Medium Fat Spread

After summiting Kilimanjaro we decided to ‘relax’ on a 4 day Safari through the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Carater.  We were joined by three new members of Team Calgary; Louisa’s parents, GG (Gheorghe) and Tuna (Adriana), and Jeff - bringing our total crew to 17.


We managed to do the Safari trip at the perfect time to witness the Wildebeast migration – it was a surreal sight with millions of Wildebeast slowly moving north through the Serengeti towards the Maasai Mara in Kenya (pictures just don’t do it justice).  We also managed to see the ‘Big 5’ and some very amazing scenery along the way.  The Safari was filled with Medium Fat Spread - the margarine of choice for East Africans, drawing straws for Hassan’s truck, dislocated fingers, many laughs and even sunset yoga!  A Safari is a must if anyone decides to travel this way (second to Kili of course).

The Great Migration

Amazing beasts!

One of the most anticipated plans of our travels was to spend 6 days in Zanzibar with 16 of our friends and family after the Safari.  One of our Ferrungu World Tour goals was to have a Zanzibar beach house party (see old post).  We not only had ONE house party, we had a daily house party in some form or another: 

2na, GG, Lulu &Connie

• Paje party – prior to heading to the beach house, Greorghe and Adriana were kind enough to treat the two of us to 2 nights of R&R at a hotel in Paje (another village).  Not only did we eat the biggest meal of our lives, we found a new nickname for Adriana – TUNA!  The origin of her new nickname is a little complicated, however, Adriana is living up to the 2na name and I think this one will stick for a long time ;) 

• Pool Party – the 14 person house not only came with our own personal cooks and cleaners, it also had a pool.  Many hours were spent frolicking in the cold pool to escape the blistering heat.  The pool was even used to read, meditate and fly. 

Reading pool side!

Flying pool side!

Konyagi!

• Stuff party – keeping on with our North American roots, we decided to consume and consume in order to feel like we were at home.  Since there was no local grocery store or liquor store (Muslim area), Trevor and Louisa decided to hire a cab and go into the closest village for supplies; 150 pints of beer, 10 boxes of Pringles, 50 bags of Konyagi and 30 chocolate bars later the local store closed up for early retirement.  The Story of Stuff would be embarrassed for our actions; however, Houston would be proud.

• Football party – the house was situated on prime beach front property that allowed for daily football matches with the local watotos (children).  The skill level differential between us and 12 year olds was embarrassing; I think Trevor is considering moving to Jambiani in order to brush up on his skills so he can 'potentially' join the Jambiani Simba Watoto Football Club (see picture below).

• Montezuma party – this seems to be the common theme with Team Calgary on this trip in one form or another.  We were losing comrades daily to the vicious debilitating ‘Montezuma's revenge’.  The good news is that Konyagi cures all illnesses even when drank from 100 ml plastic bags.

Jambiani Simba Football Club  (Juma far right)

• Juma party – during our daily beach football matches, one local watoto named Juma, would sit on our step from 8 am till 4 pm (game time) waiting to play.  He wouldn’t ask for anything, he would just sit there waiting to play football with some mzungus.  He was a nice boy that really had nothing to his name, like most in the area.  We decided that he would be the one to receive the brand new football as a gift when we left.  We had a mini-celebration with the kids and now Juma's belly is not only full of Medium Fat Spread, he is the football ‘king’ among watotos in the Jambiani! 

The Safari and Zanzibar were both amazing in their separate ways.  The Safari taught us that three guides and two cooks can do the work of 42 porters; their trick, 'Medium Fat Spread'.  Zanzibar taught us that we, as North Americans, take life for granted - we complain about the little things that other people, such as Juma, would be happy to have.  Eating Medium Fat Spread for every meal should make us be grateful for what we have.  Next time Louisa and I complain, we will think of Juma who would be happy to eat Medium Fat Spread everyday (if he had a meal to use it with). 

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Pole, Pole!

Mount Kilimanjaro was a harder climb then Louisa and I originally anticipated.  Per usual, we did little research and left it up to the Sawatzkys and our new found yoga strength to make it to the top of the 19,400 foot peak.  Amazingly, all 14 dodgy Canadian team members made it to the summit; however, this astounding achievement came with many struggles:

The Ferrungus on the summit!!!

• Diamox – this wonder drug for any extreme mountaineer helps reduce the symptoms of high altitude sickness.  At 19,400 feet, 90% of people will feel symptoms of altitude sickness no matter their health, age, sex, etc.  To prevent a summit attempt failure, most people take Diamox to ensure altitude sickness is subdued.  However, Louisa ironically GOT altitude sickness from taking Diamox pills at only 10,000 feet (the height of Lake Louise) – yes, altitude sickness from altitude sickness pills.  That is like getting sunburnt from sunscreen without going into the sun! 

View of the sunrise from the summit - just amazing! 

• Hallucinations – on summit day, the group started hiking at midnight from 15,000 feet to summit.  Night time is the best time to hike to the summit to avoid sweating/hypothermia and to see the amazing sunrise.  With a maximum of two hours of sleep (in between shortness of breath) you are forced to hike seven hours to the summit.  Sleep walking is very common… and so are hallucinations apparently!  Joel managed to see a ‘chariot’ that he decided would be a faster way to get to the summit – he may not have gotten there faster, but he was first!

Victory! 

• Constipation – mentally preparing for Africa, the last thing that crossed our minds was constipation.  We were more worried about the ‘Montezuma’s revenge’ effect.  For ten days I battled the worst case of constipation; for six days of those days I was hiking Kilimanjaro.  At 18,000 feet during the summit night hike, I was ‘released’ of my problem – with less weight and a clearer mind, hiking to the summit was my second victory of the day.

Melissa and Trevor (and others) making their way to the summit! 

• Altitude sickness – unlike Louisa’s pill-induced altitude sickness, several people felt the true ill effects of high elevation – most notably, Melissa.  In between vomiting and dizziness, Melissa managed to convince herself, the guides, and her husband that everything was normal.  Her tenacious competitive spirit allowed her to overcome major altitude sickness and summit successfully.  Minutes after summiting, the guide finally realized the severity of Melissa’s symptoms and rushed her down 4,000 feet faster than gravity could take her.  Luckily there was no permanent damage other than Trevor’s ego once again coming in second to his ailing wife.

Every member of the Kili team had their own personal challenges to overcome (with the exception of Trevor, whose only challenge was not having any challenges to overcome).  Not only did all 14 of us make it, we all learned a lot about ourselves and how to deal with life’s trials.  The wise words of our guides Amani and Tigamea will forever be engrained in our heads, ‘Pole, Pole’ – which literally means, ‘slow, slow’ (to avoid altitude sickness).  Life has its challenges just like hiking Kilimanjaro – if taken slow, one step at a time, without focusing just on the summit, anything is possible! 

Summiting Kilimanjaro with such a great group will be a memory that will truly last a lifetime – Pole, Pole! 

Team Canada!

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