – only a 5 hour climb down. 11:30 AM to 12:00 noon (12.5 hours) of the most exhausting physical endeavor I have undergone, and then 5 more hours. By know my knee was useless. We went down very slowly, but finally made it. The next day to get to the bottom of the mountain and back to the hotel.

Craig-a good son. Craig’s job was to get me to the top. He would watch me, take the extra burdens. He knew I couldn’t get in the tent very well, or take off my boots or somedays even tie my boots. He watched and did all the little extra things, never complaining. He would roll out my mattress, roll up my mattress. He started to carry all the water because it looked like it was to heavy for me. He never complained even though for several days he had an altitude headache. He would make sure we took breaks and rest stops. Of course he was always complaining about the food and the tea. He got frustrated because the assistant guide was always telling him to eat and he didn’t want to. He is a fine young man. Craig is in great shape and the climb did not represent any physical challenges to him, except for some reason he had a lot of gas and delighted in sharing that with me in the tent. (Another reason why I hate tents).

Summary. The Guide would always ask me if I felt good, if my lungs were good etc. When we were about 200 yards below Stella’s ridge on a 30 second rest break the guide ask me if my feet were ok – yes but cold, were my hands ok – yes but cold, were my lungs ok – yes, was my throat, head, stomach etc ok – yes, everything was physically ok and seemed to working normally. The next 200 yards convinced me that I should have another physical check-up when I get home and then perhaps have a mental check-up to see if I am ok. There must be some reason why I do these crazy things.

2007-01-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

We have made the summit and returned to the jungle!!!

There is nothing better than waking up at 11:30 pm getting suited up and hiking for 6 hours until you reach the summit of this god forsaken mountain. Hiking the whole while in the dark with headlamps on staggering around like zombies trying to catch their breath.

We made the crater ridge just about sunrise. It was pretty cool, I was a little involved with a massive headache and trying not to vomit, so most of the pictures I look a little agro.

The hike down was slow and painful, Dad’s non existent ACL in the left knee was making the go very slow. When we got back to our 15,000 foot camp I was ready to pack in the sleeping bag and get some shut eye.. but no, they wanted us to do another 5 hours of descent!!! Hiking down these river gorges just about killed the old guy and he now has a swollen left knee and a bad attitude.

We will be out of here tomorrow afternoon and back at the hotel.. I will charge the batteries and we can each give our full report. Dad might blog later tonight if he gets his ibuprofen.

2007-01-17T05:57:00.000-08:00

Location Barufa Hut 15,000 feet.

The altitude has taken a hold of me, I have no appetite the guides try to force us to eat. Dad and I sit in the tent kicking back listening to the 85 different Swahili conversations taking place all around us, then we hear Peter the guide “ Hello…Hi, Suppertime” then I yell out. I am not hungry go away. He persists with “it is necessary.. you eat ok” then I tell him to get lost but he will not give up until we sit at the stupid table on top of this mountain and eat their food.. they take it way to personally if you refuse.

Tonight at midnight we wake up and take the final 4000 foot hike to the summit, then back down to this hut, pack up and head down to around 10,000 feet. We should be back at the hotel the day after tomorrow. I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed and wash the Kilimanjaro off my body.

We will blog if we make it probably around noon tomorrow.

Peace out

2007-01-16T04:05:00.000-08:00

Location Karunga Valley 13,000 feet

We took off this morning to head up a canyon wall that was clost to 1500 feet vertical in less than a quarter mile. Dad was really feelin it today. We have traversed this mountain from one side to the other now and I am ready to go to the top. We have been at over 12,000 feet for the past 3 days and I have had a headache the whole time.

Tomorrow we only hike for 3 or 4 hours then rest and head for the summit at midnight. Every day up here seems to be the exact same weather. Early in the morning it is clear as can be, then about 10 am the fog sets in and you have less than 100 yards of visibility for the rest of the day and night. It is really discouraging to be trapped in the cloud all day.

We went through at least 3 canyons today that were 14,000 at the tops and probably 12,500 in the valley, it is really hard for the pop to get down the steep slopes. Every night it gets below freezing but that is nothing we cant handle. We sleep in this tent for at least 12 hours a day, there is really nothing else to do up here but hike, eat and sleep.

