Two weeks after a powerful earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,000 people, news came this morning that a second quake has struck, this one magnitude 7.3 and centered near the village of Namche Bazaar near Mt. Everest.
Namche is a place that Leah and I visited in 2007 and it is very dear to us. After spending my entire adult life in mountains and never having problems with altitude, I got altitude sickness, big-time, in Namche. The experience scared and humbled me, and, as I recovered -- with good care from Leah and some gentle, easygoing Nepali friends -- I learned to value each day of life.
Namche Bazaar is also where I first encountered Tibetans (first photo below,) traders who had made the difficult journey over the Himalaya from Tibet to Nepal and, to me, were quite mysterious. I guess it can be said that Namche is where my involvement with the Pacific Northwest Tibetan community began.
Early reports say that several dozen people have died in this latest quake; and, as always, but particularly today, my heart is with my brothers and sisters in Nepal.
