May 4, 2003
Woke up to a beautiful view. It was a view that we could not see yesterday as we came in. We had Dhaulagiri (26,794 feet) behind us and Annapurna I in front of us, which we couldn't see that well.
Walking is so much nicer when you feel better. The scenery was beautiful with steep cliffs and mountains full of greenery. We left the snow peaks. It was a pleasant walk.
Manu and Elsa caught up to us about lunch time. We stopped for a drink with them, but continued on. The day was pretty long and my toes were hurting from going down hill. I was looking forward to getting to Tatopani.
We came in to a village and there were a bunch of horses rolling around in the dirt. I realized that the horses just arrived home and had their packs taken off and they were trying to make their backs feel better. Many of the horses had sores that were bleeding. I think the animal rights people would have something to say about it.
We got into Tatopani about 3:30. It is 5:00 and it is pouring. I am glad to get here in time. The room we are at is not very nice, but it is dry. I try to compare it to the AT and say that at least I have a dry place to sleep and some of the shelters were worse than these rooms.
The dining room was full tonight. The Dutch people we met in Manang are here. We hadn't seen them since Thorung Phedi. The German couple that we met last night finally arrived. They were soaking wet. The rain came down pretty hard.
Jason, from England, who we met the night before, was also there.
I had meat for the first time since I have been on this trek. I am not quite sure what animal it came from, but I didn't want to know. Laurie and I split meatballs as an appetizer and then I had macaroni with meat sauce. It was good but didn't eat it all because there was a delicious looking chocolate cake calling me. You could tell this place was better off than some because the soda was real cold, which meant they had a refrigerator, I also saw they had a microwave. I am curious how they baked the cake. It was good but ice cream or milk would have been nice. Ice cream, they don't have and I wouldn't trust the milk because I don't know what animal it comes from and it doesn't go through pasturization or homogenization. Not that I know what that does, but I didn't want to take a chance with my stomach since it has been feeling OK.
After dinner we got Jason and his guide/porter to play cards with Elsa, Manu, and me.
May 5, 2003
The trail today was steep and hot. This was the first time I wore my shorts. Not because it has been cold, but because shorts are kind of looked down upon especially if they are above the knee. The Nepali people that do wear shorts are usually from a lesser caste. The mountain scenery was beautiful. All of the green mountains with homes on it. When I see the homes on the side of the mountain I wonder how they get up there because they are high and steep. They look like they could just slid off.
We stopped in Shikha for lunch. Manu and Elsa were going on after lunch. Laurie and I decided to stay in Shikha. We will meet up with Elsa and Manu tomorrow because they are staying an extra day in Ghorepani.
I have taken my shower, which was not quite warm. Now I am sitting outside the See You Lodge at a picnic table listening to Nepali music and chicken and roosters walking by me. Nepali's seem to love their music. Sometimes it doesn't seem like they have much of anything, but they will have something to play music on.
A couple of times I have actually seen TVs and they watch the Nepali music and dance shows. They seem mesmerized by it.
May 6, 2003
Got up this morning to use the bathroom. It wasn't working. What a great way to start the day. We were on the trail at 7:00. Since yesterday was so hot we wanted an earlier start. We skipped breakfast and just started hiking.
Two days ago in Tatopani we were down to 3,904 feet which is the lowest we have been since our second day hiking. After Tatopani, we had two days of hiking back up to over 9,000 feet. Today is the second day. It didn't seem as hot. I just kept hiking. There were terrific views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I. We arrived in Ghorepani at 10:00. We looked for the Hotel Moonlight because that was where Manu and Elsa were suppose to be. Ghorepani is on top of a hill and we have terrific views from our room.
We had lunch with Manu and Elsa. They did the Poon Hill hike this morning to see the sunrise so they decided to more on to the next town. We walked them out and said our goodbyes. There is a possibility that we might see Elsa in Kathmander. If not, we plan to visit them while in France.
Laurie and I are just hanging out. We checked out the village. They have a couple of bookstores and that is about it. We are suppose to have a day off tomorrow, but we think that since today was so short, we might move on after Poon Hill sunrise hike.
Nar doesn't really want us to more ahead because we are already 3 days ahead of schedule. He doesn't know what we will do with our extra time.
Went to bed about 9:00 after playing cards with Singa and Pratik.
May 7, 2003
Today was a pleasant day. Got up about 4:00. We were going to hike to Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. There was a whole line of us walking up. It was about a 1500' climb. Up top there is a tower and a teahouse selling hot drinks. It was clear enough to see the mountains, but it was a little hazy. We could
