Kilimanjaro Day 2: Pole Pole

The transfer from Kenya back into Tanzania via the Loitoktok border rose to be quite a challenge again without our yellow fever cards. However getting into a heated debate about South Africa, politics, Jacob Zuma, Marikana and the general future of our land with a border official distracted him past the point of realizing none of us had our yellow vaccination books.

Almost immediately after leaving the border our driver took a sharp right and acceded a hill for about and hour before collecting our guide along the way. Deo had a hug 85L back pack with him and it was my first realization of how tough this climb might actually be. He seemed fresh and ready for an adventure with the two Longueira's. While acceding via 4x4 for another half hour my dad and I ran through a checklist out loud and realized we had managed to leave sunblock behind (my fault) as well as all my t shirts, again obviously my fault. I could punch myself. Our late night celebration the night before leaving was now creeping up to haunt me.

Deo was on it though and managed to organize a motorbike to run down the mountain along the western route and then pick up a tub for a small price and bring it to us at our first campsite on the mountain.

When we finally arrived at the Rongai Gate that stood dwarfishly small under the shadows of the highest mountain in Africa, the 11 porters, cooks and team made light work of the tons of luggage that needed to be heaved up the slopes. There was tents, stoves, pots, pans, clothing, gear, water buckets that were all shuffled and re packed and distributed evenly amongst the 11. Each porters bag, as in line with mountain regulation, had their bag weighed to see if it exceeded any limits. All seemed well and before looking again the brave young men and one women had headed into the forrest and the footpaths heading into the hills and were soon out of site in the clouds.

We were now at 1800m Above Sea Level. Dr Lombards words two days before were returning to me as my heart rate increased, "You will be fine Manuel, its him I am worried about, the young guys usually suffer on the mountain..." he looked at me with genuine concern.

My dad and I geared up, prepared our water, signed the registration book which felt like signing away any last chances to flee from this challenge, and waited patiently as Deo arranged the last of the needed certification that needed to be produced to the park authorities.

My Dad and I starting on our great father and son adventure up Africa's highest mountain

And we were off..."Pole Pole" (pronounced Pauly Pauly) Deo said as we left which meant, slowly slowly...it became our mountain mantra, our concentration, our everything as we chugged towards that icy peak. Before long we were in the clouds and in a beautiful rain forrest on the lower slopes. We stopped and waited at a wooden picnic table in the trees and received a hot cooked meal of spagetti and vegetable sauce about 3kms into the trail. The meal was done by our cook, Nico, who became quite a legend in the days to come. 3 kms took us about 3 hours, going at a really slow rate as to not dance with the little devil know as AMS or acute mountain sickness. We knew all the symptoms by then, headache, confusion, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, shallow breathing and were told to make sure we told our guide as soon as we felt changes in our body. Again I thought back to that fateful day Gugu Zulu passed away.

Another 3kms in we were at camp 1, Simba camp situation 6 km steeply uphill from where we had started just before lunch. It was the only camp we would have on the mountain with green grass and beautiful sunshine for the entire afternoon. The camp lay at 2600m above sea level and just out of the natural forrest. My dad and I shared a little two man tent which was already set up by the crew when we arrived. We went for a short acclimatization hike up the trails for the next day to fulfill the popular belief of hiking high and sleeping low (or lower)

That afternoon resting in the tent just before dinner we got the first clear glimpses of the mountain so majestic and covered in snow. It was truly the biggest natural specimen I had ever seen. They say a photo can't do mountains justice, but no matter how far away you were from this, it still looked absolutely massive on a photo.

Our eating tent, my dad enjoying some soup on day 1

The eating hall was also the same tent most of the crew would sleep in. It was the place we would eat and chat to the crew and proved to be some of the best memories from the trip. After dinner our other guide Michael appeared with the sunblock which really made me feel better about the days to come, because now, the tree cover would be a thing of the past.

