By Jay Walker
At the turn of the century Loretta Horvath and her husband Ralph – retired from their winery business and in their 70’s – decided to go on a voyage to Tibet with their neighbors, a doctor in Warrenton, Virginia. Why Tibet, I wondered?
First, some background: The Horvath’s had previously traveled to Alaska with their neighbors aboard the doctor’s aircraft. That’s when Loretta started to photograph her travels, eventually filling several albums from other trips, including Tibet.
The doctor suggested Tibet, adding that they should bring along enough food for a three-week stay that essentially meant, pack snacks. (They expected to find bottled water.) They flew to Tibet from New York, by way of Nepal.
When they finally entered Tibet, the trip was not exactly a guided luxury tour. First, they had to bring three weeks of American food that the doctor advised. In addition, Loretta had a load of film. And there were very limited hotel accommodations so most of the time they camped out.
The guides were the men who carried their baggage. Fortunately, the guide/carriers spoke English. The mountain roads were tricky, at one point they had to walk around a landslide on a narrow wall, then picked up another car on the other side.
Again, the guides were there to help avoid a fall down the mountain. One high point in the mountains was viewing the impressive home of the Dalai Lama. In the villages, Loretta was also impressed by the elaborate rituals of praying. She also has many photos of life in the villages, even including a view of a “third world” bathroom.
What was the lure of Tibet? “It was the adventure,” says Loretta. “I have saved the adventure in my photo albums and love to relive it in the pictures. The mountains were my favorites.”
Reprinted with permission from Our Neighborhoods.