Felice and MeI am a 31 year old travel writer originally from London, UK. I fell in love with Africa when I was seventeen and have been returning there as often as possible ever since. By a strange twist of fate, Felice Benuzzi was my cousin. Unlike him, I have never climbed a mountain before in my life. I get blisters after walking to the bus stop and once had to be carried down from a small cliff in Cornwall after breaking the heel of my shoe. But one day soon, I plan to climb Mount Kenya by the same route as his party and place a memorial to his achievement on Point Lenana. The climb will be a chance to honour Benuzzi and the spirit of freedom and independence which led him to attempt this seemingly impossible task - a spirit all too often lacking in our bland and unchallenging modern world. Sixty years have passed since Felice's climb, but I too feel the need to start taking risks again, and to celebrate the same sentiment he felt - 'the urge to escape a life lived at the level of physiology' Copyright © Gemma Pitcher 2004 |