The view of Mount Kilimanjaro at Simba Camp 

My dad and I retired early and read on our kindles before falling asleep but waking shortly after to a massive thundershower that hammered down on the sails of our tent for hours. The wet and the rain was something I knew all to well from my camping adventures in Africa and Europe...getting up in the wet and cold and preparing for a long day was probably one of the worst things mentally. I really prayed it would stop at least a couple of hours before it was time to tackle the next day on the mountain.

Cairo to Cape Town explained in 7 mins

Myself speaking at FEAT Joburg a year ago on the Cairo to Cape Town Guinness World Record and the beauty of Africa!

CrossFit changed my life

Recently I have had the opportunity to take over and become the part owner of a crossFit box. I guess this explains all my posts and training and comments on Facebook, and quite honestly, nobody that has been part of the community will ever understand, CrossFit has changed my life!

Competing at my first online competition (back in the black shirt)

Last year this time (I know because Facebook memories told me so) I was going through a tough tough time. I won't get into details but it seemed that a lot on which I had built my life on was falling apart. Its funny that in these moments, they physical things that are taken from you mean nothing compared to the spiritual and mental things. You feel so empty. I was in a dark dark place, a place I thought I had to pretend didn't exist, but it was so real, it was there when I went to ben, there when I went to sleep. My once "safe place" for community and love had become a place of hurt an deception, this isolated me even more. Rewind though some months...

One single meeting would have a ever lasting impact on my life. I met with Henri the Marketing manager of the mall and Francois early one morning to discuss an "Operation Smile" fundraising event. I had been on missions with the organization and raised a lot of money for them through my solo adventurers and my most recent expedition on bicycle from Cairo to Cape Town. The idea was to have a burpee marathon and get donors to give money to the charity depending on the amount of completed burpees.
The Mall would be the venue.
one question...at the end of the meeting,"So what do you do?"
"I run the CrossFit Mammoth, you should come check it out,"

I couldn't forget the words of the young passionate man talking about crossFit, I drove to Pretoria later that day and on the way back I organized to pop in at the CrossFit Mammoth. When I arrived, there was some as we would say now, "clanging and banging" going on, loud music, people laughing, smiling and lifting weights, sweating, lying on the floor and just having a great workout. I was hooked, I wanted in. The next day I checked in for my first workout...

And then two month in, everything seemed to fall apart, literally in the space of a week I had to walk into the box a different broken man. I couldn't hide it. There was something though that kept me coming back. Perhaps it was that there were no mirrors so I couldn't see the reflection of my broken self, or perhaps it was the sound of heavy breathing, of weights hitting the floor of music blaring that helped me ignored everything I was going through.

Back in training after a adventure trip in Europe 

But it wasn't any of those but at the same time was all of those, just mixed with human interaction, care and people just loving being amongst each other training. For a long time I would do three sessions in a row, work so hard that I could hardly move the next day. I cried in that box, laughed, had silly chats and deep conversations about everything I was going through. Not once was I judged, not once was I laughed at, not once was I not good enough. I learnt a lot in that year about patience and love.

Fast forward a year and the box is still going strong after challenges that would have sank the titanic. Sometimes I would sit and watch everything happen and get depressed, this was my home, a place that offered me hope in a time where I had none. So I committed to stay...instead of abandoning the people who were now as broken as me, crying out for help. I stayed and I learnt to look past things and instead forgive and love and never judge. I prayed everyday in the box, over the place and the equipment that it would be a place of hope once again. I spent many nights there with Francois and envisioned such big things for peoples lives to be changed the way mine was.

Yet still I was never really involved until a month ago where I was approached to become a director and co - owner of the box. At first I was confused and then I remembered every prayer uttered...
I was overwhelmed an absolute dream come true for me! And here I am in the community that changed my life, committing to change others lives and give back.

