Thank You For Everest

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To My Valentine Trainer

The iconic photo opportunity at Everest Base Camp

We met in Egypt. And had four days together. He made me laugh, something clicked and there was that spark. We talked about me visiting him in Milan but as a teacher it had to be the school holidays and it seemed way too long off. We exchanged details and said goodbye.

Back home I decided to go with my gut instinct. I rang him a few weeks later. Very happy to hear from me, he asked when I was going to visit. I responded with my flight details for my arrival at Lineate Airport four months later.

We had twelve wonderful days in Italy. After that there was no looking back. The remainder of the year was a romance of long distance calls and then he returned to his hometown Melbourne. We spent the summer holidays together and then I returned to Whyalla to teach and he stayed in Melbourne to work. Then one day he flew on two planes to Whyalla and proposed and flew back the next morning.

Six months later in January we travelled to Italy to live. He thought it would be a good idea to escape the cold Italian winter before settling in. I liked the idea of a nice Thai beach somewhere.  Well I got the sand and the T stuck too. Translated, the Sahara Desert and Timbuktu.

North West Africa was not my idea of a holiday but it was an adventure, like I had never experienced. We bumped around Algeria, Niger, Mali, Senegal and The Gambia for three months. And yes, we got to Timbuktu.

Everest Base Camp was just another remote place not on my travel plan. However, this adventure required a certain level of fitness and training. And so, my husband became The Trainer.

The Trainer designed our training plan, cajoled, encouraged, and nagged to keep me on track to make sure we would make our EBC trek in the best condition and without aches and pains.

He was the trek researcher, designer and organiser, packing mastermind and photographer. If it wasn’t for the Trainer I would not have been to this amazing part of the world and had this wonderful experience

One friend said to me, “You’d follow him anywhere.” She’s right, I probably would.

the view above Periche on the way to Dughla EBC Trek Trail
Another Perfect day in the Khumbu

To my Valentine Trainer … the best is yet to come.

39 thoughts on “Thank You For Everest”

  6. What a beautiful love story Louise! You and the Trainer were (still are) match made in heaven! Keep on making adventures together! I believe that’s part of staying in love forever!

    Like

  24. Louise, this is such a fantastic post. Loved reading your story even though you’d told me some of it in person. Fabulous photos too. Somehow in writing it’s even more special.
    May you have many more wonderful, exciting adventures together. xx ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Thank you for sharing your love story Louise. It reads like a book…a fairy tale! So often, when one clicks romantically with a person while far from home it’s a beautiful but fleeting moment. It’s wonderful that you guys didn’t let the miles stand in your way.

    Liked by 2 people

  37. This is such a sweet and romantic story – a real testament to how shared passions can bring people together, and how they can inspire each other.

    Liked by 1 person

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