I SURVIVVED!!!

Ok I'm back from Mt. Meru and I say this with all sincerity, there are not sufficient words in the English language in order to describe the pain, the discomfort, the mind numbing cold, and the amazing views at the peak.

My climb, and please be under no illusions, we are not talking about a Sunday afternoon jaunt up Ben Nevis, or Snowdon, it was a proper, terrifying, wind swept, ice strewn climb, can be summed up with a simple quote. "The hallmark of a true adventure is that they are frequently not much fun while the event is taking place".

NOT MUCH FUN!!! now there's an understatement.

Having returned, having looked over my pictures, and having regained use of my knees, am I pleased that I completed the climb? Certainly. I'm I proud I managed to do so without allowing the porters to carry my 17kg pack? Absolutely. Would I ever do it again? Not if you offer a helicopter to fly me off the mountain at the end, and half of Bill Gates fortune. Ok in that case I might be tempted to do it again, but it certainly was not a pleasant experience.

I'll try and upload, what are actually turning out to be quite long winded accounts of my adventure on the Mountain.

Again our access to the net has been curtailed and I have had to swallow my pride and return to the internet cafe. On the up shot, and there usually is an upshot where food is concerned, the internet cafe is also a Patisserie and it does a very nice chocolate cake that fills a hole for 30secs while I'm waiting for a computer to be free.

Are there any other bits that might be of interest to the outside world?
- Oh I know - I bowed to peer pressure and went to the orphanage for 2hours. While they may be cute and cuddly and all the other adjectives that the girls at the house use to describe them. I also should point out that they are filthy, grubby, dirty, very good at football, looking at the amount of damage they can withstand and the number which I may have inadvertently stood upon, also apparently indestructible.

When I returned after only 2 hours, I looked like a native - I was BLACK!!! I felt like I needed a bath in something cleansing, like bleach or perhaps Chlorhexidine, anything that would mean that what ever had climbed on me, and was still attached would not be living on me anyway.

Right well I'll leave you with the first Meru post. I'll try and get this completed in the next few days, but it will be internet permitting

Oh and as for Mayhem, he was followed his Girlies over to Zanzibar and will probably be looking like a very crispy piece of bacon by now, as I may have already mentioned, the locals have said if you think Arusha is hot, Zanzibar is FIRE!!

KAOS - OUT