Greeting from Tanzania

I landed in Tanzania last Sunday and am just emerging from jet lag. The flight from Denver to Kilimanjaro was OK, the airports quiet, lots of room on the plane, and wearing a mask the whole time wasn't as bad as I'd feared.  The airports and airlines took extra efforts to protect against Covid. I felt reasonably safe throughout the trip.

It feels great to be back in Tanzania.  While people here are wounded from the tourism crash, optimism abounds and as always Tanzanians are warm and welcoming to visitors. For many reasons, Africa was better prepared for the pandemic and for the most part people here are healthy and fully expecting a better tomorrow.

Like all my friends here, I am eager to get-back- to-work. The wildlife is waiting in the Serengeti and it is time to safari once again. Our first project is an innovative new approach to Mt. Kilimanjaro. In a couple of weeks we will start exploring Kili's less traveled trails and plat a new less hurried  route through the wilderness section. This new route will meander away  from the  crowds that have made the standard routes so clogged and noisome in recent years. A measured ascent through a pristine landscape, with a respectful adjustment to  altitude, is the right way to experience this fabled peak.  Someone once compared climbing Kilimanjaro to crossing paths with an elephant. The elephant doesn't care how fit you are, how old your are, or how clever you are. If you you charge forward in too big a hurry, with too much confidence, the elephant is going to stomp you. But, if you show respect, keep your wits about you,  and move slowly-slowly, the elephant will let you be.