Lets do this!

Time to fill in the blanks. I last properly wrote to you just before I was about to head off on Big Brothers Stag do. It was great and great stories to tell but perhaps not in a blog that is meant to be about running/fitness stuff.

After a few delays got home from Hamburg at about 10pm. I promptly made a start on packing as I did not want to leave everything to Monday-even though I was not flying out until Monday evening. Annoyingly my camera broke in Hamburg so I had to waste precious time getting that replaced as well.

Got to the airport in plenty of time, as ever it was a case of hurry and wait until my gate was called.........

Once in Africa I kept a bit of a diary so I will simply add that now.........

'Africa, pretty wild in some ways! flight to Nairobi, Kenya was cool. I was sat next to a lovely old Canadian lady and she was brilliant company, we decided that she could take the vacancy of being my new gran! She had dreamed of going on Safari her whole life and finally she was doing it. I was thrilled for her and it was a delight hearing her story about the safari themed party she had thrown for her Children and Grandchildren before she left.

Nairobi airport was a nightmare, no on could tell me what gate to go to and when I finally found myself on the tarmac of the runway to board our little prop plane to Kilimanjaro Airport, I had this sinking feeling that my case was not going to arrive. They kept bringing a few cases at a time....sadly i was right. Mine was no where to be seen. I hassled the ground crew endlessly to go and see if it was going around one of the carousels in the terminal but no one helped. Finally my saviour appeared. A young lady took pity on me and ran in to the back of the airport through this big tunnel-clearly we should not of been doing this but frankly I did not care.

We ended up looking through this very wide, panoramic window into the terminal where we could see the cases going round. Baggage handlers worked next to us processing cases and two security guards stood in front of us shouting! This poor girl, was clearly scared for her job and actually told me this. I did not really help matters buy interrupting them to keep saying, 'I appreciate what you are saying but I can see my case, look! Its there!' By the time I had grabbed it and run back to my plane the propellers were turning and I had assumed I had missed it. But amazingly the captain stopped the engines and let me get on!! I was chuffed to bits!

Saw Kili from the plane and I felt very Indiana Jones being on a old fashioned prop plane. I took a pic of the mountain from the plane.....my god it looked big and it really woke me up to what i was doing! It was literally towering above the clouds-I had never seen anything like it before.

After we landed (sideways! Not joking) I waited by the plane to thank the captain for waiting for me and he was very nice about the whole thing. Getting visa was a very simple affair and I even managed to help a couple of honeymooners get there documents organised. Nothing serious just changed a few dollars up for them and wished them congratulations.

I had a driver waiting for me which felt good, I had my bags with me (nice feeling!) and everything was looking simple. The 40 minute car ride turned out to be quite an experience! All I will say is that their method of overtaking differs slightly to ours. The key difference being that they don't seem to mind if something is coming in the other direction. This was my first time on the great continent of Africa and I have to say it was almost as I expected it. People on old bikes, dusty children, groups of young men, lonely looking women walking to god knows where, carts being pushed and firewood being chopped and carried.

The driver asked me about the two other people he was picking up tonight and I said they are lovely people but DON'T TELL THEM MY NAME! I think he understood. At the hotel reception I went through the same routine about my arrival being a surprise....I am pretty sure they understood.

Then I had a sleep for an hour or so (first time under mosquito nets! Exciting stuff!), got up, had some food in hotel (pretty good) and attempted to wander in to town. I promptly gave up after being hassled and hassled and hassled by locals. Some of them aggressive, some of them drunk, some of them simply wanting my custom. I have never been anywhere where I am so obviously the foreigner. For the first time in my life having white skin was odd. interesting stuff.

Anyway. its 2.45 pm local time and I am sitting here writing this diary. Will have a shower and sort stuff out and wait to spring the ambush on Charlie! happy days!'

Will try and add another day from the diary tomorrow!