Kilimanjaro Diaries

Or, How I Spent a Week Dreaming of Toilets, Drinking Crappy Water, and Making Bad Jokes While Having the Time of My Life

By: Eva Melusine Thieme

Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

When expat blogger and mother of four Eva Melusine Thieme first harbors the idea of ringing out her three years in Africa on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, it sounds easy. In fact, it has all the trappings of a dream vacation: no cooking, no fighting kids, and an army of porters to lug everything up the mountain. What can go wrong?

Tag along as Eva takes you on her journey up the slopes of Kilimanjaro together with her teenage son and a group of hilarious South African friends. From planning the trip to shopping for supplies to trudging uphill wishing with all her heart for an ice cold sip of water untainted by chlorination tablets, you will follow her step by step on her quest to scale the world's highest free-standing mountain. But the list of challenges is long: sub-zero temperatures, blistered feet, long drop toilets (of which, you may learn, the drops are not nearly as long as they had once been, if you get the drift), and the ever-threatening altitude sickness no one can quite escape from. Eva's climb turns into the most difficult test she has ever faced, and ultimately she must make a fateful decision on that mountain.

Thieme's debut travel memoir is equally poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. Part guide book, part travel memoir, and part history lesson, her story will keep you hooked - whether you're a seasoned hiker nodding your head in recognition, an aspiring Kilimanjaro trekker searching for tips, or an armchair traveler reveling in adventure stories from the comfort of your home.

©2014 Eva Melusine Thieme (P)2018 Tantor

A little bit Guide and a little bit narrative

I enjoyed this adventure tale told by a “regular” person who has every-person worries and life challenges. I empathized, smiled, chuckled, and learned a bit. The little bit guidebook is where the author focuses on very specific details such as the ins and outs of different medications available for altitude sickness. It’s all interesting but pauses the story.

Terrific story

This is a well written and entertaining account of climbing one of the world's greatest mountain. Highly recommended for anyone planning to take this journey or who just wants to experience almost firsthand what it is like. It's funny, witty, full of sarcasm and humor. Love it!

Delightful Journey Full of Practical and Profound Wisdom

This book takes you on an amazing journey beyond the tips and good advice for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. It captured my attention with humor and insight. I would recommend this book to all readers who wish to take an adventure of the mind and soul.

Good story

Good story and well read, although I could have done without all the anecdotal side thoughts which were emphasized by the reading style.

What an engaging and enjoyable audiobook

Eva Melusine Thieme treats the reader/listener as a friend, easily immersing us into her world where she, a wife and mother of four, decides to hike up Africa's highest peak. The book is at its best when she is telling personal stories of her family or her preparations for the hike or the friendly socializing with her fellow hikers and the guides who she comes to admire and respect. That the problems she runs into (unexpected visa problems, the issues with toilets or lack thereof) are so relatable to most of us is what makes the book so enjoyable. The only time the story lags is when Ms. Thieme digresses into travelogue/guide mode, going into great (and unnecessary, to my mind) detail about the different routes up Kilimanjaro. Vanessa Johnson as the narrator is superb, perfectly capturing the casual, conversational tone of the author.

Loved this book!

Loved the honesty and rawness of the book. Nothing was left out as to how it is on setting up and completing a climb like Killi. Loved the info on the bathroom situation. I have always wondered how it was with like the pioneers on their westward trek or others without facilities. Thank you!

Not the best for those seeking an adventure book.

I couldn't complete this book. it is less about adventure and exploring a new country and more about the writer explaining her vacation.

Author grated

I did not really enjoy the author’s attempts to be cute. I did not like her no training bragging. I also was shocked by her decision not to descend with her son. It gave me a lot of respect for the guiding company. I was disappointed by her entitled, cavalier attitude to climbing such a high mountain. I guess it shows total cardio weaklings can climb Kilimanjaro with a good guiding company, which squares with what I observed from another KIli vet on Ranier.