Before I started I used to think crossFit was senseless. A place to throw weights around and push yourself to unhealthy limits, but now I know better. From the moment you walk in the door you are stripping off your CEO, teacher, accountant, secretary, manager, miner...or any other title. You simply leave it at the door. You walk in for the person standing next to you, to be their spot and encouragement, and they walk in for you. You step into the "team" when you walk in the door. Into a community that loves you and is there for you no matter what. We are there to help with your first sit up, jump rope. row for time, muscle up pull up, squat, personal best...but then we are there for your worst, your failures, your stiffness, your aches and pains. Its more than a training gym or program it is a community of health and fitness.

Our Christmass WOD 

And if that doesn't change your life, the physical results will! I have been the fittest, with the lowest fat percentage of my life in my life. On top of that I have lifted the heaviest weights I have ever attempted! To look in the mirror when you get home and say "I am Keegan Longueira, I trained my hardest today, I gave my all at life, I ate well and tonight I go to bed, regardless of any situation, ready for a new day, to give my all, all over again...for me, that is one of the best feelings in the world.

I wish I could share the details of brokenness with you all, but it just doesn't seem right, it would make the story a whole lot better but perhaps one day you will understand why crossFit has changed my life!

Cycling from Gauteng to Durban: Who can do it?

So who can do a long cycle? Who can qualify to cycle 140km's per day for more than 5 days? The answer is simple, anyone can.

On Saturday I set out on a quest to cycle to Durban from the tiny town of Witbank. The trip is planned to take no longer than 7 days. The man who will be accompanying me is an incredible mentor, role model and friend...and now, he steps into my world of adventure. Its an unusual step for him to take and will by no way be easy. Camping, eating strange things, struggling on the bike might all be new things to him but the sooner one can adapt tough life lessons, and apply them on the bike, the quicker one will learn to survive and push on.

So what can you do to prepare for a cycle expedition?

1. Do your research:

You need to have a well planned route which may take some time. You need to do some research into the gradients, the terrain and the temperature during the time of the year you wish to set out.

2. Pack the right stuff.

There are hundreds of web pages that will offer you the correct advice and give some insight into what you need to pack and what equipment will be useful on the road. If you think you are prepared, draw up a "worst case scenario" of things that could go wrong and try measure your kit up against the challenge. You will know if you are prepared.

3. Have a good bike set up:

You don't need to have spent hours and years training but it is crucial to be comfortable on that bike. Make sure you set up. you can do your own simple set up at home but it would be advised to visit your local cycle shop and get it done. A simple test I use to adjust my seat height: If your knee gets sore in the front, your seat is to low. If the back of your leg gets sore, behind your knee, your seat is to high.

4. Have communication:

In my earlier trips I hardly had any communication with anyone. In a way it was freeing but what are your goals? If your goal is to rebel against a economic society and live a life of poverty and adventure, then you need to accept that uncomfortable death is possible. Like Christopher McCandalees in "Into the Wild" you will fall off the radar and possibly never be able to cry out for help when you need. If you intend to experience adventure and then get back to your normal life in a coulple of weeks, make sure you have a phone or any other form of advice to let people back home know how you are doing.

5. Renew your mind:

Every thought, every feeling of comfort and anything you think you know for sure must be chucked out the window. If not you will have the worst time of your life. You need to open yourself up to the possibility of being taught by the road, the solitude and everyone you meet along the road. Humble yourself, open your mind.

The next couple of days on the road will be a pilgrimage for myself and my very good friend, who I think might be preferred not to be mentioned at this stage, until he finishes. The pilgrimage will finish in a holy place for both of us, a place it all began...Grey Town. We were both part of the 2010 Mighty Men Confrence that changed our hearts and transformed our lives dramatically.  Our biggest hope is that we get a chance to meet the man that influenced us so much, Mr Angus Buchan.

May the Adventure begin
Keegan "Kunjani" Longueira

Am I wrong?

This new song that has burst onto the scene has inspired my short video clip entitled; A Go Pro journey through South Africa.

