Riffa Views’ homeowner Nadia Swan conquers Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain

In Riffa Views we are excited that our homeowners are blending into our community and lifestyle philosophy. We trust this will assist in guaranteeing Riffa Views’ impact in the community in years to come. The following story is written based on the experience that Nadia Swan, Riffa Views’ homeowner and former Bahrain resident, lived during her charity climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, with the aim of raising funds for the Palm Association in Bahrain.

The following article was written by Ms. Nadia Swan as an account of her personal experience in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro:

We were a group of 12. Myself and Alison my friend from Dubai, 2 18 year old lads, a father and daughter from Donegal, Ireland, a lady who was a UN aid worker in Sudan (why she choose to do that for a holiday instead of heading off to a luxurious spa resort is beyond me?!) , 4 single ladies in their 30′s and one single chap of roughly the same age from London. 11 out of the 12 of us got to Gilmans, one of the 18 year old lads was stretchered off the mountain on the last night by 4 porters and 2 guides as he was coughing up blood and had pulmonary oedema from AMS. En route to Gilmans, 2 of the women were bleeding profusely from their noses and one was also vomiting. How they got to Gilmans is beyond me, but can also be attributed to the guides who were excellent and walk a very fine line between dragging people up to the top and knowing when to take them down quickly if they see their condition deteriorating quickly. Only 7 out of the 12 of us made it to Uhuru. Interestingly, it was the older members of the group who fared better, I was the oldest of the entire group. I have a theory about this!
 
We arrived at the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort Hotel on the afternoon of Saturday 20th June and started walking on Sunday 21st. After 4 days of walking and on the 4th night of camping, thoroughly sleep deprived, suffering from the cold, headaches and nausea, we set off at midnight on Wednesday 24th for Gilmans. In the dark it became a mental battle not to give up, almost crawling at times, shivering uncontrollably from the cold, sharing what water we had as a lot of it froze. If many of us had realised that we were embarking on a 6 to 7 hour climb on a steep precipice, I wonder how many of us would have made it! And this would only take us as far as Gilmans, still 200m, from the true summit of Uhuru Peak. On the laboriously slow walk in the darkness, there were many times when I questioned my ability to continue and reach the top, frankly, the only moment in my life where my confidence in myself to achieve a goal was stretched to the absolute limit!  What got me through was a voice in my head telling me there was no way out, the only way was up, and with all the support and encouragement I had received from everyone in Bahrain , coupled with the fact that there was a substantial sum for the Palm Association at stake, I had no alternative BUT to get to the top! Getting to Gilmans was an emotional moment for us, although I have to admit that the last few metres I was pretty much out of it.

I was dimly aware of one of the guides having grasped my arm firmly dragging me to the top, but in all honesty I have no clear recollection of who it was or how long it took. When guide books talk about being in a zombie like trance, one has no idea of what that means until you actually experience it for yourself. As you look around you and realise that you are watching the sun rise over the African continent, with the outline of Mawenzi Tarn in the distance, you think, yes that was worth it!!  After a quick stop at Gilmans where the guides quickly assess your condition, they then allowed 7 of us to continue on to Uhuru and hustled us off.
 
As we set off from Gilmans to Uhuru, we had a second wind. The stretch between Gilmans and Uhuru would be manageable on any other day IF you had not had to make the 7 hour tortuous climb to Gilmans just before. As we set off, the views into the crater on the one side were spectacular.. stretches of dark lunar like landscape, and as we approached Uhuru, the glaciers on the other side were breathtaking, literally as well as figuratively! By now we were all struggling for breath, every 10 to 12 steps was an effort. We kept having to stop and lean on our walking poles. How could 200m take us an hour and a half to achieve?! By this point I think that one’s mental strength is what carries you through. While fitness is important, the real battle is going on in your head. Your body is telling you that enough is enough, but you mind is saying… one more step, go on, you can DO THIS! When you suddenly look up and see in the distance the wooden signs telling you that you are approaching Uhuru Peak. You don’t even have the energy to cry with relief. One foot in front of the other, painfully slowly, breathing laboriously, you drag yourself in the direction of the sign, telling yourself..go on, you’re almost there, go…!

Getting to Uhuru was such a high!! Still in a daze we were all hugging and congratulating each other, trying to get out cameras out for those once in a lifetime pictures. The Palm flag was out, that was the only picture I had set my heart on!! The few minutes you spend there pass in moments as the guides are very conscious that they have to get us all down exceedingly quickly before we deteriorate rapidly at that altitude. The descent was rapid, the guides drag you down in a sort of downhill ski-ing manner, poles flying, knees jarring, breath catching in the dust kicked up by the people in front of you; there is no opportunity to stop, you have to get down fast!
 
