Step by step up and around the mountain streaks of blood slowly streamed out of our legs and into our soaking socks. By visual inspection we could see the battle wounds and the dread of being drained of our blood was a reality. As we marched through the wet and foggy forest the unforgiving savages outnumbered us and our fate would be sealed if we stopped. No choice but to keep walking…keep pushing forward through the aches, pain, and coldness.

It would be sinful to not tempt the fate and trek among the Himalayas Mountains, exploring the splendor and beauty of some of the tallest mountains in the world. Little did we know we were walking into a bloody battlefield filled with some of the most bloodthirsty savages known but we survived to tell the tale!!!

Our voyage took us several bumpy hours West of Kathmandu to an area called Pokhara. The views of the Himalayas are supposedly amazing but we encountered the force of the monsoon season that hindered our views but not our spirits. We were determined to undertake a multi-day trek into the Annapurna Mountain Range. As we rambled up the side of the mountain path every step became more deadly than the last due to the relentless rain making every step and stone slicker by the second. Every stride needed to be calculated to ensure proper footing and our heads were literally in the clouds while our bodies might as well have been submerged in water given our water-logged boots, soaked socks and dripping rain jackets.

Without advanced warning the quiet trek in the rain became an eerie feeling of dread. Like some primitive barbarians of some lost northern Celtic tribe beating their war drums loudly sending vibrations and energy of the vicious battle that is looming.   The relentless rain replaced the traditional war drums and as each raindrop burst and exploded upon the dusty compacted earth, stone and jungle leaf; the call of war was sent out far and wide. It was feeding time!!!

My mind began to wonder of the battle sagas of roman legionnaires marching tirelessly through the cold, foggy, wet, and hostile territories of Britannia while the blue painted faces of barbarians stalked them along the mountain path. We had our own enemies stalking us from every angle. It was a brutal and pestering feeling thinking that our blood would be drained from us as we continued with every step.

The bursting raindrops sent shockwaves that pulsated through the ground beckoning the blood-sucking savages known as leeches to make ready for the fatal ambush upon their unprepared victims. Never in my life would I have thought that rain..simple harmless rain would be a war call for these parasites. As the rain continued to pound against the earth, the dread and fear became real knowing that more and more of those bloodsuckers were dangling from leafs on that muddy trail ready to attach to our legs or laid submerged in small paddles waiting for our boots to make contact and silently work its way up into our soaking socks. The worst part were many of these ugly wormy parasites were tiny and impossible to see until you found a quick moment to strip out of your sopping socks to witness a handful of these bloodsuckers feasting on your warm blood slowly draining your life forces from you without you ever realizing it.

Besides the frantic checking for leeches every 8 steps, the limited views were amazing. I can only imagine what the mountain ranges would look like on a clear sunny day. The next visit to Nepal will not be in monsoon season, we had enough of the disgusting leeches, plus we have Everest to climb. Let mark that one on the bucket-list.