Huisa

Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica Jesús Silva says that the unprecedented initiative of a young Spaniard may provide fresh publicity for Jamaica overseas.

Thirty-four-year-old Juan Antonio Huisa will be climbing to the peak of Jamaica's Blue Mountains as he seeks to accomplish the unprecedented feat of scaling the highest mountains on every country in the world.

"With all the media attention this project is receiving in Spain and other countries - I think it is a very good opportunity to also highlight the beauties of Jamaica, and especially the Blue Mountains," Silva told The Gleaner during a meeting with Huisa at the Spanish Embassy.

A total of 193 countries will be visited in Huisa's sporting challenge, 'Summits of the World'. The expedition began in October 2008 and the first phase is expected to be completed by 2010. In the first phase, Huisa's plan is to visit countries through-out the Americas. Jamaica is, therefore, Huisa's 13th stop as he has already conquered the peaks in the USA, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba and The Bahamas.

Huisa told The Gleaner through a translator that he wanted to do something that had never been done by any other human being.

"In the 21st century, it is very hard to say I am going to do something new, and that is the reason this project is getting acceptance and popularity around the world," Huisa shared.

Huisa says he is also propelled by the fact that his three passions in life - travel, adventure and nature - are mixed into this project.

The Spaniard has already conquered the highest peak in the Americas - the Aconcagua mountain in Argentina. The mountain, which is the highest peak outside Asia, is approximately 7,000 metres high, towering over the 2,300-metre Blue Mountain Peak.

The mother of all mountains, however, will be Mount Everest, not simply because it is the highest in the world at approximately 8,848 metres, but because in another project last year Huisa had already tried Everest and nearly died from pulmonary oedema as a result.

"It is a very serious illness. If you don't come down, you die. I tried, I couldn't, I was evacuated due to that," Huisa shared.

Huisa says that he will try again.

andrew.wildes@gleanerjm.com