Local travelers celebrate Kilimanjaro feat
A group of 10 friends and relatives - half of them hailing from Henrico – joined up in September to tackle Africa's highest mountain: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
John Sicat reported that the idea hatched in 2018 when he and his brother Jeff were hitting their later 40's.
"We were looking for something epic for us turning 50," Sicat said, and he recalled reading in a Richmond-area paper (possibly the Citizen) about a local group scaling Kilimanjaro.
Although the pandemic put a stop to their original plan, the Sicats' project got back on track a few years later, after conversation at a friend's 50th birthday party rekindled the dream. On their second try, they were able to follow through and pull the trip together.
Among the happy adventurers pictured above are John and Nidia Sicat, accompanied by Jeff Sicat (John's brother) – all from Glen Allen. Also pictured are Rodrigo Velastegui (Nidia's brother) and his wife Ceci Velastegui of Arlington, TX; Quan Luong of Northern Virginia (brother of Jeff's wife); Harold Chung (Glen Allen); Ken Royer (Glen Allen); Fia Wawrzyniak (John's niece), of New York, NY; and Mike Ward of Austin, Texas.
Patty Kruszewski, Citizen Managing Editor
[Editor's note: As newcomers to Henrico in 2003, the Sicats – who moved from New Jersey – set out to explore their new hometown and region to the fullest. Their tours of such destinations as the Capitol Bell Tower, St. John's Church and the Museum of the Confederacy, and visits to such events as James River Days and the Carytown Watermelon Festival were chronicled in the article linked above in the Aug. 5, 2004 edition of the Citizen.]
