Chocolate in Africa

It felt quite a long journey to get here but stepping onto the tarmac at Nairobi, and smelling the warm, wet air of fresh rain on the hot ground, I felt like I had come home. I love stepping off planes into hot countries. As I write this I have a flash of getting off the plane in Australia almost exactly the same time last year, and feel a twang of longing to see my family back there. OK, that was momentary. I’m in Africa! The airport in Nairobi is hotter than outside, and they let people smoke in there. We didn’t have to stay long fortunately. Long enough to step into the duty free shop and discover chocolate! It was swiss chocolate, but no unnecessary ingredients, and they had a dark chocolate with lemon and pepper! Had to buy it. I am sure it will help me up the summit.

We are now safely in Arusha and packed and ready to begin climbing tomorrow. And we have already raised over £1000 for the school, which we will get to next week. I am excited. Money will go towards the ongoing maintenance and to help pay for the teacher. For now, I have to go back to the table in the tent where we just enjoyed a BBQ: we are about to get briefed on the wonders (and dangers) of Kili.