Let me start by saying that unequivocally, we LOVED our crew. They were hilarious, soulful, kind, and amazing guides. I highly recommend them and would be happy to make the connection if anyone is interested in hiking Kili.

That being said, through a combination of a language barrier, exhaustion, and sheer silliness, the crew kept us laughing the entire trip. Below are some funny moments from our time in Tanzania.

#1 - When we arrived to our hotel in Tanzania the night before the hike, Remy the bellboy greeted us with a Michigan sweater. What are the odds of a bellboy in Tanzania with a Michigan fleece?

Tanzanian Bellboy Wearing Michigan Sweater

#2 - James, our main guide and leader, was absolutely hilarious. Both intentionally and unintentionally (more below).

#3 - James funny stories:

- His estimating skills were WAY off (or he was a motivational genius). When we asked him how much longer to camp, he would often say "one hour and half." 30 minutes later, we would ask again, and he would say "two hours." What??? How the hell could we have lost distance???

- He ate pasta with his hands, like it was a bowl of mixed nuts

- He referred to women as "The She". "I hope The She feels better." "When we get to camp, The She can take a nap."

- Every night, when he gave his speech for the next day, he would stumble through it, like he was making up the hiking directions as he went along. Not sure if that inspired the most confidence in the group...

- After we reached the summit, James began sprinting down the mountain like a madman. For the next 1.5 days, every hour or so, he would spontaneously start sprinting downhill and screaming. "Ahhhhhh!!!!"

#4 - James dancing, which pretty much sums it up (he's the one on the far left about halfway through the clip). On a side note, I think I'm going to start dancing like that at weddings.

#5 - On my birthday, our waiter Benson (more on him later) hiked down the mountain three hours each way and got me a birthday cake. So nice!

From left to right: Bonaventure (toilet engineer), James, and Deeo

#6 - Other than the birthday cake, the food all started to blend together after a few days. We ate every meal in the same small, smelly, hot tent. And as hard as Deeo tried, powdered soup just doesn't taste good after 12 meals in a row.

Wish the Soup Nazi was here to tell us "No soup for you"!

#7 - One of our Dutch hiking partners got altitude sickness on the second day. She braved through headaches, vomiting, and exhaustion for a few days (which is a few days longer than I would have), before hiking down on Day 5. And as much as we sympathized, every meal became tortuous for us. Sitting across the small table from her, we watched her struggle through every bite, sweating, fidgeting, and dry heaving. The only thing parallel I can think of is this scene...

#8 - Our waiter Benson was my favorite. He used the same deep, monotonous voice for everything he said: "Tea." "Water...for...washing." "The...camp...is...on...fire." Even when he sang Happy Birthday, his voice never changed. When I asked James why he spoke that way, he said "Benson likes to drink." Not sure what that has to do with his voice, but OKAY!

#9 - I'd like to make fun of Deglas (aka Deeo), our stomach engineer (aka chef), but he was basically the nicest guy in the world. He was essentially Michelle's spirit guide, giving her words of encouragement before and on summit day, warming her hands, and running (aka carrying) her down the mountain arm in arm. On the ride home she started crying softly to herself. I asked her why, and she said that she was thinking about how kind and compassionate Deglas had been to her on the trip.

#10 - Our whole crew didn't drink (aside from Benson). But there were some porters in other crews who were, um..."Reggae" porters. For some reason, the "Reggae" porters were always listening to Bob Marley and eating instead of hiking. I wonder why they would be so hungry all the time?

Dancing with one of the "Reggae" porters

#11 - Michelle, sometimes frustrated with all the dirt flying around, taking a nap with her cloth and sunglasses. She looks like a neon ghost.

#12 - After a 7-day hike, and a few beers (for Benson), the crew passed out in the backseat of the van on the way home.

From left to right: Deeo, Benson, Bonaventure (toilet engineer)

-Stephen