Feb 1 & 2

Feb 1 (Monday) 7:00 PM
Yesterday was the last day in school The children were very sweet and some of them even made me some little crafts. I think they really enjoyed the craft because many brought me some to show me that they made of their own material with their own pictures.

Today was the first day of trekking. We took a taxi to the edge of Kathmandu and immediately started going up up up. We went up stairs for over an hour. I don't think I've ever gone up that many stairs before. Then we went “gradually” uphill which is just steep enough to not require stairs...but still uphill. We went through mulkharka and had lunch there. The rest of the way was pretty much up hill although the trail is so beautiful I get distracted from the pain easily. Paljour is a fantastic guide and doesn't make me feel like the slowest person in the world. The last little bit was downhill to Chisopani which means cold (Chiso) water (pani). We went for a quick walk before going back to the hotel. It is cold up here! And the cold wind blows as well. They put a heater under our table and it felt fantastic. There is another lady from France here and she is very friendly. T must be extra difficult to talk to the guide as english is neither of their first languages. We say lots of wildlife today. Monkeys and these funny little things that look like furry otters. They were black and white and ran and played like otters, but in the forest. We also heard barking deer and saw another kind that was small (the size of a big goat) and a reddish color. There was also a lot of birds and plants to hear and see. The views are fantastic and always make me smile. I am trekking in Nepal! I finally saw a buffalo which looks a lot like a cow, but has different fur (more like an elephants) and horns that grow back rather than frontwards. Had more dhal-bat (lentils and rice) for dinner. My stomach pains are still bothering me so I am making it an early night.

Feb 2 (Tues) 8:00 PM
Today I noticed that my camera time is off by the time conversion to America. It will be easier to keep track of the pictures if they are organized by the date. Anyway, yesterday we walked around 15 km and went more like 25 km today. My body is exhausted but I am loving trekking in Nepal. Today I saw people preparing their farms by plowing the earth with cows in yokes. Paljour says that they farm every terrace and have some kind of crop going every season. When w walk through villages there are a few people around because they are all out working in the fields. We took a break and had a snickers bar for a snack before lunch today. The chocolate tasted so good. Breakfast was basically a donut and I put jam on it. Paljour put honey on his. Lunch was boiled potato (in a pressure cooker because of altitude) and an omlet. They often put onion and spinach in their omlets. The potatos are put in the cooker just washed roughly so we take the skin off to eat them. My hands got very messy and I miss washing my hands after the toilet or after a meal. Today had some flat, but mostly uphill. We walked through several villages and are staying in Kutumsang. Pativhang yang, Thakuphaynayng (where we ate snickers), Chipling (where we ate lunch), Thankdong (break for toilet), then golfuvhangyang. There were a lot more villages, but we walked a bit further. We met up with a lady who was herding her goats and walked behind her for a short ways. She played the harmonica beautifully to pass the time. Dinner was Yak soup. Again, the meat was only available by chewing on the bone so I didn't directly eat it. However, I got a lot of meat and some bone pieces in the broth, which was fantastic. The noodles were amazing and reminded me of homemade chicken noodle soup noodles. I got a hot shower today! My first in a month. It felt so good. It is colder up here but, again, I love it. Now for sleep so I can make it through tomorrow.