We just came back from 10 days trekking in the Himalayas! We chose the Annapurna Sanctuary (a.k.a. Annapurna Base Camp) and it was amazing. (See photos to the right I posted. I think if you click on it they enlarge but I'm still having a hard time figuring this whole blog thing out.)
After flying into Kathmandu and staying a few days, we took a bus to Pokhara and quickly rented backpacks, sleeping bags and coats and set off the next morning. We decided to do the trek on our own as we wanted to hike at our leisure and not be held to a guide's schedule. In the end, we were adopted by a few guides and everyone always ensured we were well taken care of.
There are several small communities that live in the mountains and all of them have rooms for rent. Whenever you are done trekking for the day, you find a tea house that looks good and check in for the night. As you climb higher, the tea houses are fewer and farther between so everyone you meet stays in the same place.
Our trek was beautiful but challenging and by end, I hobbled (literally) back to civilization.
We met so many great people along the way and by the time we were finished, our posse included 9 people and 7 nationalities. One of our favorite friends was from Geneva, Switzerland and she possessed no filter between her mind and what came out of her mouth. With her French accent she ended every sentence with "no?" which meant "don't you agree?" For example, when meeting another traveler she said, "He's miserable and should kill himself, no?" And to another person she just met, "You have a strange name, no?"
We became very close to everyone because we trekked together all day and ate all our meals together. At night, we'd break out the cards and play card games and I had forgotten how fun an old-fashioned card game could be. The one game Lori and I banished after a few rounds was Old Maid. It was a little too close to home.
Our highest point was Annapurna Base Camp, which is surrounded by an amphitheater of mountains. The camp is only at 13,600 feet (4130 meters) but you can really feel the lack of oxygen. The morning after arrival we woke up at 5am to watch the sun rise and it made the steep climb worth it!
It seemed a pity to leave later that day after working so hard to reach the Sanctuary but we began our long decent down. My knees (if not my lungs) enjoyed the trek up much more than the journey down. I was grateful for the invention of Advil on more than a few occasions.
It was sad to say goodbye to our friends in the end. Tears were shed and lots of hugs were exchanged. There was one friend we were unable to shed. His name is Mark and he's from England. He's travelling alone. Let me rephrase that.....he WAS travelling alone. Turns out he's now travelling with us and we're all off to India tomorrow. He is extremely funny so we've decided he has to provide the entertainment along the way. India is going to be ridiculously hot and stressful and we might need a buffer so Lori and I don't injure each other.
My next post will be from India! Namaste.
