Today I took my breakfast with milk and a porridge based on corn and my usual black coffee. The others have grown fond of the masala tea and they order it at each presented chance. We wave goodbye to the kind hosts, in my case, they shake my hands with some words in spanish, and also we wish well to the rest of the family and the fellow climbers.
The trek starts by going back down and now crossing the river and following a path up that is testing our stamina and forces us to walk slowly to catch our breath.
The Dukquosi (Milky river) is at our right side becoming narrower as our ascension continues.
The first part of the trail is almost all upwards and we cross more porters, a woman herding yaks, more women carrying stuff and some other trekkers. They are not as common as in our first days around Namche Bazaar.
Again I take the moments while we have a rest when Tundu marks it to breathe from the beauty of the mountains and allow the sun to warm my skin.
We make a stop for lunch around 11 a.m. knowing that the rest of the way will be easier for today.
We are now over 4000 meters of altitude and I feel a bit of pressure on the back of my head. It’s very subtle but I decide not to risk it and take my first pill: one paracetamol.
I forgot to mention that Sonam got behind at the lodge however he catched up a little bit before our lunch place.
Another man in the lunch place resulted to be one young man from Kathmandu, in his thirties, he speaks a very good english and told me that this trek was more beautiful than the others and that he would spend nine days on them.
Everest: We will go to the base camp, and Island Peak…We will climb it!
At last, in Marchemo I salute the porters in nepalese and the hostess smiles when she notices me using some words like «duk chya» (tea with milk) with Tundu.
The interior of the lodge
Playing football
Stories about travels around Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia using Bangkok as a hub to get the visas are told by L. and T.
Today I feel like wishing for more time in the evenings under the sun. Some times I think about my people back home and what worried me, feeling distant and wishing for more clarity.
We started today at 7 am. The dining room is again packed with trekkers from other groups. We realize again how big this guest house is, it comprises two buildings of several stories with bedrooms, kitchen, shops, several dining rooms.
Today, my choice is porridge with apple, raisins and cinnamon. At the outside I see the porters, young guys, getting ready with the bags. I don’t know what words to offer them although they always have a smile ready on their faces.
Afterwards we set up, as always, Jotta on the front, but soon we find the crossroads where we part ways.
Jetta, David and Mónica go downwards towards Tengbuche while Sonam, Tundu, L., T., X. and me start to ascend. The path is narrower, a trail now, and it goes higher and higher leading us to what is for me of the more beautiful sights on earth.
The valley below takes on several kind of greens depending on the trees that populate the sides of the hills. On our front, where I expected to see the sky, I see the biggest mountains, valley and what is from this distance, a line, the river. The pictures I take can’t capture this.
In my thoughts I compare this to the views of Rivendell from LOTR although now this is bigger and everywhere.
Several times we cross some other porters, and some people herding baby yaks so we must be careful and step aside.
At the top we have some masala team, although what I am trying to get into myself is this beautiful sight.
On the way below, Tundu tells me that he is going to a school to get a degree for medicine and english. He is going to start his second year after this month of trekking when he will earn some money. He wants to continue being a trekking guide after his studies.
The ascensions take again the breath out of me, however Sonam tells us that today we finish at 11:30 am so we have time to rest.
At the «Namaste Lodge», I buy another 200MB card from the Everest Link company for 600 rupees (around 6€) and I take the chance to talk to people back home and send some pictures. To my surprise it only lasted 5 minutes.
The owner of the lodge presents me a book from 1979 about an expedition from Navarra where he participated. He is very friendly, the same as the rest of the family and later on, he gave me a notebook.
The brother of the owner is also in the lodge with his two daughters and one son. They seem to half-nepali, born in the USA and living in the Netherlands. There are also 3 climbers from the States, young men, two of them dedicated to it professionally and staying here for a couple of months. The other one lives in Bolivia as an economist.
I take the chance to learn more nepali with Tundu and to speak about climbing techniques and crampons with L. T. is reading a book and X. preferred again to sleep than to have dinner.
Wht a wonderful family time. I glance some times over the family and caught them laughing when someone says «one» and I raise my head and the father poking with the elbow to the daughter. Sonam tells me that she knows spanish and the father wanted her to practice.
The first light of the day shines through the window driving my sight towards the Namche Bazaar landscape.