I am ready to summit and go. I miss my girl, hawai'i and sea level. Hopefully the batteries will last for dads blog tomorrow and when we get back from the top.

,

2007-01-15T04:10:00.000-08:00

January 14, 2007-01-15

Did I mention that things could get worse. Today was uphill the whole way, A lot of sweat, and hard breathing. After 5 hours we arrived at camp. The porters were already there and the camp was set up. I immediately wanted to take a nap, but the assistant guide said it was tea time. Because it was raining in sheets we had to have tea in the tent set up for tea. Do you know how much I hate getting in and out of tents, especially when its raining with mud everwhere. Anyway after tea it was time for a nap. I immediately fell asleep but had to get up at 5:30 for dinner. You have to eat or you hurt their feelings. After dinner it into be at 6:00PM. Raining like crazy. Slept for 12 hours.

January 15, 2007-01-15

For some reason I thought this was to be an easy day. However it took almost 7 hours to get to our next camp. Very tired. Howevcr I have become the one on the mountain everyone respect. Its an age thing. Later more tomorrow.

2007-01-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

Location Shira Plateau 12,500

The hike today was hard and steep. It took only about 5 hours but took its toll on both of us. Dad is sore and has tired muscles. I have a headache and some type of altitude sickness that I hope will pass by the morning.

I tried to skip dinner tonight but the support team of 9 thinks it is a slap in the face to all of them If I don't eat so its easier to just go along with the flow of things.

Tomorrow we shouldn't gain that much altitude we are traversing mostly and ending up at 13,500 so hopefully my body can adjust.

Dad is doing great, he just takes is slow and steady and hasn't got any signs of sickness yet.

Batteries are going fast so only one blog per night.

2007-01-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Getting to the mountain today took a little while but I was finally glad when we started walking. The jungle was very cool and we caught a glimpse of a monkey or two. The satillite modem works ok in the tent which makes things nice.. the rain today made quite a bit of mud around the campsite.

The porters are super entertaining. They have the most random clothes on all the time.

2007-01-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2007-01-13
7:00 pm

Nothings easy. Today was no different. The climb (for me) was much harder than I thought it would be. But on the other hand it only took 4 hours whereas the literature we had to read said it would take 5-7 hours. Of course it had to rain, rain, rain, which meant rain coats, which means sweat, which means wet clothes.

When we did reach the location were we were to camp it had rained so much everything was mud. I was under the impression they were going to let us sleep in this new building. But after we had unrolled our sleeping bangs, changed our clothes and were just getting warm, the army officer came in and asked what were doing. Our guide found us and took us to our tent. I hate tents because I have so much trouble stooping over to take off my boots.

Anyway diner was good. Now I am trying to blog sitting down in the tent, with the computer on my lap and the flashlight in my mouth. Later – tomorrow.

2007-01-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow this is a whole new world over here in Africa you know. I took a trip into town with a little fella named Ludox. This Ludox was the a 5 dollar tour guide from the hotel who will take you to see some lovely waterfalls and plant life around the tiny town. We did a couple trails saw some neat pineapple and banana plants some small children playing with a tortoise..blah blah Then I told Ludox to find me an ATM, he said there was one in the heart of the city of Moshi.. it was only and hour away and early so we went for it. He said it was either $26 American for the taxi or $1 for the public bus, of course I go with the bus it is 26 times cheaper. The bus is the equivalent to a ford 350 van with 24 people in it, but it is a Toyota and everyone is ripe with bo.

The drive to Moshi was 60 km and we stopped everywhere people were getting on jumping off out the windows at the stops so it took us about 45 minuets to get there. Some dude tried to pickpocket me and got a little demonstration of my arm twisting skills on my way off the bus.

Once in Moshi the world is totally different. I was getting stared at like I am a celebrity, I was the only American as far as the eye can see, the kids in the town still think the camera with the review screen is magic and chase you around like a wizard. The women really carry heavy loads on the head, only some with old style wicker baskets most of them have five gallon buckets and plastic grocery bags perched on top.

