Namaste!!

Hello again!!
The trek was absolutely fantastic. It was wonderful to get out of Kathmandu and get into the quieter parts of Nepal. We had a two day delay in starting out so we stayed in Nepalgunj for those days. One day we just experienced the city and the next day we went to Dardia National Park. Both great experiences. The first delay was due to rain in Juphal. The runway there is dirt so with rain planes are unable to land! The second day was delayed due to the Minister of Tourism needing the plane to go elsewhere... However, we did make it to Juphal and was able to continue on our trek as was originally planned - some changes in camping sites.

I loved being in the Dolpo region. Not a lot of tourists/trekkers. We definitely were a curiosity to some of the people. We were invited into some of the homes to experience their most generous hospitality by making/serving tea or chang (spelling?) which is a very potent local beer made from scratch and tested right in front of us. I acquired a taste for yak butter tea!! Yes I am sure I will need my cholesterol level checked once I get home. For those who know of my "little" appetite, you will know it definitely was with me for the entire trek. I now need to watch what I eat as I am not as active and can imagine how easy it will be to gain weight! Our cook, Sengey was fantastic. He sure could teach me a thing or two about making meals. Dikki was our guide and she was training Lalu during this trek. Then we had Shantaram and Ita who made sure we were up each morning with our tea and basin of hot water and made sure our tents were set up each night. They were so important in making sure we all made it to our destination by helping out in such big ways to support fellow trekkers. Then we had our porters - Mr. X, Sargen, Anil. I think I have everyone. We had a jobba train which are a cross between a cow and a yak so we had a jobba master as well. All these people made our trek run as smoothly as possible. We trekked to 3800m and stayed one day at Phoksundo Lake (3600m). We all made it. I notice someone asking about the food. I did have an adjustment period which thankfully lasted only about 2 days. I was always hungry - surprise surprise!! - so even during this time it was so hard to only eat the more bland foods. I definitely can eat spicier foods than what I had in the past and quite enjoy them. There was mostly vegetarian foods so when I get home I think a steak sandwich may hit the spot!

I was able to visit four schools so far and leave donations/supplies. I hope to visit two schools while in Pokhara. Today is Saturday - Holy Day - so there is no school today. We will be heading out on a hike later this morning and have lunch by the lake.

It is time to sign off - I found a nice internet cafe where I don't have to watch the minutes but breakfast is in about 15 minutes so I better head back.

There is some activity with the Maoists going on in Nepal right now so going back to Kathmandu could be interesting. We are here in Pokhara for two more nights. I'll see what happens and keep you posted.

Linda