18 days

Things are starting to come together. I arrived in Toronto to check on the status of my passport update to find out that my photos were denied!! So just fast-tracked another application and should have the updated passport by the 24th! Talk about cutting it close. Fingers crossed that this all works out.

It never ceases to amaze me the connection we have to each other and to the world. Just by reaching out by word of mouth I have been able to collect valuable information about friends and friends of friends who have travelled to this tiny corner of the world. I am speaking with the mother of a man who is from my hometown who moved to Kathmandu five years ago to study philosophy at the U of Kathmandu and has since become a monk and has devoted his life to being in Nepal and continuing his studies. I will be meeting him at some point during my travels and hopefully be connected through him to some powerful volunteer opportunities.

Most recently my friend Kate, owner and operator of Eco-librium Adventures http://www.eco-libriumadventures.com/, caught wind of my journey and has been in contact with a company over there whose operational philosophy is similar to that of her company and she has asked me to be a representative on her behalf and meet the folks on the ground and get a sneek peak at their operation. Eco-Librium Adventures is an eco-tour company dedicated to bringing new worlds and cultures to you in a sustainable and harmonious manner. The philosophy behind Eco-librium Sustainable Adventures is that responsible tourism experiences can and should help bring balance into the world.  Should be interesting ... more to follow.

I have reconnected as well with a good family friend Cathy Anne who has spent a lot of time in Nepal mountaineering and trekking over the last 20 years. I was fortunate enough 8 or 9 years ago to meet Dawa, a sherpa from Nepal, who was staying with her family in Canmore and working over here for the summer to supplement his income as a sherpa with the hopes of one day opening a teahouse in Nepal. According to a recent conversation, he has been able to do this and operates his teahouse along the Everest Base Camp trek in Lhasa I believe. The connection to Nepal for Cathy-Anne is a deep one and I look forward to more conversations and guidance from her. She also has another friend who is porter who she recommended I hire while I trek the Annapurna Circuit as this is service provides much needed work for the locals.

So things are unfolding ... I have no direct itinerary just a basic sense of what I want to get up too while I am in Nepal. More details to follow as this journey begins ... 18 days to go.