KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

We signed up for a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and an African safari through an Alumni Association. The Alumni Association offered the trip through a U.S. guide company who in turn hired an outfitter in Tanzania Africa. We were assured that water filters for purifying water were provided and that there was nothing that we had to bring to treat or disinfect the water. Almost everyone in our tour group was sick within the first couple of days on Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon returning to the United States we brought back two water samples from two of the water sources from which the outfitter and guide company were supposedly filtering and treating the water. An independent testing laboratory determined that both water samples were unsafe to drink. Both water samples were positive for total coliform bacteria. One of the water samples was also positive for E. Coli bacteria. The water was unsafe for human consumption. The laboratory also found the amount of bacteria to be notable since the time period from taking the sample until testing was over one week. For more information including the names of the Alumni Association the U.S. guide and the Tanzanian outfitter follow this link <ahref="http://kilimanjaro09poison.blogspot.com/">http://kilimanjaro09poison.blogspot.com/</a>

This is easy and not so easy it is basically a hike up a slope for 4-5 days depending on the route you take. The issue for our group of 7 was getting tired from camping sleeping at altitude (not very easy when you fall asleep and wake up gasping for air) the slooow pace set by our guides (which turned out to be the right thing to do but not easily tolerated by 7 type A's) and lack of oxygen in general. The morning we summitted 5 out of 7 were sick very tired and our oxygen count was dangerously low if not for the fact that no male in the group would be willing to say forget it first but as we discovered later 5 of us would have said forget it second! Glad I can say I did it good conversation pieces and all but I doubht I would do it again. Not all that much to see at the top that is much different from what you see in a small airplane just a more difficult way of seeing it!!