I have some muesli with milk and the now traditional for me: Black coffee. X. is having spaghetti.
I see I have some messages on the mobile from the flaky wifi link, that warms my heart and I take the opportunity to say that I won be having a connection on the phone for a while.
It’s 8 am when I take a picture from the height capturing the beauty of Namche. From my point of view I can see the buildings arranged in a semicircle looking towards the valley, and there, below, the fountain. This reminds me of tales of legendary cities like the ones from the Aiel in The Wheel of Time. I receive a surprise when viewing the picture there are several rainbows springing from the fountain to the sky.
We start the ascension and cross ways with a woman and two small children: a little girl and a little boy of no more than 4 years old. the boy starts saluting everybody with Namasté, each time gaining in intensity. That makes us laugh.
When reaching the first monastery, Tundu offers himself to take some pictures of me in the Gompa.
Afterwards, the usual processing starts with Jetta at the front, while Mónica and me try to remember the nepalí we learnt. Soon enough, we are having some laughs with Jetta, Tundu and Sonam when we are capable of forming the first phrases.
Tundu’s book for quickly translating english to nepalese makes me learn new things: hakena – I am not tired. hakio – estoy cansado ma – yo hami – nosotros hami lai hakena – no estamos cansados
Also in sherpa, different than nepalese: tasidele (hi, like namasté)
When we reach the top of the hills we see another helipad and some steps ahead, our first view of the highest mountains of the Himalayas: Sagarmatha (Everest), Amadablan, and the giants peaks that accompany him.
Very near is the Khumbila, or Khumbi(yu)la, the Mountain or Country God, as Sonam explains to me.
X. wants to have a better view in the nearby hill and Tundu invites me to follow them. I happily jump and race towards them to soon discover that I am breathing heavily like during a cross-training session.
From here, we can see Sonam’s mother village: Khumjung, where there is a Hillary’s founded high school, a monastery, and in the nearby Khunde, a hospital.
After some relax here, and always followed by a escort of two carefree dogs that follow us since Namche, we start to descend and in the arch that welcomes us to the town, we take some group pictures.
Sonam tells Jetta to guide us towards his mother house where we are lovingly received by this kind woman and her granddaughter of 3: Chumji.
All the guides help with the cooking, bringing boiled potatoes as a starter.
The woman in traditional nepalese clothes kindly ushers us towards drinking more strawberry tea, refilling our cups at every change while saying: «xié xié» (please, drink).
When someone asks her about her age, Sonam says: 89 and she starts to laugh while pointing to her last standing tooth.
The main dish is a soup with noodles, egg and some vegetables. Chumji is all the time wandering around looking at us with curiosity.
When I speak her name, and in an asking tone, she nods, and later on when X. maybe mispronounce it she negates seriously with her head.
So, enjoying the hospitality, Luis asks about visiting the Hillary’s hospital that is at 15 minutes walk to the nearby Khunde.
We make a small donation at the hospital and when we are back in Sonam’s home to get our backpacks, her mother had prepared for us several blessing light white scarfs that she puts over our heads while smiling.
Before waving us goodbye, Monica have a picture with Chumji. I say bye bye and she responds: «pie, pie!».
Amazed at their hospitality and kindness, this bring to my memory Tundun’s words of how the sherpa are good people that live in this beautiful valley in peace and that they are honest, brave and kind. The words stuck with me.
We visit Khunjung’s monastery where a Yeti’s scalp is on display. All the monastery seems to be under a heavy process of reconstruction and lifting.
In our way to our next place to stay we find the first row of hairy yaks that we see.
And no more than one hour later w arrive to the Amadablam Lodge Kyangjuma (1) where we have our dinner, the usual masala tea with milk and no later than 7pm I am back to my room that today I share with Luis to meditate and write.
We get up to receive our breakfast. For me, porridge and a good black coffee.
There is not much to wait before we set our way and start walking. Soon I discover Rivendel-like forests and wateralls, lots of pine trees and even one pinsapo (probably an himalayan alpine fir).
Xan asked me many times to tell him as soon as I see another. I doubt if what I saw was right because it wasn’t until the end of the journey that I spot another.
Many people wandering here: Other trekkers from all over the world. Mainly: americans, french, some german, many chinese and some friendly happy indian gang and one spanish group that is coming back from the Everest.
