Episode 42 - Acanela Expeditions Review - Paula's Journey Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

“You see so many things that you will only see there.”

— Paula Park

Acanela customer Paula Park sits down with us and shares her favorite travel memories, what she loves about Acanela Expeditions, her journey climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and more! Spoiler: if you’re thinking about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, her one piece of advice is just do it! Listen to hear her Acanela Expeditions review!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Paula’s experience traveling with Acanela (1:26)

• Paula’s advice for anyone traveling to Kilimanjaro (7:32)

• Paula’s next adventure (17:46)

Courtney: Hi guys. Welcome back, it's Courtney. Today I'm sitting down with Paula. Thanks so much for joining us, Paula. I'd love to dive in and just start. So Paul, if you just want to tell us a little bit about yourself.

Paula: Hi Courtney. Thank you for having me. My name's Paula Park. A little bit about myself. Let's see, I'm 39 years old. I'm a mom. I'm married. I have two children. I work as a director of marketing for Haeco Americas. That's an aviation company out of Hong Kong. That's pretty much it.

Courtney: That's awesome. So cool. How old are your kids?

Paula: I have an 11-year-old daughter and I have a two-year-old son.

Courtney: Oh, sweet. So I'm sure they're excited to have you home from your recent trip.

Paula Park: Yes

Paula’s Mount Kilimanjaro Trip With Acanela

Courtney: Awesome. Well, you just recently went to Kilimanjaro with our CEO, Kylie and how was that?

Paula: Wow, that was very exciting. It came out of the blue. So I actually was part of a casting call that Acanela Expeditions did. And I didn't know that Kylie would be there. But yeah, so there was this amazing opportunity to go to this expedition, climb Mount Kilimanjaro and it was exceptional. The things I saw, the things we did, you really can't... It's almost hard to put it into words. You see so many things that you will only see there from plants to animals. You really learn so much about yourself and the group that you're with on this kind of trip. Not because you're together so long, but also because you have a lot of time to really reflect on everything that you're doing. And just a lot of time to think. I thought this trip was really exceptional for those reasons. And then it's also really a great trip to take, especially if you don't have anyone to travel with, or if you're a little nervous about booking this kind of travel on your own, it's a really great way to go. Acanela really takes care of everything for you.

Paula’s Favorite Part of the Mount Kilimanjaro Trip

Courtney: That's great feedback. I love hearing that, all of those experiences that you had and what would you say that your favorite thing was on the trip?

Paula: Well, I guess my favorite part of the trip was probably reaching the summits. It's just something that you look forward to and think about so much. And it's constantly pushing and reminding yourself that you're going through this great effort to get to this moment. And it's really... I knew that I was expecting some moment of accomplishment and I did. I felt very accomplished and I felt exhilarated and excited to be at the top. But even more than that, it's really just such an emotional moment to see how far you've come and to see what you were able to do by yourself. It's by far one of the best feelings I've ever had, and it was the best part of this trip.

Courtney: That's so awesome. Yeah, I can't imagine the feeling of being able to stand on top of those summits and just know that you had accomplished that.

Paula: Yeah.

Courtney: You made it all the way up there.

Paula: It's really exciting, a lot of people ask me, you get very similar questions the whole way up. People are like, "Oh my God." When they find out you've gone, they're like, "How did you train? What did you do?" I think they have this idea that you're clinging from an ice pick off-

Courtney: Yeah.

Paula: It's definitely not like that. But I got that a lot. And I had to explain that a lot of it was really a very normal hike that you might go on with your kids or with your family here in the US. It wasn't a really technical route. At least the Marangu route that we took wasn't... So people have a lot of questions about that and they always ask me, "Well, what does it look like? What did you see and are there bathrooms up there?" Those are probably some of the most common questions I get. And I have to explain, you just see so much because you go so high. You start off and it's really hot and by the time you get to the top, there's snow and there's everything in between. So it's hard to maybe describe it to people as what you might see but for the most part, especially with our group, it was like just a day hike. That's kind of what it felt like when you're going. Sure there are harder parts, there're easier parts but it's very doable for the average person.

I'm by no means some athlete, so for me, it was definitely challenging at the very end. But for the most part, I'd say that, if you have an average level of activeness in your life, I think you could probably do it.

Courtney: Well, that's really good feedback. That's good to know. Because I feel like sometimes people look at Kilimanjaro and they're like, there's no way. There's no way I can climb to the top of that mountain. So I'm not doing that.

