A friend saves me. He lives in Trentino and has a friend who is in Nepal right now, 'get in touch with him, - he tells me - you can find him on social media'.
I look for him on social media, I find him, I write to him. And he, with a stick in his hand, a backpack on his shoulder, with the snow-capped peaks all around him, replies: "Look, I'm with them, I'm happy. The owner is a good guy and has fair prices. Don't worry".
And finally, the one who will be 'my' agency comes out.
He is doing the Annapurna ring. Annapurna is one of the Eight-thousanders.
I read up. I like it.
I see shots, I put up with videos. I'm excited.
I read the technical notes on the sites that offer it, he's already got me, I want to do this trek.
I see other shots and other videos, I see Indian lines like at Conad. It's out of the question.
No Everest base camp.
No Annapurna Ring.
Too bad, I even liked the name but too many decoys.
Wait, there's that one, what's it called? I can't remember the name, you saw a video, very well done, eh but it's a long time old, it doesn't matter, help yourself with the chronology, it's true, the chronology, then someone says social media. So, I scroll scroll scroll, back back back, not this one, not that one, not this one, not this one either, no, not this one either, this is a film, this is a documentary, the war in Ukraine, the elections in the USA, the government's maneuver, Fellini's films, Nino Manfredi, Red Desert by Antonioni, where the hell is it, I don't remember when I saw it... here it is! Manaslu circuit! Manaslu!
The mountain of the spirit. This is its meaning.
I go back to my agency's website, I type the prompt in the search engine box inside the website 'manaslu'... and here the itinerary appears.
Splendid photos.
Beautiful places.
The welcome: there is.
The room in Kathmandu: there is.
The advice on what to bring: there are.
Fantastic, everything is there.
It's him, it's my trek.
By the way, private group. Perfect.
Participants: minimum two.
What do you mean, at least two?!
Well, the Manaslu region is on the border with Tibet, special permits are required and in order to protect the local ethnic groups, only groups with a minimum of two participants are allowed. Translated, no treks only.
Nonsense! The guy in the video was alone!
Well, that's what he wanted you to believe. Go and look at the details under the video.
Sure, I'll go and look.
The details refer to the official website of the documentary's author.
I browse the official website of the documentary's author.
He explains everything to you. And he also explains that you can't go alone.
Come on, let's see other agencies.
Nothing. All the same. All at least two. The Manaslu region is on the border with Tibet, special permits are required and in order to etc etc etc.
No Everest Base Camp.
No Annapurna.
No Manaslu.