When you eventually arrive at your last camp, you are given just enough time to have something to eat, pack you bags and then you embark on another long 3 to 4 hour walk to a lower camp where you spend the night. By the time we got to this camp, we had been walking for 15 hours from midnight the night before. The word exhausted doesn’t even begin to describe how we felt. All of us would have paid a fortune to have been picked up at this point in a 4 wheel drive and driven straight back to the hotel then and there. Sadly, not an option. It was at this point that one of the young 18 year old lads in our group was stretchered off the mountain in a bad way. Happily he is on the road to recovery.

That last night’s camp was when we all had the best sleep that we had had in a week. The fact that we were at a lower altitude, were not freezing and had achieved our goals made for an amazing night’s rest! The atmosphere in the breakfast tent the next morning was euphoric! As the camp was being packed up for the last time, we had an emotional farewell with the guides and porters who had got us through the last week. They sang us a beautiful song in Swahili about Mt. Kilimanjaro, which I admit had me in tears, hard not to be in any other state as the week’s stress and pressure started to drain through your body! The prospect of the last 6 hour walk to the gates of the national park didn’t  exactly fill us with joy, and those last few hours of going downhill in our boots was excruciatingly painful! Still, the prospect of a hot shower, a good scrubbing and shampoo, a clean bed and a few drinks sustained us!
 
How would I sum it all up? Firstly, mentally and physically the hardest thing I have ever embarked upon (and I admit that I embarked upon it somewhat naively in my ignorance!) However, I am amazed at what I managed to pull out from deep within myself that enabled me to achieve the ultimate goal, reaching the top! Could I have done it without the certain knowledge that I carried with me in my mind that my family and friends were supporting me, and that it was for an incredibly worthy cause? Honestly, NO, I don’t think I could have done this alone! My heartfelt thanks to you all, you know who you are! I am so thrilled, now that I have recovered somewhat, that I have climbed Kilimanjaro, it is something that will stay with me for life. Would I consider doing anything like this again? My current answer is, that was my first and last mountain! However, a very good friend of mine once gave me a sign that hangs in my bedroom saying “Never say Never!” Who knows, Kilimanjaro is one of the Big Seven peaks, there are still 6 more to go.

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Kilimanjaro for the Palm Association

My family and I have lived in Bahrain for almost 15 years. Both children, Matthew who is 14 and Lianna who is 12 were born here in Awali, so for us it feels very much like home. We feel we have been extremely fortunate in having a wonderful life here, and we consider ourselves lucky to have made many lasting friendships with both expatriates and Bahrainis. Just over 9 years ago, I joined a group of determined ladies who also called Bahrain “home”. We wanted to give something back to the community in which we lived and that had made us feel so welcome. The Palm Association was formed to help the many needy Bahraini families living in poor conditions in villages across the country. Over the years hundreds of families have been sent monthly food parcels, had their homes which were in serious disrepair renovated, and dedicated Bahraini students who could not otherwise afford the fees have been sponsored through university courses which should enable them to find employment to support themselves and their families.

Although we are currently living in Dubai due to my husband’s job, I still maintain strong links with The Palm Association. I wanted to do something tangible that would maintain those links while also benefiting those in need within the local community in Bahrain. The idea of attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro really came out of the blue, a chance remark by someone seized my imagination. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that it would be a fantastic way to achieve several objectives. Firstly, if I raised money from corporate and individual donations, I could give it to the Palm Association. Secondly, I have always tried to keep reasonably fit and as I am currently not working I have plenty of time to devote to working out. Training to climb a 5896m mountain would definitely give me a purpose for the exercise! Finally, I enjoy a challenge, and this would certainly be one, both mentally and physically.

I had a huge boost right at the beginning from Riffa Views who were the first company I approached for sponsorship. Riffa Views’ support for local community initiatives has not only benefited Bahrain as a whole, it has also established a platform that we, as members of the Riffa Views’ community can build on in the future. Once the development is completed and the project team moves onto new challenges, it will be up to us, the homeowners, to continue and sustain the community projects that Riffa Views have supported over the years. As a homeowner, I see their support of this worthy cause as providing me with the encouragement to start this very process. I feel that as we are privileged to live a comfortable life in Bahrain, it is important to try to help in any way, those people within the local community who are not as fortunate as we are. Bahrain is a wonderful country with hospitable people. We regard it as “home” and are looking forward to returning, taking up our residence amid the super new community of Riffa Views, with many of our old friends as neighbours. Inshallah!

To sponsor me please visit my website. www.adventureswan.com.

Written by Nadia Swan, Riffa Views Homeowner.