In each entry of this series, participating RTW travelers highlight one experience or destination they consider a favorite from their trip and share what they loved about it.
For us, having been on two long-term trips covering 47 countries on 5 continents, it was really hard to pick a favorite. But after months of pondering, and dozens upon dozens of friends and family asking this very same question, we came up with one experience that we consider our favorite - trekking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal in November 2013.
It Almost Didn't Happen
In the weeks leading up to our flight to Lukla, the starting point for the Everest Base Camp trek, we had our apprehensions. For the longest time Angie was dead-set on not going out of fear of altitude sickness, and I was resolute in my decision to go so much so that I finally won her over. It wasn't until the night before our flight to the world's most dangerous airport that I started having my doubts about the flight, and we spent the last few hours prior to our departure wondering if we should back out. Our favorite RTW experience almost didn't happen at all.
As it turn out, we were lucky in that the flight to Lukla took place on an incredibly clear day and let us have one of the most beautiful views of the Himalayas you can ever have. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the journey and we had an 8-day trek ahead of us as well as a little voice in the back of our heads constantly questioning why two out of shape travelers with no trekking experience would consider doing this.
Not As Bad As We Anticipated
The first few days were not as bad as we anticipated. The grade of the trails at the worst point was no different than climbing any other large hill or mountain at home, and the only noticeable difference was the fact that you had to take it slow and drink more water than normal to combat the altitude. The temperature didn't even become a problem until the last two villages before Base Camp, where the night time temperatures dipped to -20C and the morning portion of the hike was bitterly cold before the sun came up (and we celebrated once it did).
With an 8-day journey to Everest Base Camp, you would expect to see the mountain quite frequently- but this is not the case. In fact, you only get to see glimpses of the world's tallest peak periodically throughout the trek as other equally monstrous mountains hide Everest from view (with the worst view being at Base Camp itself!). But as if it was something out of a fantasy novel, it seemed like every time we hit a physical or emotional low while on the trail, Everest would appear and encourage us to put one foot in-front of the other until we reached our goal.
After eight-days trekking through the world's most beautiful mountain range, enduring bitterly cold nights and equally cold morning starts, a few arguments, and making many new friends, we made it to the goal and walked away with hundreds of incredible stories - many of which have still not been told over a year later.
Unfortunately for us, as soon as this photo was taken we had to begin the three-day return trek- one that was far harder on our bodies than the journey up.
Go figure.
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Are you a traveler who has been on a RTW adventure, has an amazing experience or destination to share, and would like to participate in this series? Email us at jeremy@livingthedreamrtw.com to receive the prompt for the post!
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