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.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS--GET YOUR POSTCARDS HERE

The holiday season is a time for giving, right? We thought we would give our readers a little something as a thank you for letting us share our adventures with you. 

Ever since we were little kids, we've both loved getting postcards from faraway locales. The exotic images on front, the colorful stamps on back--they helped fuel imaginary journeys for years, at least until we could finally take some real adventures of our own. 

If you're like us and you like getting postcards from far away, we would love to send you one for the holidays.  Between now and December 31st 2012, if you send us a name and mailing address to 1of7.org@gmail.com, we'll mail you a card from Africa, our next stop.

It may take a month or two for the mail to arrive, but hopefully it will get there before next Christmas. We promise we will not use your info in any way other than to send you a postcard. 

Happy holidays, everyone--safe travels and happy 2013!

Liz & Kip

THANK YOU!

Cheers to readers Stan B, Marivi M, Jess R, and Sheila Z for buying us drinks (and dinner) in Cebu’s tallest building last night. We decided to get dressed up for the occasion once we realized y’all had given us enough to even have a proper sit-down meal. Kip even washed his hair. 

Many thanks!