THANKS FROM MT. KILIMANJARO

Having a Kilimanjaro beer at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Thanks, contributing readers!

Travel can change a person. Sort of.

When we left the United States a year ago, one of the few "must do" items on our list was a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro. At nearly 20,000 feet, 'Kili' is the highest mountain in Africa. Towering far above arid plains and broad savannas, its snow-covered peak seems as alien and out of place as two tall white Americans at the Taj Mahal. 

When we finally arrived in Arusha in northern Tanzania, we decided the mountain looked more impressive from a rooftop bar, cold Kilimanjaro-brand beer in hand, than from behind a fanny pack-wearing tourist, which is where we would have spent the next six days if we'd done the climb--while paying $1,000 each for the privilege. 

After nearly 12 months on the road, our perspectives have changed. Rather than spending so much time and money to suffer and hurry along a well-traveled trail just to say we had, we'd rather enjoy what little time we have left on our trip. Maybe we'll regret it later. Maybe not.

In the photo above, Kili was a bit shy and hid behind early afternoon cloud cover. But even a partial view couldn't keep us from being complete dorks. Kip bought a hideous $2 hat for the occasion.

Thanks to everyone (Todd, Jordan & Matt, H, Amy, Christine, Mom!) who recently contributed to our coffee/drink fund. Who knew one day we'd be sipping a Kilimanjaro beer while staring at the real thing.

Mt. Kilimanjaro at sunrise.

If you want a clear view of the tallest mountain in Africa, you need to get up before the sun, which we managed to do. Once. Combined with the previous day's happy hour, that was just enough for us. Off to a slow safari in the Serengeti. Which remains at the top of our must-see list.