There are many porters, sherpas carrying goodies for other villages. Lots of them have a X-shaped basket, while many others carry stuff for people like us.
I cannot forget to mention about the many rows of horses and yaks that also carry staff. We must be wary when crossing them since the trails are narrow and with a stepped fall in one side.
I enjoy being here in these country villages, happy myself when I see children play and laughing. They are always the most authentic.
Jetha, Tundu and Sonam are very supportive and we laugh when traslating words from nepalese to spanish and backwards. E.g.: «vistarei» for «walking slowly».
My name seems to be like horse saddle, something that strikes me of more than a coincidence.
Before closing my report for today I should say that the hanging bridges have been fun and a beautiful sight from the distance, adding the paradise-like atmosphere to this place.
The trek seems nowadays like a must pilgrimage for adventure-hungry people of the world, and I say this, not only after seeing many people, also because there are many bars, shops, guest houses with english signs along the way.
We reach Namche Bazaar, the capital of the sherpa world. I pay to get wifi, a shower and to get the chance to buy a hat for the colder days to come.
I speak with Dad, A. and H. and after the dinner I get ready to write, read some and listen my old MP3.
This is the second post with the chronicles of the travel I did to Nepal on 2017, including the Trekking on the himalayas and the ascension to the Imja Tse (Island Peak).
Yes, all started with a poster. It was during my second visit to Oseling, that I saw the picture and recognized the name of my friend announcing it. I knew I had to be there. I met Cristina during my first time I went to Oseling, so quickly after going back home I contacted her and with the help of her company I started to arrange all that was needed. He sent me detailed instructions, things to carry, vaccines needed when traveling, meds that could be needed and that are common knowledge between mountaineers that venture at such altitudes.
The thing is that due to my work I could not go during the Spring to Tibet, so the plans changed and I decided to go at the end of summer to Nepal and the heart of the Himalayas instead.
Changing plans and going to the Himalayas
The days approached and Cristina helped me a lot solving doubts that arose, and another friend of mine, Arturo (Check his travel blog http://alfabravo.org/), helped me buying all the stuff I would need. I did not have proper winter gear so we made a good stash with the clothes, sun glasses, trekking cane, etc., the cashier was amazed when she saw all the collected stuff and more when he heard it was for such a far place.
Alfa Bravo giving his wise counsel when getting the equipment.
I remember that as the day to depart approached I was very nervous, not only for the travel (I needed to go
from San Fernando to Madrid by train first to catch the plane there), but because I was preparing an exam, and
the test was one day before catching the flight.
Before packing
After packing
They day came, and I could spend the day with my friends in Madrid: Monica, Rober and Emma. I passed the exam, yay! So with the heavy backpack at my back, I headed my steps towards the Madrid airport where I met Cristina again after a year and the ones who would be my travel partners in the Nepal Adventure: Luis, Xan, Monica and David.
Visiting Monica and Rober before catching the plane
I never took a flight so long, but luckily the wariness I had on flights years ago had dissapeared, and we arrived to Delhi first. On the airport we could see many peoples with the bindi, the red dot on the forehead, and although some of us were worried about being able to catch the next plane to Kathmandu, everything went smoothly including customs.
The guides were waiting for us at the airport and Kathmandu was around us.
There, we met Tomas, after the checking was done at the hotel, we met Tomas who came from the UK and joined us. The team was assembled, it was time to celebrate our first night in Kathmandu!
During October 2017 I embarked myself on an adventure that took me across the world to a place that is revered by many: by tourists that seek to visit the colourful Kathmandu; by trekkers that adventure themselves on the natural park around the highest peaks of the world that is also the home of the sherpa people; by buddhists because north of Nepal is close to Tibet and there are temples and ancient scriptures on the rocks there; and also by alpinists who look to reach the highest peaks there; be that the Everest or one of the many one that crown the Himalayas.
At the skirts of giants
I wrote a diary during that days and I have been reluctant to publish it till now, so maybe the distance of time and space allow me to revive that days with a sense of wonder anew.
In the next posts I will be posting some chapters of it with some photographs. Let serve this to reconnect with the nepali and sherpa people whose hospitality was outstanding in all the places we crossed, and with all the members of the travel that participated on this.
Ater landing with the helicopter
One of the many suspension bridges on the first days of the trekking
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