When I last left you folks, anyone reading knew I finally published my book; Chasing my 20s. Chronologically, my writings ended when Camila and I entered the US in June of last year.
What wasn’t said, and likely not communicated, was that our first full week in the country was met with news I needed open heart surgery to repair a prolapsed mitral valve. Look it up. It’s not heart disease driven. It’s like your motor is good on your car but you have a leaky tire. All good unless the leak is big and you’re going 90. Then? Bad things happen.
Knowing I had this ( I found out the year before but was told it was mild to moderate regurgitation) had me on top of my doctor visits. Even in Colombia. If you read my book, especially the immigration chapter, you know we were dealing with heavy shit, thus adding a heart issue to it certainly didn’t make life easier.
And Camila having lost both her parents gets met with both the shit show that is Donald Trump while entering the US and her husband being told his heart is gonna be stopped for several hours while they repair it.
We didn’t quite prepare for any of this.
However, nearly 11 months ago, a few days after my 62 bday, the guy who loves mountains needs his heart repaired?
10 hours under anesthesia (well I was out for 10 hours), 6 days in the hospital and poor Camila had to watch it all. I, on the other hand, had an amazing surgeon and felt little to no fear except leaving Camila all alone. But I didn’t.
After some harrowing post op experiences I settled in cardiac rehab and felt good enough to overdo it and develop Achilles tendonosis. It was during those first two to three months of rehab I dreamt of getting back to the Himalayas. This time with Camila. Could I?
I felt this was the moment where i appreciated having always said yes and gone when I could. As it was (and still is) possible I had carried my last full backpack up high.
Having recently been appointed to the Board of Directors for Microfinance Bhutan Private Limited, the microfinance firm I mentioned in my book, I needed to get over there but life kept getting in the way. I was now an investor and could add value and experience. Hopefully.
So 5 months of rigid Achilles rehabilitation adding a few minutes to my hikes weekly had me at over four hours carrying ten plus pounds. Not enough to carry my own pack, but enough to dream.
I’d recently started working in leasing again so combined with all of that and a summer of doctors, here we are. In India on our way to Bhutan. We are not sure for how long but we can work from here and I get to experience this wonderful part of the world through Camila’s eyes; knowing this is a different trip. It’s not about me solely. It’s also about the wonderful relationships I’ve built over 30 years of coming here. And building new ones with Camila.
The realization we are finally here hit us smack dab in the face when arriving in Mumbai a couple of days ago. Heat, humidity, smells, people, garbage, trains, taxis, pollution. General orchestrated madness. And we love it. We’ve already met wonderful people, f ed up some money stuff, rode the trains and gorged ourselves on food. I’m not a huge fan of Mumbai but we leave today for Kolkata and the overnight train (14 hours) to the Bhutanese border. We get to see my good friend Chhimi and his family and continue working on a project; using much of what I learned in grad school and discovered along the way after. It’s all about relationships.
It has been nearly 7 years since my buddy Txaber and I tackled the penultimate trek for me in the Himalayas; 26 days doing the 3 passes trek up near Everest.
This will be different and I have no expectations.
In a world that has seemingly gone mad, we get to go deep into the world that has shaped who I am and hopefully get to spend my 5th birthday in the Himalayas. With my wife. Come along with us and enjoy if you want! 🙏🙏❤️❤️
