Update from the Himalayas!
July 10, 2024
Trip update 1
The mystery has been revealed! After months of anxiously waiting to share the secret, we revealed our destination in a Survior-esque challenge! We gave the crew 4 different challenges in order to unlock the secret location. One of the challenges was with Zoe to go on a scavenger hunt across the International Terminal in Atlanta to collect the requested items! Harrigan successfully completed his challenge by getting 13 ketchup packets, Eva Rose found the water bottle with the most stickers, Livvy searched to find a Moondance wristband, and Julia got a selfie with the birthday boy himself (Harrigan)! Together they unlocked a miniature Buddha statue.
Another challenge was to collect fun facts from everyone in both groups and report back to May May! Riley and Lauren were quick on the job, chatting up all of her new friends! A Stephen Curry basketball
was revealed.
Sofie put her brain to work on an airport currency math problem with Jack to reveal a snow leopard.
Will, Daviss, Walker, and Charlie did some last minute altitude training with Travis to earn their mountain goat figurine. Burpees, pushups, and squats galore!
Finally, with all clues in hand, they lodged their final guess of Nepal, only to be surprised when the group chanted “FLIP THAT SIGN!” to reveal we were headed to India! Cheers could be heard al around the Atlanta airport as everyone was thrilled to start our adventure. With smiles we thanked Hayes for joining us and were ready to head out…
But we had one final surprise up our sleeve, a birthday celebration for Harrigan’s 19th birthday! Party poppers, birthday glasses, and an echoingly loud Happy Birthday song were all part of the celebration! We couldn’t have been more happy to be a part of his special day.
With a flight to catch, and an adventure to begin, we quickly checked our bags and headed to security. With a small flight delay, we had the chance to explore every terminal in the Atlanta airport and grabbed some dinner before getting ready to board our flight. Riley and Eva Rose couldn’t be happier that their last meal in the US was a nice Mexican bowl from Willy’s.
Our 13.5 hour flight was spent playing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and catching some zzz’s. Millionaire status was achieved by Julia! We even had all 3 meals and two snacks to pass the time (the flight attendants particularly liked feeding our group and constantly were checking to make sure we were full and happy!). Julian played endless rounds of Majong and enjoying stretching his legs in the aisle.
Once we arrived in Doha we quickly made our way to our next gate. Harrigan was a big fan of the famous yellow bear! The 3.5 passed quickly and soon we landed in Delhi.
Our amazing guide Gulzar met us at baggage claim to help collect our luggage and anticipation filled the air to see India for the very first time. We jumped onto our bus and headed to our hotel for the evening. After a quick night’s rest and fast moonup we were greeted by an incredible breakfast buffet.
The spread included chocolate chip pancakes, chicken sausage, watermelon juice, potatoes, tasty yoghurt, papaya, and pastries galore. Walker even dared to try the traditional buttermilk (and of course everyone joined in!) It was so fun to hear Sofie keep remarking that she just couldn’t believe we were in India.
Then it was back to the airport – 3rd times the charm to get us to our home for the next few weeks! The views of the snowcapped mountains took our breath away as we descended into Ladakh. Leh is a cold, dry desert and the views are something from out of this world!
We then headed to our guesthouse for the evening and had a tasty lunch of traditional Indian food. They greeted us with traditional white scarves welcoming us to Leh with the snow and clouds of the mountains and the purity and love they hope to show us. Gulzar gave us a quick briefing of the area and his experience- his family has been living here for over 400 years!
Everyone then retreated to their rooms for a nice (and well-earned) siesta! The best part of our guesthouse is that our rooms have balconies that look out on the mountains and we can chat with each other from the balcony! Daviss, Charlie, and Will particularity like to chatter back and forth as they get ready in their rooms.
After our naps, we prepped our gear for trekking and then headed out to the garden to soak in the beautiful weather- 70’s and sunny. As the sun set we headed into dinner where we enjoyed curry pasta and tasty naan.
Then it was off to the best part of the night- our first Moonup! We talked hopes, goals, memories and even what vegetables we self-identify as. Daviss is a proud bok choy, Julian a celery, and Julia a cucumber. Our silly conversation turned more serious as we shared how much Moondance means to us and how we want to soak in every last moment of this group and the culture we will get to experience. Livvy and Harrigan were named as our next LODs! We can’t wait to watch them shine as our designated leaders.
We are off to an unbelievable start to our trip, and we couldn’t be more grateful to share it with this special group. Truly there is an air of magic in this group, this destination, and this trip. We feel so lucky.
We will keep you posted as our adventure continues!
Cheers,
Zoe and Travis