The evening was topped off by Desmond the old brit fella who loves to listen to himself talk. Seriously I looked over and dad was asleep, then I quick looked at Desmond to see if he noticed and he was also asleep while rambling on about the importance of drinking water when you are thirsty and eating when you are hungry. Then I realized that I too was asleep and this little meeting was incredibly boring. After we got out of there we both fell asleep immediately.

Tomorrow is the start of the big hike. It should be good.

2007-01-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2007

It’s never easy. Yesterday we were sitting in the KLM VIP lounge at Amsterdam’s airport waiting for our 10:30 AM flight to Kilimanjaro. Everything was going fine. Our plane was delayed about ½ hour while they found a pilot. When we did get on the plane we both fell fast asleep. We had been up for 24 hours off and on. I slept across Belgium and part of France then woke up. The captain had come into the main part of the plane and was speaking Dutch. He seemed to be going on and on. Then he started in English. Something was wrong with the plane. We couldn’t just go to Kilimenjaro because there would not be any technicians there to fix the plane, so we were going to drop the fuel, turn around and go back to Amsterdam to get a new plane. By this time we were over the Alps which were very beautiful. I woke up Craig to share the good news with him.
As we got closer to Amsterdam the weather changed for the worst. There was lightning in the clouds which is something Craig loves. Remember it was him who got off the plane in Yakima and kissed the ground after lightning hit the plane carrying the whole family. Anyway the wind was blowing 50 – 60 miles per hour. This meant the “new” plane, being empty, could not be towed over to the terminal – the airport people were afraid it would be blown over. So someone left it in the hangar. We landing or should I say bounced our way down the runway, and unloaded, only to be herded like cattle down several gates to where we were to board the “new” plane. It is amazing how people act just like cows when being herded. Because of the security issues we were all held together in a space ½ the size necessary to accommodate the 300 people who had just spent 4 hours on a roundtrip to nowhere. It had taken the captain and co-captain about 2 hours to decide the flashing light on the dashboard meant we had to turn around and go back. We were all locked up. We couldn’t leave the secured area. There was a small bathroom downstairs. The line for the women was always backed up. Ladies always take so much longer. It reminded me of the argument that Ladies needed more restrooms than men in these gathering places. I just think it takes them longer to pee.
After 3 hours or so I was ready to take charge and cause a passenger revolt, but we were so packed in there was no place to start it. This would have made a great episode for the Discovery Channels program called Airline. Over the 3 hour period there were only 2 announcements, 1 to say we would be delayed longer and the other to say we would only be delayed about 30 minutes longer. It finally did happen that we got onto this new plane. And KLM was so sorry for our inconvenience they gave all 300 passengers a phone card, for 5 free minutes, but usable only in the Netherlands. Of course we were couldn’t use it on the plane and we all wanted to get out of the Netherlands as fast as possible.
So now we are airborn again, at 6:00 PM not the 10:30 Am scheduled flight. Of course now it was dark and we couldn’t see anything outside. Europe was dark, the Alps no longer existed. The Mediteranian must have been dry, and North Africa was black. Oh, by the way – because the crew had already flown 4 hours against their maximum, they would have to debark at the first stop in Africa, so we had to fly to Dar se Salaam rather than Kilimanjaro, because KLM didn’t have any safe hotels in the Kili area. Craig was asleep when the captain told us this one, so when we landed Craig thought we had arrived at Kilimanjaro.
The flight to Dar se Salaam takes 8 hours. It takes another hour for departing passengers, cleaning and boarding passengers. Because of Security we couldn’t leave the plane. It takes another hour to fly to Kilimanjaro from Dar se Salaam. We were in 06-A&B, business class. The seats are huge. You could extend your feet straight out and not reach the seat in front of you. Craig was loving it. He wanted to fly around some more. With the free movies, free food and constant service he felt like this was a good place to live.
We landed in Kilimanjaro at about 6:00 AM. The sun was not quite up, but it was getting light. The fragrance of the flora and fona was – well it smelt good. Customs was a breeze except Craig didn’t know what day it was – we had been flying for 2 days when you add in the time zones. They made him figure it out before they would let him in the country. And the bags made it all the way from LA.
Our driver was there even though our flight was 10 hours late. He held up the sign Offret X 2. What a relief since I had no idea where the hotel was located. In fact Abbda, our driver told us it was 1 hour 40 minutes to the hotel.
Upon leaving the airport it was getting lighter and Abbda pointed out Mount Kilimanjaro which dominates the landscape, rising up to become, as they say, the roof of Africa.
In Tanzania people drive on the left side of the road. Interesting. There are no wild animals along the road at 7:00 Am but there is a lot of road kill from the night before. The people use the road as a social and economic gathering spot. All along the way were tiny houses and makeshift shops. The men and children wear dirty clothes and the women wear dirty clothes but with brighter colors. Woman really do carry all kinds of stuff on their heads as they walk along, and the police/soldiers do carry ak-47’s. All along the way the mountain dominates the landscape.
When we finally arrive the gateman opens the gate for us. Later we are told we cannot leave the compound to walk around unless we have a $5 local guide. We wonder whether this is for security or for ecomonics. Craig is out and about with the $5 guide now. We will find out later.
Chemchem is our receptionist and answers our questions

