One of travel's greatest gifts→

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One of travel's greatest gifts

You know how it seems like every time you travel, your bag somehow ends up expanding, even bursting at the seams, by the time you're ready to take it back home?

My fellow Ladies Climbing Coalition friend and travel partner May pointed this out to me at the end of our 17 day journey through the Kombu Valley to Everest Base Camp with Driftwood Adventure Treks. 

It stopped me in my tracks as she then observed how travel does the same thing with our bags that it does with hearts: it fills them up and leaves them more full than when we began.  

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Stepping out of the Familiar: On Growth and Transformation

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Stepping out of the Familiar: On Growth and Transformation

When I think about what draws me to the mat, this quote from Judith Lasater’s Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life sums it up. Growth and transformation are my motivating drivers. It’s within this process that I find purpose and meaning. While it’s not an easy path, it’s expansive, freeing, inspiring, ever-changing, and constantly surprising. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I really appreciate  how in this quote, Judith so clearly describes the pathway to transformation in the simplest of terms: through devoting yourself to the present moment. How fascinating that something as simple as practicing paying very close attention can fuel the fire of transformation. The use of the word “unwavering” implies a sense of resilience, even courage.

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Nepal Tea Houses Let You Experience Life Like a Local→

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Nepal Tea Houses Let You Experience Life Like a Local

What exactly is a tea house? I asked myself as I trekked through the Khumbu Valley in Nepal. I very quickly learned to look forward to the Tea Houses visits along the route to the Base of Everest. So many people ask me about the tea. How is it? What’s it like? What was your favorite flavor? I learned quickly that it really wasn’t about the tea but about the Nepalese culture.

Almost all teahouses in Nepal began as family-run ventures, providing food, lodging and of course tea, for the weary trekker. One tea house stayed with me through out my trek in the valley: Hotel Countryside in Dingboche. Run by Ang Norba, she is 29 and has a 5 year old son, and her cook, Sapana Rai, who is 25 years old.

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One of the few women Sherpas.....

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One of the few women Sherpas.....

We were going to the Base of Everest. I am a flatlander living in CA. Everest??? The base camp??? I invested in some new hiking boots and started climbing up any hill I could find. I felt like I was in pretty good shape as I boarded the plane for Nepal months later.  

My trip started in Kathmandu. When I exited the airport a wave of heat enveloped me as I was greeted by a mixture of sights, sounds and smells. I was ushered into a cab soon to be barreling through traffic-jammed streets towards my hotel. The hair-raising car trip was intoxicating. 

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