Paula: Well, honestly, I had never even considered doing it myself until I don't know. I think I was feeling a little wild and I think it's because, I'm not sure, but I got up there... I saw the expedition on the website and I saw the web series casting call, neither of which I think I would have ever just decided to do on my own, but I don't know. I was just there and I saw it and described as regular people and I thought, "You know what? I could totally do that." And then I honestly didn't think I'd get chosen, but once I did, I almost feel that I have to tell people, hey, even if you think this travel might be a little too adventurous for you, you should do it. I learned so much about myself and it wasn't other worldly. It was something that I've totally feel most people could do and you just have this incredible sense of accomplishment afterward and you feel very empowered. And it's just a great feeling.

I think if you're looking to change your perspective, or if you're looking to see something different, you just have to do it. This is is totally for you.

Courtney: That's so awesome. Yeah. I'm motivated to go hike Kilimanjaro now.

Paula: You should, especially because of your job, you should totally go for it.

Paula’s Advice to Those Wanting to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. I've stood at the bottom and looked up, but I've never been like, "Yeah, let me climb that." So that's awesome. That's good to hear that feedback because sometimes I feel like it's daunting, but that's really awesome. What would you say some of your biggest piece of advice would be for someone who wants to climb Kilimanjaro?

Paula: My biggest piece of advice is just do it, because, even once you plan it and book it, you're still going to be nervous. Even when you land in Tanzania, you climb up the mountain, you've made it the whole way there on the last day, you're still nervous. So that never changes, but I think you just have to do it and you're going to be fine. And then as far as more practical advice, I'd say the most important piece of advice I'd have is to have a good attitude. I think there are going to be a lot of things that don't go exactly as you planned.

Even if you spent a lot of time planning an expedition like this, you're going to forget things. The weather may or may not be great. It was perfect while I was there. I got very lucky, but it might rain one day, you might get some of your stuff wet. I think the best thing you need to do is bring a great attitude because there's going to be a lot of times, especially on a hike this long and especially if you're hiking with other people, the group dynamics really play a big part into the success of your climb. So if you go in and you're like, "Oh, things aren't going my way. Oh, it's about to rain, the weather looks terrible." Anything like that, it's really not going to help. I think you really have to stay very positive, have a great attitude. And then really try to be as prepared as possible. Take a lot of layers, bring your sunscreen, definitely bring wipes, ibuprofen. That's probably the most practical advice I can give anyone.

Courtney: That's awesome. I love it. I love it, you talked about bringing a good attitude because I feel like sometimes even if just one person in the group has a bad attitude, it brings... Like how you said that the dynamic of the group can change. So and just like your own experience, you can have such a better experience if you just had a positive outlook and just know that anything can happen at any moment, but you're doing this and you're climbing this mountain and it's going to be awesome if you just think positive like that.

Paula: Yeah. Well, we had these great guys, so I actually got very lucky because not only was Kylie part of my trip, but Abdul the local artisan for the Kilimanjaro trip, he was actually our head guy and he had explained a lot of the importance of having a good attitude while climbing, especially with a group as large as the one we took up the mountain.

Courtney: Mm-hmm

Paula: And really I thought, "Yeah, that's smart. And that makes sense." But I really had several occasions on my trip, for example, we were happy in my group. We had a range of ages and different types of people, but for the most part, everyone was pretty upbeat most of the time we were hiking. But right as we were arriving the last camp Kibo, right before you summit. We saw a stretcher coming down with four porters. Obviously a person had maybe twisted an ankle or gotten hurt and was being taken off the mountain. And the atmosphere of the group changed almost immediately because it wasn't even something we had considered. It wasn't something that I had been thinking about like, "Oh, what if I hurt myself? Or what if I felt really uncomfortable in the altitude or something." And we saw someone being taken. You could feel the wind being taken out of all of us.

You could feel how everybody got very quiet and we were just kind of reflecting on what we had just seen. And it was moments before someone started to get very upset and they were crying and it just really affected our group. And so our guides took us... We stopped, we had a break and we all talked about what was going on. And we went through this whole session where we say, we're not going to focus on the negative part of this. We're going to really see that, hey, if there is something that happens, if you twist an ankle or if you feel like it's getting difficult to breathe and you're not having a good response to the altitude, there are plenty of ways that we will safely get you where you need to be. And instead of being scared, they took it as an informational moment. And then right away, the guides started to sing to us. We have every morning, there's kind of this get hype time where the guides and the porters all get together with everybody climbing and they sing and they dance and you're just ready for the climb that morning.

And so they started singing those songs and the power of having a positive attitude and a positive feeling within the group is so important, it really kind of drove everything we did from that point on. And you find yourself really needing not just yourself to be positive, but the members of your team and your guides. Everything from that point on was just positive. And it was, "Hey, you got this. Hey, you can do it. How are you feeling, what's going on?" And everyone really takes an active interest in the environment of the group.

Courtney: That's really good advice and really good to hear about how the experience with that positive attitude and how that all helps change how you had that experience, where the atmosphere changed and then it was brought back up again. That's awesome.

