The preperation

Sometime in June -

Having signed up for what is going to be the biggest challenge in my life,it was time to get the act together. I was already on a training schedule with my fabulous PT. But that was not going to be enough, I had to start walking and walk loads. I signed up for the first 15 mile walk near Henley. Henley is a beautiful place on Thames but does not have a lot of hills. Fairly flat so was happy for it to be my first training walk.

With trainers and a half jacket we set out on a sunny day which turned quickly into a cloudy wintry day and then heavy showers. Much encouragement for the first ever walk which was that long it was time to wake up and start buying kit. Every single person I met on the walk was inspirational. With everyone telling me to get the boots as quickly as I can we returned home after what was a nice day out in Henley. I was frozen in my car and my trainers had a puddle in them.

It was a good wake up call to start collecting the kit and practice in it. With 4 months to go before the big day I set out boots shopping with a dear friend. It was hard deciding between the heavy weights but finally settled on the Scarpa ones. Leather finish and Gore-tex so heavy duty waterproof boots good for any climate conditions. They look good and it was now time for make them worn out..! Bring on the walking ..!

The decision

Some time in May-

Me and Uday were out travelling the most picturesque Austria. The mountains came calling. The beautiful black forest in Germany, the alps resonating with sound of music in Austria were just truly amazing. It was a memorable experience to roam through the streets of Paris and have a drink in the old Parisian cafe. The roaming around in Austrian alps was truly bliss. But somewhere the inner self was telling me to go out and do something extra ordinary, something incredible which will be for life. I was struggling walking through random slopes of the alps and I did not like that self of mine a bit. I was better at this once and I wanted that back. I needed a challenge, a goal to focus on.

And there came the decision to climb the tallest free standing mountain in the world- Mt. Kilimanjaro. When should I do it, how should I prepare, am I fit enough, do I have enough time to prepare? Lot of such questions flooded in the mind. But the inner self was telling me it was now or never. I had to do it this year to get my old self back. I had been thinking over the Kili trek for a while. Having discussed an option to do so back in March with one of Uday's friends it was not an idea out of nowhere. The trigger was already set.

I told this to Uday and he was ever supporting. We came back from the trip and Uday had to leave for India. The moments I dread to face. Going to the airport and watch the loved one leave for a far away land. But this time I came back from the airport determined.

It was time to make things real. I researched about Action Challenge and the dates they had on offer seemed to match mine. It was time to attend the challenge briefing and then register for the same. The briefing was quiet daunting but exciting at the same time. I decided to take the plunge and put the registration money in. This was the seal. There was no turning back now. 

Just go where the path takes you..!

That was definitely our motive when we started off from our cottage in Switzerland. It was a small place in the Berner Oberland with views of amazing ski slopes (lush green due to the summer). We got into the car and like old style opened a big map of the beautiful country. All we wanted to do was just explore the country side. And there we were on the road to nowhere..! Singing to the tune of 'Hum jo chalne lage, chalne lage hai yeh raaste..!' we headed off in the direction of Lausanne.
Instead of taking the motorway we decided to take the smaller roads off the main motorway. Without a destination in mind it was a journey to explore the country.
Just a few miles into the journey and it was a sight of lush green fields with amazing winding roads.
It was time to pause and breathe in the fresh air and observe the nature around us. It was such a peaceful place with hardly any vehicle passing by. With a sweet sound of cow bells heard from a distance adding to the dreamy feeling of the place.
We paused for a while, felling happy for the peaceful beginning of a week's holiday. Then headed off again on the road following the course of it, turning as the road turns with amazing scenic views around.
A bit ahead on the road the landscape was completely alpine with meadows and houses with slanting roofs and cow bells heard at a very long distance. About an hour and a half into the journey the stomach woke us up from the peaceful dreamy state of mind. It was time to hunt for food. And we realized we were in complete luck when we saw the L'etivaz board. :)

It was L'etivaz cheese shop. It not only sold the cheese but also offered cheese tasting. There was an informative video on the process used in making this cheese. The hard work that is put in by the farmers, the natural fodder i.e. the alpine meadows on which the cows graze and the natural heating done on wood fire makes the cheese amazingly delicious. We had a tour of the cellars where the cheese is stored. Although the final cheese is very tasty the cellars are a nightmarish experience due to the ammonia smell. The ammonia formed due to the natural reaction of the cheese with air. In spite of the smell, it was a place to see as there were hundreds of cheese discs weighing twenty to thirty kilos being kept on the wooden racks. The cellar employs a robot to turn the cheese weekly and to wash it with salt and water in order to maintain the firmness of the cheese.
The last step in the entire experience after understanding how the cheese is made and maintained in the cellars was tasting it.
We were given not one but four different types of cheese to taste. The variety being young cheese made each year and sold withing 3-4 months of making it, a year old cheese, two year old cheese, a three year old cheese and a soft cheese variety special to the region. I loved all of them but relished the soft cheese and the white wine. The white wine was to aimed at cleansing the palate after eating one type of cheese so that all tastes can be felt differently. It was an amazing meal for both of us. We relished every moment and bite of the cheese. After such a delightful experience it was time to move ahead to explore the region even further. The journey was beautiful and the cheese tasting was fantastic. The day was already made but what lied ahead of us was even more exciting but that calls in for a different post.