How one traveler jumpstarted her outlook with a life-changing adventure in Nepal
Occasionally, we all fall into hurtful patterns of holding ourselves back and being afraid to try new things. That’s why at OAT and Grand Circle, the very foundation of our company culture is based on taking risks, and pushing ourselves one extra step further than we ever imagined we could.
Alan and I cherish stories like Mary Lou’s because they remind us why we got into the travel business in the first place: to change people’s lives. I give Mary Lou a ton of credit—and I hope this story inspires all of our travelers the way it’s inspired me.
— Harriet
Mary Lou with her first Nepal Trip Leader, Hari, during their recent reunion in New York.
By Mary Lou D’Altorio of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 14-time traveler & Overseas Adventurers’ Club member
I just returned from my second trip to Nepal. It was the tenth anniversary of my first visit to Nepal with OAT and my 14th OAT trip. Those ten years have been an amazing journey of, to use OAT’s words, “learning and discovery” and I want to say, “Thank you.”
Ten years ago, I was recovering from the unexpected loss of a 36-year marriage. My courageous response was to roll up in a ball in the back of the closet for about three years and search for creative ways to whine, “Woe is me.”
I did, however, come out of the “Woe is me” closet occasionally for a bridge game. At one of these games, there was a gentleman who had just come back from an OAT trip to Turkey. (I had never met him before. He was visiting from Florida and was not a regular at that game.)
I perked up at his enthusiasm. He brought me a brochure the following week. I took it home and studied it, but was perplexed. I had always loved to travel and had gone to Western Europe many times during my marriage … but off-the-beaten path travel never appealed to me because I had always been certain that I didn’t want to go anywhere that you couldn’t plug in your hairdryer. I had always ignored group travel because I thought there would be complainers … and I hate folks who complain. But I was alone now, so study the brochure I did.
I was fascinated by the exotic sound of the trip to Nepal and I told myself that only seasoned travelers would choose a place as remote as this so there would be very few complainers. (I was actually right about that, by the way.)
I knew I needed a jumpstart, so jumpstart I did! I jumped right into magical Kathmandu. I was a budding amateur photographer and I could not believe the beautiful sights and sounds that surrounded me.
“Why, I ask, is it always me who gets picked to wear the hat and hold the chicken?” Mary Lou, we think you have your infectious sense of humor to thank for that!
Our guide was a retired Gurkha: quiet, dignified, funny, and very knowledgeable. He made me eager to learn about his world. His name was Hari.
I joined a group of ten and OAT provided me with a roommate (with whom I am still friends and with whom I still travel). The group bonded quickly. I was delighted.
Then we entered the trekking area. What I neglected to explain when describing my time rolled up in the closet is that I rolled up with Dairy Queen and gained a great deal of weight.
My guide, Hari, was kind. He said to me one night at dinner, “You know, Mary Lou, you can do this.” I looked at him and decided that if Hari said I could do it, then by golly, I would do it. And I did it.
And that was the beginning, my friends, of some wonderful adventures. I have been on all seven continents with you. I have stood, mouth agape, in multiple places and said to myself, “Mary Lou, you’re WHERE?” (My sister even gave me a shirt that says that.)
Mary Lou with the lucky Art Bonneau, who has joined her on six of her OAT adventures.
Since 2002, I have done many of my trips with the guy who is now in my life and he has learned and enjoyed too. I just returned from my second trip to Nepal, where it all began. I smile when I think about it.
While in Nepal on this second trip, I reunited with my very first trekking guide, Thapa. One morning at 5:30 a.m., I dragged my chair off of my veranda to the grassy area by my room to sit and smile and wait for the sunrise. I sat there awhile and then I felt a tap on my shoulder, looked up, and found Thapa—just as he had been ten years ago.
He bent and kissed my forehead and said, “Good morning, Mary,” and put two cups of Nepali tea on the table beside me. Then he pulled over a chair and sat with me. We raised our cups of tea, clinked them, and together we toasted the ten years, the mountain, and our reunion.
Several months ago, I also reunited with my former guide, Hari, for lunch in New York City. He was in the country visiting his son. I had much to thank him for too. After all, he said I could do it and I’ve never looked back.
So thank you, Harriet. You have found us magical places and knowledgeable guides to teach us about them. You have opened the doors to an awareness of hospitable folks everywhere and the understanding that we all want pretty much the same thing, no matter what our differences may be.
If you’re ready to take that first step as a solo traveler, we’re here to help. Find out how.
Discover Nepal & the Mystical Himalayas with OAT.