Blogs from Annapurna, Nepal, Asia

Despues de 16 dias de trekking alrededor del Annapurna nos hemos tomado un merecido descanso. Una semana de relax en Pokhara...... nada de andar, nada de cuestas arriba, nada de pasar frio, nada de comer arroz, fideos...., solo dedicarnos a la buena vida, levantarte a la hora que te da la gana, comer cosas ricas (pescadito a la plancha, chuletones a la brasa) en una palabra, vaguear todo el dia y recuperar fuerzas. Una vez descansados y habiendo recuperado algun kilo de los que habiamos perdido, nos preguntamos......... otro trekking ?? Pues venga, ahora podemos ir al Santuario del Annapurna (ABC: Campamento Base Annapurna I uno de los ochomiles mas dificiles de escalar). En honor a la verdad, os diremos que nos costo colgarnos la mochila de nuevo, daba un poco de pereza pero que rapido ... read more

What a difference a sleep makes. Yesterday I was a tired anxious mess but today I wake up feeling great and very excited about the journey ahead. I decide on oat porridge for breakfast, figuring it’s good energy food. As struggle through the sloppy dribble I wonder how many days I will be able to stomach porridge before I break down and resort to eating something far less sensible. Maybe a day if the porridge is always this bad? From the moment I take my first step on the trail I love it, KC and me seem to be communicating much better and I’m pleased to see that he walks at a medium to slow speed after initially being worried that he would be very fast. KC walks especially slowly up hills which forces me to ... read more

After far too few hours sleep I woke up and frantically finished packing my bags all the while thinking why on earth did I leave this rather important task until moments before I was due to depart for my trek. My guide turned up at the hotel 30 mins early which left me with even less time to pack and to say goodbye to Sonia, who was by now the only other remaining Dragomite. I said a sad and rather rushed goodbye to Sonia before jumping in the Toyota Hiace that would transport me to foothills of the Annapurnas and the start point of my 20 day trek around the range. On the way out of the city we picked up a very nice English couple from Yorkshire who were trekking the same route but were ... read more

Time for some trekking! Well, after some breakfast and some driving. Woke up at 6AM after a terrible night's sleep. Dog barking. Super hard bed. Hard pillow. Had a nice breakfast of hard boiled eggs and muesli and yogurt (called curd in Nepal). Perfect breakfast before a 4 hour trek on the Annapurna Circuit. A short circuit. There is a big circuit that takes over 2 weeks to complete. We were doing a short one that takes just 4-5 days to complete. We piled in the tiny taxi, the five of us, and first went to the village of Naya Pul where our trek would begin. After a trip to the toilet, we were on our way. We were trekking as far as Tikhedhunga today, just a 4 hour walk. In Naya Pul we got our ... read more

So, today we begin in the usual manner- 2 porridge and 1 apple pancake for 3. We say goodbye to our best Bavarian friends (actually our only Bavarian friends) and Kushang Sherpa. It is a constant in travel, I think, that friendships are accelerated because you have such a limited time to develop them, I hope we meet Dani and Michael again one day- who knows maybe on a Langtang Trek, maybe Europe, maybe even Perth (maybe not Perth- it is very far away from the rest of the world)? Mary, Stephane, Dhana and I decide to spend a couple of hours exploring Kagbeni, we weave through the ancient streets, under buildings and through backyards. Lots of little cows, chooks and dogs. The air is still this morning. I really love the feel of the place, ... read more