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Picture 001
The 20 seater plane we took to Lukla Hello all! So I survived and am alive and well. We ended our trekking early because we finished a bit earlier than expected and also we were tired and ready to come back. So after 15 days of trekking in the Himalayas we are all in better shape, a little tired, but ready to be back and for the next phase of our adventure. We may even try to change our flights to get to Thailand sooner than the 15th as that what was planned originally but will keep you all posted.
So trekking...part 1
We began our trek on sunday April 20 when we flew in a small, sketchy looking 20-seater plane from Kathmandu into Lukla. I was a bit nervous becuase we hadn't organized porters to carry our big bags in advance but were told that we could find some on arrival in Lukla. We were greeted by many asking if we needed porters and only minutes after landing at the smallest airport I have ever been at (yes Aunty Shelley, even smaller than Whitehorse!) So we hired a man named Pasan Sherpa who spoke very good english (he also does guiding so double bonus!) and his older
Pasan's community
Our porter Pasan's family and community people too brother Dowa. Now Pasan was likely in his early 40s and in good shape, well groomed; however Dowa was considerably older, spoke very little english and was pretty scruffy looking. We were concerned that we were having these older men carry our packs but we went with it anyway! But Dowa had a smile that was so great...he laughed a lot when we didn't understand each other but he was always good to bring up our spirits!
We walked first to Pasan's home so he could pick up his winter gear and his family was very kind to us. His wife invited us in for tea and we felt very welcome. Cultural note here....women sat on one side of the room, men on the other. Communication was difficult with his family and Dowa, but luckily Pasan could translate very well. We walked on to Phakding and stayed our first night in a Nepalese Teahouse at the cost of 100 Rupees a night for 2 people, which is roughly $1.50. Food however was considerably more expensive.
A note on food...it was always served hot, and there was more variety than I expected, but it was nothing but carbs, carbs,
Pasan's kids
These are Pasan's 2 youngest children. Age 14 and 12 carbs! The menu mostly consisted of rice, fried rice, noodles, fried noodles, potatoes, "pizza", soup which was just broth usually unless you got noodle soup! But it gave us energy and was usually very tasty!
We bought some peanut cookies and peanut butter along the way for some protein, and also had eggs, but fruit was only canned and expensive, and veggies were limited to potatoes (carbs!), some carrots, a bit of onion, and some green leafy looking stuff. So needless to say we are pigging out on the good stuff now that we are back in Kathmandu!
The terrain was of course very rocky, but the path was very well travelled and very busy in the first few days. Stone steps had been fashioned in parts to ease the uphill climbs. The second day was much more diffficult and took us about 7 hours to get to Namche Bazar. The morning was pretty easy, but the afternoon was BRUTAL! It was 2 1/2 hours of straight uphill with no down hill breaks. We gained 600m of altitude in 2 1/2 hours. Doesn't sound like much...HA! I felt my pulse in my toes and sometimes we were practically
porters
The Sherpa people are super people...seriously,they carry EVERYTHING up the mountains. taking 20 steps, then resting for 2 mins! But I only took standing breaks because if I sat down, my legs were like lead to stand back up. But we did it and day 3 was a aclimitization day. But not a day of rest. In order to help our bodies adjust to the lessening amount of oxygen, we hike up higher and then come back down to sleep. Tyler was not feeling good this day so he stayed back but the rest of us slugged it out!
We met many people along the way who were going to the same places around the same time, so we usually ended up at the same teahouse/lodge and made good friends. Juan from Spain I met at the airport before we left Kathmandu and I sat with him on the plane. he was travelling alone and we ran into him several times. As well 2 men from Tasmania (Australia) and one of them gave me his name and email and said I could stay at their place in Austalia when I go, so that is great, free accomodation. So Desiree....we are likely going to go to Tasmania and trek a bit
At the teahouse, resting!
Dowa,Tyler, Patrick, Me, Becky, and Pasan relaxing playing cards in Phakding around there so bring your walking shoes!! We also met a guy named Jordan from UK who is moving to Vancouver this summer so we chatted a lot with him...so many great people!
The stickers I brought from home were definately a hit with the kids as we travelled through various villages. We took pictures of many of them and I loved putting smiles on their faces...so adorable!
As we rose upwards each day and the treeline was just above us the wind was considerably more intense and we wore face sheilds (bandanas, neck warmer when it was cold) to help with the dust. Oh YA! The dust was crazy! Much dustier than I expected. No wonder i am now fighting a nasty sinus infection. We are all still sniffling a bit and the pollution of Katmandu is certainly not helping all that much! But nice to be out of that crazy wind...at the highest point it practically would blow you over...not an exageration!!
Showers in the lodges cost money...cold showers ran from about $1.50 to $3.00, and hot ones as much as $6.00. Being on the budget holiday mind set, Becky and I toughed it out
and went 15 days without a shower! We smelled FANTASTIC! We did get warm wash water and gave ourselves something akin to a bedbath every few days, but the first time we had cold water....brrrrrr.....it was not too much fun but nice to be a bit cleaner. We also had wetwipes which worked well to freshen up a bit at the end of each day. We also both had dry shampoo which did a semi-reasonable job of keeping our hair from getting too disgusting. I am proud to say that the boys paid for showers and the girls toughed it out! Yay girl power!
The lodges of course are not heated, and the higher we got the colder it got. Becky and I had rented our sleeping bags in Kathmandu as well as down jackets.However the sleeping bags were not that warm, but most ldoges had extra blankets that we used to keep warm. But a few nights, were pretty miserable, and being chilled from the second we got to the next place becuase we were so sweaty from hiking until the next day when we started hiking again was sometimes not that much fun. We had one set
Mingmar Sherpa
This is a very kind Buddhist monk, who invited Becky and I in for tea, then gave us blessings and silk scarves as a sign of good luck. Very chatty! of day clothes for hiking, and then night clothes...and that was pretty much it. So on top of not showering, we wore the same clothes for over 2 weeks! They could practically stand up on their own by the end of it! The dining area was heated with a potbelly stove fueled with....you guessed it Yak dung! Mmmmm....yak dung, how we remember! ACtually they used wood in the lower areas, but as we got higher and trees were scarce or non existent, it was dried dung! So we would finally get warmed up before we headed to a very cold bed. I would do jumping jacks before getting into bed, just to get the blood moving, and Becky and I pushed our beds together a few times for body heat!
Some nights definately went below 0, as the water on the ground was frozen in the am, so it was COLD. And those who know me, know what a cold person I am, so some nights I was pretty chilled and getting out of bed in the am was something I had to psyche myself up to! Sleep was ok when we were warm, but mostly broken and often
woke very early. We were always in bed by about 7:30pm and awake by about 5:30am.
I am gonna take a break here and start part 2 as I know this is already a lot to read!
Read on when you have time....
Cheers,
Carla
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Cindy
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Trekking-Part 1
Dear Lord! YOU ARE MY HERO, Carla! What a trip so far! I am going to read Part 2 now...