Take a look at the video which basically puts into motion what I believe and how much I love being on the road.

Be invincible

For any of those die hard sports fans and more so, lovers of underdog, comeback movies, I suggest that you all watch "Invincible". It's a movie by Ericson Core and tells the tale of Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) a 30 year old part time bar tender from Philadelphia who tries out for the American Football team, the Eagles. 

I love the movie. The true live drama is not only an action packed, gripping tale but a heart wrenching film for the whole family as well.

Papale is criticized by his team mates who just can't quite wrap their heads around the idea of an old washed out football lover, stepping into their arena to make the team. Papale through hours of bullying on the field, returns to his locker each day to a note in which his ex wife had left the night she left him. "You will never amount to anything, you are going nowhere..." Are the words that capture your attention on the note. The scenes are touching. You see Papale in this sea of emotions, wrestling with himself constantly as whether to believe the note, or to simply try. His battle rages silently as he fights battles on the football field each day as well as in his suburb where most silently agree with the "you are going nowhere" note. 

Although Papale has a mountain to face, he retreats inside himself to inner strength to deal with his life which suddenly has become so complicated. It would have been so simple to have just remained comfortable where he was in life. 

But the character of Papale mirrored by Wahlberg in the movie is one which might often be overlooked by society. Reaching the top is about getting ahead, standing on others while using power, courage, stubbornness and greed to launch yourself into heights you can only dream of. Yet Papale, long haired, down to earth bartender, stays humble. His years of feeling like his voice wasn't heard , mixed with his social class that echoes "you are nothing" shines through in the situation. Papale has everything to learn, he takes advice, he learns new things and takes the hits. Day after day he is pounded on the field. 

In one scene after a "nutcracker" session which involves two players in a gauntlet trying to out muscle each other to get to the other side, Papale finally makes progress. He gets past two players using things he has learnt from others in the side  . Though the victory is massive for him, the team thinks nothing of it. They go at him again and again until Papale is to tired to stand let alone battle off these monster sized men. Papale gets smashed in the next tackle, his helmet digs into the ground as he hits the turf. He lies there, exhausted. The team jog onto the next exercise casually as if nothing happened while Papalye fights to get enough oxygen into his lungs from being winded. Just as in life, nobody has time for his dreams he has shaped in his mind. The ideas and success he has carved through his 30 years of his life mean nothing, they simply leave him there...and jog on.

Papale gingerly plants his palms on the grass while his eyes, barely open, stare at the torn ground that his body has caused. His shoulder blades arch as his spine and back fall inwards. He pushes hard on the ground trying to lift his heavy body. His head hangs as he rises onto one knee, and then slowly the other. The camera swivels around him as the setting sun casts a silhouette on his tired body. The music releases you into deep thought as an audience can barely help feeling for his obstacles he attempts to overcome. On the grand stand sit about 50 people. 

Now the team is gone, left him their in his dirt, as he grapples to get up, get going and catch up with them. The sounds of clapping come from those who sit on the stand as they cheer him on. Their local bartender hero is showing guys against great players and even if he fails to make the team, he has offered them a small insight into the life of possibilities.  

Papale rises to his feet in the setting sun and breathes deeply for a second and starts to move his feet. His running looks as if he is tripping over his feet with every step. 

Are you behind today? Have you been bullied? Are you going nowhere? We can learn lessons from Papale. Stay humble, work hard, never think you are anything and always learn. Keep moving forward, take the hits, don't sidestep them. The path of least resistance is never an option! Very often the world makes "dreams" sound like a happy fair tale path to follow. It's not! That is the biggest bullshit I have ever heard! Instead of dreams think purpose, instead of happiness thing toughness! What is your purpose? What is your reason for getting to breath oxygen each day. What will history books say about your character? What do you need to show the world through your life. It's not easy and definitely not "happy" 

Get on your feet today! The sun hasn't set yet! 

Keegan "kunjani" Longueira