One of the chapters I had the most fun writing for Kilimanjaro Diaries was the one I named Peequality: The Last Frontier of Women's Equality. In it you'll learn of a series of contraptions, each one niftier than the last, which are supposed to help women on the go who have to "go" and for whatever reason don't have the time or privacy to squat the old-fashioned way.
I Published My First Travel Memoir!
It’s a cold and windy day in Overland Park, Kansas. I’m sitting at my computer, not sure what to think. Do we stay where we are, or do we move our family of six to Johannesburg, South Africa? It would be yet another continent to add to our list of places to call home. It would be exciting. And it would give the kids an opportunity to go to school in a new country...
Kilimanjaro Diaries Available on Kindle Bookshelf Soon!
Finally, FINALLY, I'm approaching the finish line. I knew that book publishing would be a humongous chore, but it was an even bigger chore. A lot of nitpicky formatting work, like getting a numbered list converted to Kindle format (full disclosure: it didn't). But also a lot of agonizing decision making, like which font size should the subtitles be? Here is the blurb for "Kilimanjaro Diaries."
Title-Gate
The good news is, my book about my Kilimanjaro adventure is coming out soon. The bad news is, I can't decide on the frikkin' (as co-climber Mike would phrase it) title! I've been agonizing longer about that title than my daughter does about deciding what to order in a restaurant. Before she gets the chicken nuggets. I'm pretty sure I'll also end up with the chicken nuggets choice of book titles.
A Book, a Countdown, and the Launch of a New Website
So I've written my Kilimanjaro book. I've also hired an editor, gotten the ball rolling on cover design, and educated myself on the intricacies of self-publishing. Then there was a two-week Christmas "break" (ha!), which I emerged from with the realization that I absolutely had to finally bite the bullet, pick a publication date, and launch my author website.
I May Have Sort of Written a Book
The reason I haven’t told anyone until now that I've written a book - sort of - is that I absolutely hate talking about stuff I’ll do without being absolutely certain I’ll do them. Perfectly. And the best way of being absolutely certain you’ll do something, perfectly, is to already have done it. But I've come to see that there are a few pitfalls with this strategy.
19 Lessons Learned from Climbing a Mountain
- Wherever you are in life, it’s always a good idea to plan a new adventure. (But get yourself some good boots and take a few extra packs of wet wipes.)
- Everyone needs a mountain to scale
Kilimanjaro Diary, Day Seven: Down, Down, Down, and Straight to the Bar
Distance: 12-13 km, 6-7 hours to Mweka Camp and 10 km, 3 hours to Machame Gate
Elevation: 1600 m descent from Barafu to Mweka Camp at 3000 m and 1200 m descent from Mweka Camp to Machame Gate at 1800 m.
Descending Kili: One minute you’re next to a glacier, and the next you’re in the rainforest. |
Technically, this diary entry begins on the morning of Day six. I had left off with having come ...
Kilimanjaro Diary, Day Six: Lonely on the Roof of Africa
Excerpts from Eva Melusine Thieme's travel memoir "Kilimanjaro Diaries: Or, How I Spent a Week Dreaming of Toilets, Drinking Crappy Water, and Making Bad Jokes While Having the Time of My Life". Day Six: Lonely on the Roof of Africa.
Kilimanjaro Diary, Day Five: A Tent with a View
Karanga to Barafu, Thursday Sep 6, 2012
Distance: 4 km, 3-4 hours
Elevation: 400 m net climb from 4200 m to 4600 m
One of my favorite Kilimanjaro pictures, the view of Kibo from Karanga Valley camp |
Going from Karanga to Barafu is a relatively easy hike. As I’ve said before, if you do the Machame Route in six days instead of seven, you’d go all the way from Barranco ...