A bit of an odd story. This guy was a fairly famous adventurer in his home country of Poland. He kayaked across the Atlantic Ocean three different times, the last one when he was 71 years old.
So now, here he was at 74 years old climbing Kilimanjaro.
He was with a group, but was apparently pretty slow going. He made it to Stella Point at 10:00am, which is fairly late, but is only 45 minutes from the top. At that time, he was in good spirits and his guides say that he wasn't exhibiting any symptoms of altitude sickness.
He made it to the summit.
Then, before pictures were taken, he wanted to sit down and take a rest.
He sat down, lost consciousness, and they couldn't revive him. Dead at 74.
You never know when your time is up.
What a great way to go. Doing something you love, and without any disease, or pain, or suffering. A little too young of course, but not that bad.
We did a fairly short hike yesterday. Only 5 kms (3 miles) or so, just to get some exercise. We have a longer one planned for today!
Heading uphill.
Nice views.
Remember I said that some roads are not in very good condition!
Yikes.
Funny sign.
"All subjects are tought".
We stopped in at The Lawn Hotel for lunch. The reviews were quite good, although they mentioned "western style" prices. Still, we figured it was worth having a look at the menu. It wasn't really that bad, so we decided to stay. We each had the chicken curry with rice. Nothing to drink because we had water with us. Cost was 10,000 shillings ($5.50 CAD, $4.30 USD) each, which was about 2,000 shillings higher than anywhere else in town. Still, it was good and we needed a change of scenery from the other lunch restaurants we've been going to.
Lunch.
Somebody once had a grand plan.
We've often seen unfinished buildings during our travels. You can tell this one has been like this for years. We always wonder what the story is/was.
Ruth was sitting out in our garden when she spotted this fellow slowly moving through the plants...
They are such interesting creatures.
Funny looking dude. I love this shot.
The beautiful weather is back, but it's getting a bit warm. High of 29C (84F) today with lots of sunshine. We are off to get an early start on a 14 km (8.7 mile) hike.
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74 sounds old at your age but not old enough if you're in you're 70's like us. The bar for"old" keeps moving! Not a bad way to go though.
ReplyDeleteI did say it was a little too young. Both of my grandfathers died in their 60's. Now that is definitely too young!
DeleteLike you said he died doing what he enjoyed doing.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy your hike.
It's about time.
He certainly did and it looks like he lead a wonderful life of adventure. :-)
Delete74 is too young but like you say, if you have had a full life and die doing what you enjoy - well, there are worse ways to go. It almost sounds like he had some un-diagnosed problems.
ReplyDeleteYes, we agree it is to young to die but it also sounds like he lead a very full filling life and did the things he loved doing. We are glad that he at least reached the summit and it sounds like he died peacefully with no pain.
DeleteIt is possible or it could just have been the effects of altitude sickness, I guess we will never know.
We lived in West Africa for 4 years and found that bank loans for mortgages were very rare so people would save their money and start building a house. Once their funds ran out the house would sit until they saved enough to continue building. We had a house behind us that was worked on for all 4 years we were there. It was finally completed after we left. The house shown on your blog looked similar the the house behind our house.
ReplyDeleteSimilar happens in other countries in the world even when mortgages are available. Different approaches to home ownership.
DeleteYes, we realize that about single homes. But these are big commercial style buildings that are sitting unfinished for years.
DeleteWow, that Polish fellow died doing what he wanted to do! I read his history,and what an explorer he was! Now I'm some Polish, about one quarter, but I'm not as bold as he was, LOL! Take care, Rawn
ReplyDeleteHe certainly did and at least he reached the summit before he died. It didn't sound like he suffered at all, he just fell asleep and never woke up, that is the way I would want to go!
DeleteSame here, I hope go too like him doing something I enjoy! But we don't get to pick how we go, but I hope I go doing something I enjoy! Take care, Rawn
DeleteYou're right we don't get to choose the way we want to go!
DeleteI heard a podcast a few years ago about that Polish adventurer. He lived!
ReplyDeleteYes, he certainly did live a full life and I bet he had no regrets!
DeleteWhat beautiful photos of the iguana! Looks different from the ones I'm familiar with in Belize and Mexico, but I assume it is some variety of same? I agree with everyone, better to die doing something you love than any other way. But my step-dad is 74, and I agree that it is too young to die these days.
ReplyDeleteThose aren't pictures of an iguana but of a chameleon, an Usambara two-horned chameleon to be exact and it is was so beautiful to see. The color of him/her was gorgeous and it blended in so well with the leaves. They are funny but interesting creatures to watch.
DeleteAgreed, 74 is too young but maybe because he was such an adventurer maybe some of the those years were hard on him, it could also be that it was altitude that got him.
Thanks for the reptile id, Ruth! I knew it looked really different. Don't think I've ever seen a chameleon before, but you are right, they are beautiful!
DeleteThe first time we saw a chameleon was in Turkey and we knew it was some kind of lizard but didn't know what kind until we got back to our Airbnb and looked it up. They crawl along ever so slowly!
Delete