My first trip to Tanzania was in 2019 to climb Kilimanjaro and see The Great Migration.  It is also where I spent my 60th birthday.  I don't know why I decided to climb this mountain - just one day I decided to and I wasn't getting any younger.  I decided to see The Great Migration because it was something my mother had seen and liked.  Turned out my timing wasn't great and I will probably need to return to really see it.   Tanzanite is the rare stone to buy here.

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Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano with three volcanic cones:  Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira.  It is the highest free standing mountain in the world and the highest mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet above sea level and about 16,100 feet above it's base.  It is the fourth most topographically prominent peak on Earth.  As you hike up you go through several different climate zones:  cultivation, Forest, Heather-Moorland, Alpine Desert and Summit.

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My training for the climb included altitude and climbing training in Breckenridge, Colorado (see US mini breaks) which seemed to work pretty well because I made the summit in much better shape than many of the others.  Yes, the secret is to go very slowly.

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