Beautiful (5am) start to the day. Clear blue sky, sun illuminating Ganesh Himal, the rest of the valley below in shade. Cold night, fleece on whilst breakfasting on porridge. Too hot to trek in a fleece so changed into a tshirt before the walking started. Kept my woolly hat on.
The trek guides are excellent, really good sence of humour, mostly at our expense. After figuring out that Nepali flat was anything but flat, the new joke is them pointing out a village on top of a mountain when they get asked where we are headed. The other is when they get asked how much longer, the answer is always 5 + 1. They also keep undoing the bungees on Joseph's backpack so the plastic washing bowls he carries spill on the floor. Never gets old.
So today's trek according to the guides:
'Little bit down, across the river, little bit up'
'Little bit down, across the river, little bit up'
Transalation:
2 hours of steep downhill, across a wire bridge suspended above the river, followed by 3 hours of steep uphill steps and narrow tracks. Also dodging the Mule trains carrying goods up and down the paths.
2 hours of steep downhill, across a wire bridge suspended above the river, followed by 3 hours of steep uphill steps and narrow tracks. Also dodging the Mule trains carrying goods up and down the paths.
Constantly changing views of Ganesh Himal and its snow capped peaks, beautiful villages and seemingly endless happy people.
What does make me laugh is the sound of 13 trekkers saying 'Namaste' to someone who then has to say it 13 times (they are so polite and respectful)
The village we are staying in is over 1800m, no wonder we were all so tired on the climb.
Quick (freezing cold) shower, change into dry clothes and time for Egg Chow Mein for lunch. Such a treat after a pretty solid week of Dal Bhat twice a day!
Catherine and I went off in search of a bakery the team had mentioned. We quickly got lost in the laberinth of village paths and then heard a voice calling out. A young lady asked if we were lost and then offered to take us to the bakery. Ten minutes later we arrived, the young lady skipped off. A sweet coffee and cupcake later we mentioned we were looking for proper chocolate. The lady who owned the bakery told us we wouldn't find chocolate and then promptly gave us a bar of Lint Orange chocolate and wouldn't accept payment. Before we left we ordered a cake as a surprise for the team. 'Alpha 5, No mercy' was the inscription on the cake, its become our team moto after the mouse killing spree in Tawal.
On the way back to the hostel, Catherine and I ate half the bar, feeling like school kids sneaking a smoke behind the bike sheds, with mountain views to add to the enjoyment - blissful!
A game of football against the trek guides and some local children. I spectated and messed about with the other kids, dancing and joking around. I taught them a silly trick my grandfather taught me, bet their parents are gonna have fun tonight!
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