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What's Ahead
View into valley from ChomrongAfter spending two nights at Annapurna Base Camp and trying to keep all my fingers intact as I merrily snapped away during the wee hours, it was time to return home. The first two days were a repeat of my journey into the sanctuary, but at Chomrong we turned west and headed through rhododendron forests and hillsides to Ghorepani. From this village, a pre-dawn hike up Poon Hill yielded magnificent views of 4 mountain ranges: The Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Macchapucchre, and Nilgiri. By this time, I was already battling a wicked head cold and getting up the 400m to the top of the hill was draining. My heart and lungs were working so hard I actually wasn't sure I was going to make it. Knowing I was sick, I took it slow and tried not to panic. When I reached the top, my companions for the morning said they had really struggled also and that I had managed not to stay too far behind them. Whether kindness or truth, I was relieved to hear it. The kicker was when we descended the hill after an hour of dancing around in the cold and found that the view from the front of our
Tricky Footing
Roots dominated the paths in this section. Shade is good. guesthouse was just as spectacular. I told Muna that next time we'll sit at the table with a never ending pot of tea and breakfast rather than work so hard for nearly the same view. She laughed and agreed.
On the way south from Ghorepani, we passed through the village of Hile which I really liked. It was by the river and the landscape was very green. While there, I witnessed the ladies at the guesthouse next door slaughter, gut and hang a sheep. It was a delicate and fascinating process and they kept laughing at me for my interest and stares. We had some excellent non-verbals as I peered down at them from the balcony and they gingerly took the animal apart while squatting on their haunches and dodging blood and rain.
Our last morning, we had a leisurely walk by the river down to Nayapul where our driver came to fetch us and drove us the last hour back to Pokhara. We celebrated with cold orange Fantas and promptly dozed off in the car on the ride back. After two weeks of dubiously prepared food and generous portions of plain lentils and rice (
daal baaht), I
treated myself to a sizeable beef steak cooked medium rare and a glass of red wine.
I spent several days in Pokhara recovering from my cold and letting my body rest from the stress. Many long hot showers were had and I slept for hours each day. The camera and backpack stayed at my hotel and my purse and I generously ate and drank. Pokhara is a small haven next to a lake. Mornings are best spent with some hot nepali milk tea lakeside, while sunset is best from the same spot with a cold beer. It was a mini-vacation after my hard work and I did absolutely nothing other than read and write.
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Chhaya
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Re-living it through you!
I loved the meditative sense of zoning out while trekking, too. I remember, too, that I was reading Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at the time and it was the perfect complement since Frodo and Sam spend all their time walking and walking and walking. I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself - reading your diary made me think back fondly on my trip. I still have a t-shirt I had made in Kathmandu somewhere of all the stops that my trek took! Chhaya