Are you wondering how you might celebrate when you do reach the top? We've seen some of the biggest, brightest and broadest smiles to ever grace this planet at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, but some people celebrate in other ways... such as streaking, or proudly cashing in their bets. We've seen it all. From wedding proposals, to some of the most sacred prayers. Not so long ago, we even saw Lionel Messi shooting an advertisement for Turkish Airlines. It's a very emotional experience to stand at the top – expect pure love, joy and elation.
Speaking of love, we have a quick story that we would like to share with you, because ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN while you're climbing up Kili!!! We call it, Don't Stop Her Now.
A group of 10 people from Australia, who had individually booked their trips with the same agent, found themselves climbing Kilimanjaro together. Amongst them was a lady who, at some point, began to feel poorly. She began to lag behind the rest of the group, which was somewhat slowing them down. The lady spoke to the group's guide about how she was feeling, and he suggested that she should stop and turn around. She was devastated by this, because she had been planning this trip for so long – Kilimanjaro was at the top of her bucket list. She tried to go on, but ultimately decided to listen to the guide, and remain at the camp while the rest of the group continued up the mountain.
That same morning, one of the porters, whose job it was to carry this lady's bag, happened to notice a light on in a tent after the group had already set off. This porter spoke no English, but proceeded to check on her and make sure that she was OK. In their own way, they communicated. He wondered why she had stopped climbing, and began encouraging her. She felt inspired and energised by his motivation, and they decided to continue up the mountain together. The porter knew all of the shortcuts and was happy to support the lady physically too. It wasn't long before she realised that she wasn't at the back. This spurred her on and she continued; she even found herself overtaking members of her original group! She proceeded, with encouragement from her porter, and guess what – she made it. The lady sustained an injury on her way down, and the porter carried her to safety.
Despite an obvious language barrier and also (apparently) a rather large age difference, these two individuals fell in love and they ended up getting married. The porter now lives in Australia with his damsel in distress and they have children together.
You literally never know where a trip might lead you in life, or who it might lead you to. Whenever somebody is considering a challenge like this one, we say GO FOR IT. The rewards are endless.