In 10 years time, when the kids are thinking about planning their own Gap Years, I'm pretty sure that their experience of Annapurna will still be fresh in their memories.
It was 10 days that have left an indelible mark on us as individuals and a family.
We went way beyond our comfort zones but ironically found ourselves at our most relaxed and happy.
We literally hit a new high in our travels (5416m to be precise at the Thorong La Pass, the largest mountain Pass in the world).
We left Kathmandu on 4th May at 7am, along with our Guide, Arjun.
We then spent 9 days trekking through the Annapurna Range, from Syange to Muktinath.
We trekked over 144km through mind-blowing scenery.
The details of each day aren't really so important, it was the overall experience that touched our hearts.
Arjun, our Guide, became part of our family, so much so that when we said goodbye at 3am on 13th May, we had tears in our eyes.
We met some wonderful Israelis along the way, with whom we often walked together in the mornings, then sat around chatting in the afternoons until the usual early bedtime of 8pm. These young 20-somethings helped make the trek for us and proved to be some of the best childminders of our whole travels. We spent time with the other Trek Guides, Dawa, Dinesh, Haresh, who we got to know over the 10 days and who added so much to our own experience.
But most of all, Shoshi and I were in awe of Mili, Eyal and Guy. We hadn't planned to go all the way to the Pass, but as the initial 2 or 3 days passed, we started to discuss the possibility with Arjun. At 27 years old, Arjun is a veteran of over 100 Pass crossings and he seemed to think that we could make it. So we put our trust in him and went for it.
On Day 10, we made it over. The same day as all our new Israeli companions. Our 3 kids and plenty of young, fit adults. The last day was a challenge with bouts of altitude sickness, hypothermia, and exhaustion for the kids, in the end we needed horses to get them up to the top and then had a couple of hours of drama to get them down quickly as they suffered from the conditions. We even had the insurance company trying to get a helicopter to airlift us out, eventually sending a jeep to take the kids to the nearest doctor, of which I was oblivious to at the time as I was trekking up behind with Arjun. We will always be indebted to the Trek Guides and Shlomi, Shir, Noa, Michal, Hila, Tom, Omer and Liat for all that they did to help in those fraught moments.
In the end, it was my proudest moment as a parent. To see my kids achieve something that should be physically beyond them was simply a testament to their mental strength. To wake at 5.30am each day, for 10 days and then hike up the Himalayas. To eat food they had never eaten before. To deal with sleeping and living conditions that should have pushed them to the limit.
But in reality, they coped just fine, they had their best 10 days of the last 7 months and want to do it all over again. They never complained once, quite the opposite.
They now understand that reward comes from risk, that to achieve anything meaningful requires effort and pushing oneself to the limit. In a world which tells children they 'cannot come in', 'are too small' and 'it's not for children', they now understand that they are capable of anything on a par with the adults around them.
Our best life lesson so far.
The best 10 days of our lives for sure.
I don't know you personally, but I love this so much. It is simply unbelievable. To go thru that including the terrifying moments and still come out saying it was the best 10 days ever-- I can only imagine what it has done to bond your children in an unforgettable shared experience. It will last until their old age and be retold countless times
ReplyDeleteThank you Miriam, I hope you are right, it was definitely a wonderful experience for all of us, unforgettable.
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