A Look Back at Adventures in 2023

On January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Nepal, Rwanda6 Comments

We were more quiet this past year than we have been previously, but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t busy. We are truly looking forward to the new year and going on new adventures, but it is always worth looking back at the places that we visited last year. We were able to go on two truly spectacular trips last year, the first being to Dubai and then to Nepal in March and the second was our trip to Rwanda in September. In between were able to visit some other places closer to our new home on the east coast including Ocean City, Maryland, as well as spending time in Washington DC.

Going to Kathmandu in Nepal was an absolutely amazing experience that we will certainly treasure forever. The highlight of the trip was taking a high-altitude helicopter to see the base camp at Mount Everest. We have spent many years hiking in the mountains of Colorado, but there is something truly magical about standing amongst the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains. In addition to seeing the incredible scenery, we also spent time visiting the temples and learning about the fascinating culture. The people were extremely friendly and made us feel welcome from the moment that we landed in the country.

Sitting on the Boat in Lake Kivu in Rwanda

Later in the year, we returned to Africa once again, this time to trek to spend time with gorillas and then chimpanzees in Rwanda. After our trip to Kenya and Tanzania in 2021 where we went on an extended safari, we made a pledge to ourselves that we would return one day to see the mountain gorillas in the wild. It was certainly worth the effort of hiking through thick vegetation of the rain forest to spend time with these docile creatures who seemed as truly interested in spending time with us as we did with them. No words could ever truly capture the awe and beauty of the time that we spent amongst these incredible animals.

Either of these trips would have been an incredible memory that would last a lifetime, but to do both of them in the same year was even more spectacular. The many, many hours that spent traveling to and from these remote locations was worth every minute for the experiences that we had and the people that we met. We have yet to share all of our stories from those two trips, so we are committed to being better in 2024 to post more about those trips as well as the adventures that we are planning on for this coming year. If this year is anywhere close to 2023, we certainly expect to have many more adventures to share in the coming months.

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal

On May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Nepal4 Comments

One of the last places that we visited during our time in Kathmandu was to Swayambhunath Stupa, which is located on the hillside overlooking the city. It is commonly referred to as “monkey temple” due to the abundance of monkeys that live in the trees that surround the temple grounds. Although there are plenty of monkeys and, as always, you need to be careful around them as they will steel anything that they can get their hands on, we found the nickname to be somewhat derogatory. The temple grounds and the large stupa at the top of the grounds are definitely worth visiting and it is quite busy because it is located on the edge of the city and is a short drive from most of the hotels.

Colorful Buddha Greets You as You Start to Climb Up the Hill

Some of the Many Monkeys that Give the Stupa It’s Nickname

Looking Up at the Architecture of the Stupa

The shape of the Swayambhunath Stupa has very specific meaning as the white, round dome base represents the earth and the 13 golden tiers on the tower of the stupa represent the 13 stages to nirvana. Also, the face of Buddha on the four sides of the tower each face in the directions of west, north, east, and south. There is much more to the temple grounds than just the stupa as there are many different temples and statues surrounding the stupa. There are also the famous prayer wheels that wrap around the base of the stupa and faithful will spin each wheel as they walk around the stupa.

Prayer Wheels and People Walking Around the Stupa

Unique Artwork and the Iconic Prayer Flags

It was the most crowded location of all of the places that we visited while in Kathmandu other than perhaps the Durbar Square in Kathmandu. You will also find plenty of vendors selling goods around the temple grounds and we actually purchased a set of the famous prayer flags before leaving to go back to our hotel. In addition to the stunning architecture, there are also wonderful views of the city from the top of the hill, but it was a little cloudy on the day that we visited, so the views weren’t as dramatic as they might be on a clear day. Especially considering how close it is to the heart of Kathmandu, it is certainly worth taking a couple of hours to visit the Swayambhunath Stupa.

Interesting Features Around Every Corner

These Prayer Displays Were Located Around the Stupa

Helicopter Tour to Base Camp at Mount Everest from Kathmandu

On March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Nepal5 Comments

One of the tours that we planned for our visit to Kathmandu was taking a helicopter tour up to the Mount Everest base camp. It was, without a doubt, not only a highlight of the trip to Nepal, but one of the most fascinating experiences that we’ve ever had the privilege to enjoy. Just the time in the helicopter as you travel from Kathmandu over the foothills and then rising ever higher into the Himalayan mountains was a spectacular experience. Then when the helicopter landed and we were able to stand on a peak overlooking base camp at a dizzying altitude of 17,500 feet and look up at the summit of Mount Everest, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Dona with Mount Everest in the Background

Flying to Base Camp

The total tour takes around 4 hours as you fly from Kathmandu to the tiny Lukla Airport where many other helicopters would also land, provisions would be taken to the various hiking camps, and we even saw one plane make the harrowing take-off from the very short runway. After a 10 minute wait at Lukla, we then continued on to the valley at Pheriche, where our group of 5 was split with 2 people continuing on to the Kalapatthar while we enjoyed amazing views of all of the surrounding peaks until the helicopter returned to drop off the other 2 people and the 3 of us were flown to the viewing point. We only had about 10 minutes at the overlook site as we hadn’t had time to acclimatize to the altitude and even after a short amount of time, we felt a little light headed as we breathed in the very thin air.

Helicopter Landing at the Base of the Mountains

After we returned to Pheriche to pick up the other 2 passengers, we continued on to the Hotel Everest where we were able to get breakfast and watch all of the hikers as they made their way up from the valley below before continuing to their campsites. We weren’t initially sure if we were going to be able to go on the tour as the high altitude helicopters only fly when the weather is good and the skies aren’t cloudy as they can’t tell when a cloud might be concealing a mountain peak. On the day that we went, the skies were clear and we had amazing views of Mount Everest. As we sat eating breakfast, however, the conditions changed and the clouds came whipping across the peaks and our tour guide quickly escorted us to our helicopter to fly us back to Kathmandu during a slight snow squall.

When we finally arrived back in Kathmandu and returned to our hotel, we had time to sit with a glass of wine and review the photographs and videos that we had taken. As with anything, as amazing as the photographs might be, there is no way to truly explain how it felt to stand there at the base of such an iconic mountain as Mount Everest and all of the other high Himalayan peaks. It will be a memory that we will truly cherish for the rest of our lives and something that we would recommend to anyone who visits Kathmandu. It isn’t an inexpensive venture, but well worth the cost for the incredible experience that it provides.

Another Video Heading to Base Camp

Helicopters Arriving at Lukla