On top of the world with Dad

On the summit of Africa - with Dad

Climbing Kilimanjaro with Dad

In August 2015, we flew for a six-month honeymoon in the amazing Dark Continent.

We started in Ethiopia and headed south. When we were in Kenya in October, while planning the climb to Mount Kenya, we received a surprising phone call from Chaim, Alon's father and my father-in-law, in which he offered to join our trip and climb Kilimanjaro with us.

Chaim, 63 years old, grandfather of five grandchildren. We were very surprised and happy with the offer and began planning the special and challenging week and a half ahead of us with Dad.

Many talk about climbing Kilimanjaro, "the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world." "There are several ways to reach the summit, none of them easy, there are many companies offering to climb the mountain with them, all are very expensive and everyone has a different experience from the climb." We were excited about the challenge.

Mount Kenya, on the other hand, we climbed through a company based in Nairobi that assigned us an excellent, professional, reliable, and seasoned guide. On the ascent to the summit, in the cold of the middle of the night, the guide knew how to lead us at just the right pace, a pace that wouldn't exhaust us, with breaks that wouldn't let us get too cold, and with all that – reaching the summit right at sunrise.

All these qualities led us to the conclusion that this was the guide we wanted to guide us on Kilimanjaro with Dad as well. We booked the appropriate dates based on Dad's arrival with the company in Nairobi and decided to climb the summit via the "Marangu Route", somewhat disparagingly nicknamed the "Coca-Cola" route – because it is considered the easiest way to climb the mountain.

Dad arrived a day before the start of the climb to acclimatize a little before starting, so we drove for a day to the "Tarangire" reserve, to see some animals too, since we brought Dad all the way to Africa... after all.

On the morning of the climb, it rained a bit in Moshi, the town from which people set out to climb the mountain, so we left a little late, but the mountain itself was clear of clouds. It took a long time until we actually started climbing – all the bags had to be weighed, making sure everyone had enough food, and finally, at long last, we started the climb with a whole entourage of cooks, porters, a guide, and an assistant guide.

We were a bit worried at first about climbing with Dad. After all, they say the trail is not easy, the altitude makes breathing difficult, and Dad is no longer young. But – Dad nailed it like a champ! He sometimes walked even faster than us and climbed without any problem. We climbed the mountain in six days, with one day being an "acclimatization day" in which you get used to the altitude and let the body produce red blood cells before continuing the climb.

Our acclimatization day was Saturday (Shabbat). We chose it because we are observant and do not walk/hike on Shabbat, so we decided to rest on this day.

We didn't bring cell phones with us up the mountain, and the climb itself doesn't offer many distractions beyond conversation between climbers, so the climb itself and Shabbat in particular gave us significant quality time with Dad. On one of the days, we even did a "round robin" where everyone had to tell a meaningful story from their life while walking. Dad told us about his time as a combat soldier in the Yom Kippur War and about the period afterward when he stayed abroad, about life as a young couple, about the First Lebanon War, and about things he experienced throughout his life – both personal and family-related. We also told him about experiences from our lives and many experiences we gathered during the trip up to the point he joined us.

The three of us slept in one room, and as a result, we found ourselves in situations we couldn't have imagined experiencing with Dad, and I certainly never imagined experiencing with my father-in-law. There is no doubt that this trip strengthened and deepened our bond with Dad and added a dimension that could not have been gained in any other setting or situation.

There is no doubt that the experience of climbing with Dad was exceptionally special! The stories, discussions, and even the card games created special moments in a situation that could never have happened back home in Israel.

Alon and Renana, we traveled for about six months from Ethiopia southwards all the way to South Africa, through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, and South Africa. The trip was our honeymoon, in which we combined mountain climbing, including Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, safaris in many reserves in Tanzania and Zambia, and community and tribal life in Ethiopia and South Africa.