We're Off!

BTV and Smurf looks like he's already suffering from altitude.

We have arrived in Istanbul, Turkey after an uneventful flight from JFK. Turkish Airlines proved to be a treat with plenty of entertainment options, tasty food and hundreds of "friends" partaking in the "Miracle Tour to the Holy Land," according to their ID badges. The guy seated next to me read his golden Bible for the entire nine hour flight. I never doubted that we would arrive safely at our destination surrounded by this bubble of brotherly love.

Taste of Turkey?

We immediately immersed ourselves in Turkish culture at Starbucks and settled down for snoozes in an empty gate area. Now that I am reinvigorated and ready for red-eye number two, I have just a few thoughts to share on the Kili plan...
Apparently I was supposed to bring water treatment pills. Oops. I did bring Cipro to treat the ill effects of untreated water, so I'll go with that.

I wore 17 layers of clothes in anticipation of Kili being a frozen tundra. I have not stopped sweating since we left Burlington (thanks largely to the broken escalator at JFK which forced me to walk up an incredibly steep collection of stairs with a backpack on my back). I know that sounds lame given what lies ahead. Chris assures me the "personal porter" is still an option (after accidentally leading us on a tour of the Federal Circle Sky Train Station which was just halfway into NYC, rather than heading directly to Terminal #1). I think that means you can hire a porter to carry even your day pack for you. I'm wondering if they'll just carry me instead.

Smurfette demonstrates her ability to sleep anywhere.

There is more snow in Istanbul than there is in Vermont. Seems wrong...just wrong.