Shari and I each took a shower when we got here, and then we had lunch with Elsa and Manu and the guides and porters because Elsa and Manu decided to push on after lunch. Our tea house is set up on a hill overlooking the village with magnificent views of Annapurna out the dining room and bedroom windows. After lunch we walked down to town to say goodbye to Elsa, Manu, Mingma and Jingbu. We may see Elsa again when we get back to Kathmandu, but we will see them for sure in Paris.
Shari and I then looked at books in the stores and then bought some stuff (candy, cookies, toilet paper, etc.).
The boys did our laundry while we were in the town, and we came back to see it all hung out to dry - on a barbed wire fence (at least it won't blow away). Life here is certainly very different than back home.
We made arrangementswith Nar for our climb up Poon Hill in the morning to see the sunrise from the summit of Poon Hill, which is 1,475 feet above the village. We will start at 4:30 AM and it should take 45 minutes to get to the top. Hopefully, it will be clear. Supposedly, the views are breathtaking - a wide Himalayan panorama stretching from Dhaulagiri (26,794 feet - the world's 7th highest peak) to Manaslu (26,758 feet - the 8th highest), with the Annapurna range in between.
5/07: We got up just before 4 AM and started hiking up Poon Hill at 4:20 AM. The boys decided to sleep in, so it was just Shari, Nar and me, and all the other trekkers and their guides from the various tea houses. Quite a number of people at the top of the hill (about 100), which had a viewing tower and a small concession stand. We got there just after 5 AM and stayed about one hour. Unfortunately, it was somewhat hazy so we didn't have a very interesting sunrise. I took pictures anyhow, and I'm glad I hiked up there to see it.
I ate some hard boiled eggs when I got down and then Shari and I both went back to sleep for awhile. We finally headed out to Tadapani about 9:30 AM and it was one of my most enjoyable trekking days on the Circuit. We climbed steadily at first to a ridge with excellent views on either side. We must have walked for a few miles through a rhododendron forest that was past its prime, but still pretty. It must have been spectacular in March and April when the flowers were in bloom.
We climbed above 9,000 feet before we dropped down into the village of Deurali. Shari and I had a good time in Deurali buying all sorts of interesting things from the vendors there.
We dropped down quite steeply to a river gorge into the little village of Banthanti. While we were sitting having sodas and biscuits we could see langure monkeys in the trees on the hillside. A few ups and downs, and then a very tiring climb to Tadapani where we arrived about 2:30 PM. We checked out a few tea houses, (nothing too impressive) and finally chose the Fish-Tail View Top. Tadapani is known for its superb views but unfortunately it is overcast and we can't see much of anything (no view of Machhapuchhre at 22,942 feet - the Fish Tail Peak, but maybe we will see it tomorrow from Chhomrong.
We probably didn't pick the best place to stay. The room was kind of crummy, and the dining room had a somewhat slanted floor (therefore the table slanted, too). Oh well, it was only one night.
5/08: We got up early, ate a light breakfast and starting hiking by 7:20 AM. We could see the mountains a bit today but it was still hazy. Ups and downs today, but a fairly pleasant trek, although it was hotter today than yesterday.
I heard cuckoo birds for the second time today. The first time I heard them a few days ago, I thought it was a clock. The cuckoo birds in the clocks sound just like the cuckoo birds in the forest.
We arrived in Chhomrong by 11:15 AM. We thought it would be a 5-6 hour trek so we were surprised we got here in 4 hours. Chhomrong is best known for good pizza, so we got one for lunch. It really was good and the crust was actually crispy. Every other pizza I've had on the trail has just had a kind of soggy crust. I think I'll get pizza again for dinner.
We are staying in one of the first tea houses in Chhomrong - the Himalayan View, and it has incredible views of the mountains (all the tea houses here have good views because the village is set up high, overlooking the valley). Chhomrong is the start of the trek into the Annapurna Santcuary. The Annapurna Sanctuary is a valley with 10 peaks of 6,000 - 8,000 meters (20,000 - 26,000 feet) rising from it. We will trek for three days into the Sanctuary to get to Annapurna Base Camp at 13,550 feet. Becky said we should not need any acclimatization days because we have already been to high altitude, but we need to watch how we are feeling anyhow.
We had a very low key afternoon. We walked further into Chhomrong to check out a few other tea houses because we may stay in Chhomrong again on our way out of the Sanctuary. Then we read and did notes, etc. At one point it started raining and thundering with pretty strong winds. It was kind of neat to sit in the dining room and see the rain beating against the windows, and hear the wind blow everything around. Once it stopped raining, we were able to see the mountains a little better off in the distance.
5/09: I forgot to note yesterday that we passed above a village in which a celebration was occuring. Nar told us that many people from many villages come to a wedding. They bring money to help pay for the celebration, and alcohol to drink. The people putting on the party supply the food. I didn't understand what he said about gifts for the bride and groom. I think family gives gifts to them.
When we woke up today there was quite a bit of activity and noise at the tea house very early in the morning. Nar said a wedding celebration goes on for 5 days, and some people were coming back to the tea house from it and others were getting ready to go to it. There is lots of music and dancing at the wedding and everone gets to visit with people they haven't seen in a long time. It was neat to see people getting dressed up to go to a wedding.
We started trekking just before 7:30 AM and we actually went down for the first 50 minutes. There were well over 1,000 steps down through the village of Chhomrong (maybe I'll count them on the way back up). The Nepalis sure did a lot of work putting in those steps. Of course, what goes down must go up, so we spent the next two and a half hours going up. We took a nice break at Sinwua and I drank some orange Tang. It was delicious, so I bought some. Maybe that will keep me going for the next few days - a different taste. I also talked with two people who both work for Carnical Cruise Lines. Danesh (from India) is a waiter on the ships and Natasa (from Croatia) is a massage therapist. They work about 8 months of the year mainly cruising between L.A. and Mexico. I was hoping to see them in Bamboo but they must be staying at a differnt tea house. Hopefully, I'll see them tomorrow at Deurali, or the next day at Annapurna Base Camp.
We got to the Buddha Guest House in Bamboo about 11:30 AM. I had a beer and then decided to be daring and try something different for lunch - fried noodles with tuna and cheese (it had bits of galic and onion in it). I've been afraid to try tuna, but it was pretty good. It is so boring to eat the same things over and over, but most of the food makes me sick. After lunch I had a nice long two hour nap.
