Beyond Kilimanjaro...

I know that when I find myself in a rut, I always turn to travelling, but I thought my days of months on end were long over since I bought my flat. However, it turns out that all I need to find a way of making that work is to find myself in in a big rut, for the foreseeable future and before I know it, the grey matter starts to churn...

Having been concentrating on my promotion at work for two years solid and working my backside off, it transpires that the Force is in something of a financial crisis and there are now no promotion opportnities at all, for at least the next 6 - 12 months. So what to do...

Well, having always really loved the idea of going to do some sort of voluntary work abroad and being in a less financially buoyant position than I was pre-mortgage, I decided to look into going to somewhere I could stay in one place, with one project and just give something back - no country hopping, no dramas (hopefully!) and just some good, old fashioned hard work and helping others. If I'm truly honest, any trip is an excuse to go away and spend time doing what I love to do most in the world, but I've never allowed myself to devote the time to doing voluntary work before and now the time feels right. The opportunity is there to take the time off and I just have to find a way of renting out my flat - oh an getting the time authorised from work...

I never really expected them to appprove my application for unpaid leave and thought that in the current climate, at best they'd say I was being necky and at worst they'd penalise me for asking and laugh in my face. I even prepared myself for a battle, a bit of negotiation and ultimately to have to accept I couldn't do it, feel secretly relieved because I can't really afford it and then find something else to occupy my restlessness. So, when they said yes, no battle and no dramas, I found myself a little taken aback, a little, "Oh, really? You mean now I have to put my money where my mouth is and actually DO it?" and wondering if I've bitten off more than I can chew!

However, that familiar little fluttering feeling in my stomach tells me that I'm beyond excited, I know I'll do it some way or other and I may as well save myself the bother of umming and ahing and just get on with it! So to research... Mexico, Costa Rica, orphans or turtles... and so it begins!

Kilimanjaro 2012!!

Whoop whoop!! Kilimanjaro 2012 is booked and now to get fit...

Well what else does an insatiable traveller do when their first book is published? I've always wanted to go and so having persuaded my new travel buddy Sam to join me again (after our Thailand and Peru trips), I started planning. There are so many ways to climb Kili and so many choices to make. What company to go with, which route to take, how many nights to climb for, whether to go for personal oxygen tanks and what to do afterwards... but that's where my anal obsession for planning every minute detail comes into it's own and I was like a pig in the proverbial!

Tour company chosen based on their porter welfare policies, value for money and website impressions, route chosen on technicalities, popularity, scenery and people traffic, length of climb chosen on the likelihood of us getting fed up with being so cold for too long and what to do afterwards... safari in the Serengeti and the spice island of Zanzibar OBVIOUSLY!!

So much to do yet - get a ridiculous amount of layers of clothing, find drugs to stop us geting altitude sickness, wear in boots and most importantly, get fit. I literally don't think I've been this excited about a trip before!