Paula: Oh yeah. It's really important. It's amazing what a positive attitude and a positive atmosphere because you really are so conscious of what everybody's feeling and thinking just because I think there's always a little bit of apprehension since most people have never been to that high of an altitude. You just don't know how your body's going to react. So I think everybody's always kind of got in the back of their head like, "Oh, is anyone feeling a headache or how's everybody feeling? Are we good? Are we..."

Courtney: Yeah.

Paula: But I got lucky. My team was very positive and we had a lot of really great young energy from people and we had our guides, Abdul and everybody, our porters, everybody always was very kind and supportive and really just motivating you to reach your goals.

Courtney: That's awesome. That's so good. It sounds like it was just such an incredible trip.

Paula: It was unbelievable. For me, it was unbelievable for a lot of reasons, but I have to say as somebody who travels a lot, the things that I think make most people nervous about travel, like showing up at the airport and what if nobody shows up and what if this travel company doesn't exist and I've flown all the way here and I won't know anyone. All those things are going to really take all of the doubt out of it. They do a lot of things in the prep work. For example, even before you travel, there are members of the team contacting you to make sure that they have your flight information, to make sure that you've got your visa, making sure that you don't have any questions and giving you advice, footgear to bring. So, I never felt nervous about whether this was a legitimate travel company or anything.

It was from the moment I booked the trip, I was always comforted. I always felt very supported by the travel agents and by the guides. And even when I got there, everything was safe, safety-oriented, everything was so well set up with the tour guides and our transportation and our hotels. So, I would definitely recommend this company as far as anyone who feels a little uneasy about the details of travel and really figuring out things like door-to-door transportation or hotels or finding the right people to help you along your journey, whether that's a guide or porters or anything like that. I feel like this was really easy. You just book the trip and then everybody helped you figure everything out. There was no time where I was nervous about this kind of travel.

Courtney: That's great feedback to hear because yeah, we do try and work hard to make sure that all of our travelers are comfortable in that everything is taken care of from beginning to end of their trip. So, that's really great feedback to hear.

Paula: I was super impressed, traveled a lot of places and I've booked travel with different organizations and I've booked my own travel and I've done my own travel. So I know the amount of work that goes into having that seamless experience and really, I never had any problems. And even I was super impressed. I had lots of contact with Acanela before my trip, but even when I arrived there, I sent a question just to one of the contacts that had written me previously. I got a response in like 30 minutes and I was already in Tanzania. So, I had no problem sending an email and getting a response back almost immediately. So I was super comforted by the fact that I wasn't traveling alone and I mean, I was traveling alone, but I knew if I had any kind of problem, I could contact the company and it would be handled.

Courtney: I'm glad that you had that experience. It's really great to hear feedback from travelers that go out and just to know that all the work we're putting in is successful and that it is a good experience for you guys.

Paula: It was really well done. So I would have no problem making sure everybody knows, hey they made it really easy for me.

Paula’s Next Travel Adventure

Courtney: Awesome. Well, thank you. We appreciate that feedback. That's awesome. One of my final questions is what places are on your bucket list. What's up next? Where is your next adventure? That you've just barely come off the mountain, where are you going now?

Paula: Yeah. As soon as my toenails grow back. No, I have an enormous bucket list. Travel is kind of my thing. It's where all my disposable income goes and I have a family, so I am constantly planning trips for my family. So I think the big... Probably my most exciting bucket list item is doing an Antarctic cruise. I'm looking up different expeditions to Antarctica. I'm pretty excited about that. And I'm looking for ones that I can bring my kids on. So I want them to be able to see penguins and to travel with me. And I think that's probably a more doable trip with kids. So I'm super excited about that. I'm a recent transplant to the Midwest and I just moved to Michigan. So I've actually never been to the Great Lakes. So as far as US travel, my bucket list is checking out the Great Lakes and doing some camping with my family. And then as maybe a girl’s trip, I've always had the Seychelles on my bucket list that I'd love to take with my sisters. So those are probably my top three.

Courtney: That's so exciting. That's so awesome. Wow! You have like a lot of things that you want to do and we hope all of that travel goes super well and that you have those great experiences with your family and with your friends and...

Paula: Thank you. Yeah. I got a bunch of other ideas from Kylie, she's been everywhere. So I was picking her brain during the trip quite a bit on exciting new places and things I should definitely try out.

Courtney: Yeah. Awesome. Well, if you ever need help planning any travel, we would love to have you on one of our expeditions again in the future.

Paula: I am there. I hope that anyone listening really just goes for it and just books it tomorrow, stop putting it off. Just do it.

Courtney: Thank you so much, Paula, for jumping on here and chatting with me today and telling us about your experiences. We've loved to listening to you.

Podcast made in partnership with Acanela Expeditions

Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle

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