2007-01-10T23:59:00.000-08:00

We left LA this morning. We knew it would be a long leg of the trip today. We stopped in detroit for a couple of hours. Uneventful. The flight from Detroit to Amesterdam was good. Lots of new technology. Each passenger has there own tv-interactive screne. Lots of movies. Craig was looking for porn but the flight attendant (male) cut him off said he wasn't old enough. I thought I was but I couldn't find it on the menu. Dinner was great, but they had an entry for steelhead salmon, which we couldn't figure out. No such fish. flight was long. Finally got here to Amesterdam. We are waiting for The last leg of this journey and will land in Kilimanjaro after about 8.5 more hours of flying. A shower will be nice. Later

2007-01-10T23:52:00.000-08:00

We have arrived in Amsterdam... The flight from LA to Detroit was unremarkable... especially when the next leg of the journey was spent on the top shelf so to speak in Business Class. We had full service from start to finish.. they even wiped the dribble from Dads's chin when he was sleeping.

I watched many hot new movie titles and soaked it up with the recliner egg like seats.. Amsterdam airport has yet to surprise me. Dad said they all speak some type of magical dutch language but all I have heard so far is english. We are both light about 45 bones from the casino in the airport.. before we learned how to play these foreign games we were broke.

Now we have resorted to the KLM lounge and are kicking back until our next leg of the flight which leaves in 2 hours.

2007-01-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here I am practicing my cold weather gear. It can get down to 0 degrees on the Mountain, and they seem to make such a big deal about it. It was 0 degrees on my back porch so I put on some of my cold weather gear to practice. It's important to practice. You can see how hard I am trying. I hope its this easy on the Mountain. (notice I capitalized Mountain. I want the Mountain to think I'm respectful.)

What can I say. It is hard to prepare for the trip. Problem - getting all the stuff into the pack. Finally did it, but pack weights too much. Now the process of winnowing down what to take. You have to carry all this stuff up the mountian. Well I'll keep working. Craig and I meet up in Las Angeles on Tuesday night. Time is getting close.

2006-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

This is Craig preparing for Africa. He was in Hawaii getting ready. This is me - getting ready. I am studying the important things to do before leaving. Such as setting up the blog site. I did this Christmas morning at the kitchen table.

This is a picture of me getting married to a beautiful young lady. Opps Elizabeth is getting married, I'm just invited because I am her father. Alright it was the only good picture taken of me in last 6 years. I am practing to have my picture taken so I can put it on the blog.

I bought my pack yesterday. I also got some gatorade and electric socks. A pair of gloves would be nice. Later.

2006-12-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

AFRICA HERE WE COME.

Ron Offret and son Craig are off on an adventure to the Roof of Africa. We are leaving January 9, 2007 from Los Angeles flying to Kilimanjaro Africa to start a climb to the TOP of the mountian. (19,300 feet - 8 days). We plan to take a sattalite phone and a laptop to blog each day, so each of you can see the strain, struggle and toil the climb will take on us. The goal is to reach the Summit. Craig has been instructed that if I falter he carries me to the top.

After we complete the climb we will be met at the bottom of the mountian by Doug & Roma Payne to begin an 8 day safari in the Serengeti with them.

As we approach departure we will instruct on the outfitting necessary for the climb.