THE TREK

Where to start?! It was great. It was exhausting. It was rainy, there were lots of leeches and wet clothes. The views were amazing even though cloud cover blocked some of the most spectacular ones. It was also a challenge and through it all, I saw how incredible and magnificent creation really is.

So let me start at day number one. We had to re-route first thing in the morning due to landslides and collapsed bridges that would have stopped us in our tracks. After purchasing some all important bandaids we then set off. The views through the valleys were incredible from the word go, it didn’t take me long to realise that the Himalayas were a special place. The pure rawness and absence of tourists made everything all the more wonderful (and all the more difficult to communicate with people on our paths). We passed by locals who were in the fields removing weeds from the rice fields, building walls and gathering food for their families – all of whom would stop for a chat and greet me with a friendly, “Namaste”. A kind deaf man tried to warn us of the dangers of paragliding, we bought cucumbers from a family’s back garden, crossed a thigh deep river, ate bananas by the creek and my guide stole guavas from someone’s backyard. All in all a delightful day that ended with a power cut, a cold shower in the dark and a big serving of dhal bhat by candlelight in a town called Dhiprang!

Now for day two aka the day of pain... Uphill, uphill, uphill, leeches, downhill, cliff, lunch at an adorable grandma’s house who invited us in for millet and curry cooked on a wood fire in her mud house, downhill, “oh no, the bridge has been swept away”- dead end, bush-bashing up cliff face, fall onto stinging nettle (INCREDIBLY painful), uphill, downhill, creaky bridge over creek, massive uphill, a peek into a local school, uphill and DESTINATION REACHED at last – we arrived in Ghalegaun. I was so relived to arrive and gratefully drank more cups of tea than I could count as it rained into the evening. I was amazed though that in a remote village, there was still a station on the TV that had film clips in English – I had a nice dose of Britney and Shakira. The owner so kindly boiled me a pot of water for my outdoor shower (that I had with the spiders) and I relished every drop! What a day!

Then came hump day which held even more leeches than you could possibly count, a snake scuttling across the path and clouds, clouds, clouds! The climb to the Tara Hill Top viewpoint ended a few hours after it had begun as the cloud cover worsened and the motivation (incredible view) was dashed. After stopping in at two jungle shelters that housed cute old men, their camp fires and their animals, we headed back to camp. The disappointment would have been enough to dampen the mood but falling over twice on the slippery rocks did not help the situation. I hung out with the kids in the afternoon and despite our language difficulties managed to teach one of the girls the difference between a girl and boy in English – teacher extraordinaire!

The following day held another change of plan. It was pouring rain and I delayed our departure until it was truly inevitable – I was about to get really wet. I clothed myself in an extremely unattractive poncho and we hit the road (aka the puddles). We were fetched by a driver in a town called Bhurjungkhologaun (what a mouthful) and were brought back into Pokhara for a quick mo mo lunch (so yum) just as the sun began to peek through the clouds. We then continued onto Sarangkot and the views from the guest house were AMAZING!!! I even had an ensuite bathroom (so dirty though) with views out over the lake. The clouds still hung about while I climbed to the view point but I was so happy to sit and gaze out my window as the sun set over the lake.
The FINAL DAY held a walk back down to lakeside Pokhara. I packed and went down to breakfast where I saw THE ANNAPURNA MOUNTAINS – the clouds were gone! In a sheer state of euphoria, I began running back up to the view point where I arrived panting and exhausted. The mountains were majestic and beautiful; I took some photos with a huge smile on my face. I was bruised, battered, sunburnt and tired but finally I had seen what I had come for and so much more.