How to start a blog?  I think that in the first episode we owe you some explanation how it all started … And let it be our first story. We start at the beginning of our fascination with the mountains...


Barbara (Basia):
I was 17 when I read  At the Top of the World by Jurek Kukuczka. Later, My Vertical World written by the same author also found its way to my small home library. They were among the first books about mountains in my collection. It was then when I saw the images of the Himalayas and the Karakoram. And although the pictures were not great quality my heart started beating faster. I felt I would love to see those mountains with my own eyes, and experience them during treks. Reading about Jurek Kukuczka's perception of them and about his motivation to be there also had an influence on my dreams. But it seemed absolutely impossible to me because reality in the times in which I grew up did not suggest that such dreams could ever come true. But they lasted in my mind.

Private Life

Himalayas

When I was 28 years old, after an accident which resulted in cervical fracture and after a revolution in my personal life I decided to let my dream become real. I told myself I would be in the Himalayas before the age of forty. And perhaps this is how it started for me.

Two years later a new life crossed my path. I was – just like any of us – involved in daily routine. Like everyone else I had to make important decisions. Dreams had to be put aside. Just like for many of us. But time was passing mercilessly.

When I celebrated my 39th birthday, suddenly it turned out that only one year left to my journey. I was shocked that I had one year only and I was 25 kg bigger than 20 years ago, a mother of two children working like an average person. I could not imagine I was able to accomplish my goal. I resisted the idea with might and main. I had no company to go with. Nobody planned such a trekking or a trip to Nepal.

I was afraid of going alone. And I was afraid I wanted too much. I thought it could be beyond my capabilities. But on a certain evening in autumn I made a decision to go there in spring. And it all started!
I joined a small group and left for 3 weeks when rhododendrons were in full bloom in the Himalayas…

Those were 3 weeks in paradise!

Gokarna (Gok):
I spent my childhood in a Nepalese village. Every day I could watch the Langtang and Ganesh Himal from the local hills. On my way to school and back home and while working on crop terraces I had to go up and down the hill many times every day.

The beginning was certainly not easy although I have no good memory of that time. However, as far as I can remember I loved those crazy chases after monkeys trying to eat their meal on our corn fields. J Me and my friends loved playing together and it seems to me that sometimes we were very much like a bunch of monkeys ourselvesJ. I think a piece of that little boy has still remained inside me.

I did my first trek as a guide in 2007, so only one year after my first trekking as a porter, and since then my life has been invariably linked with the mountains. Although this is my job, to all those people who love mountains it is obvious that I am deeply passionate about it! Having spent one month in the mountains I miss a home-made Dal Bhat, but after a long stay in the city I dream about being able to wander along the unbounded mountain trails. I think I can safely say I cannot live without mountains …

Thanks to tourism I learned a lot about my own country, I travelled across it from the Kanchanjunga in the east to the Saipal Himal in the west. During your trip to Nepal I will be happy to take care of your safe and enjoyable holiday experience both on the trek in the Himalayas and during a trip to Nepal! Some people want to see the Himalayas from a distance, but they would like to experience the beautiful colours of Nepal out of the mountain trails. Anything you wish – Basia and I are at your disposal. Call us, ask questions, search for the best solution … We are at your disposal and we will be happy to make arrangements for your trip to Nepal.