The Work begins ... Trek Day 1

 And the trek begins …

Honestly, I don’t really know what I signed up for and in hindsight, I am glad LOL, but the trekking ends up being the “thing” that had I not done it, I would have really left Nepal with an incomplete picture of the country and its people.

I fly to Pokhara – an easy 25-minute flight – where I will meet my guide and porter.  (Or, as I say, the "poor 20-something guys stuck with me for the next 4 days" 😁)

 

Flying over the Pokhara Valley reveals beautiful lakes and of course hills and Himalayas.

 

Lake … Himalayas  … doesn’t get much nicer than this ❣️

This is literally the entire baggage claim area.

I can’t seem to get enough photos with Himalayas in the background. When you hear about these mountains for basically your entire life, and then you actually see them in person, it's surreal.

Bidur, my guide, meets me outside of the airport and then we head to the SUV. There I meet the porter, Sujan.  (And yes, I feel slightly guilty that I packed my laptop since he is the one who carries my bag, but my laptop is my security blanket.  I get over my guilt when I see the size of the bags other porters are hauling, but of course I will add extra to the tip for Sujan at the end and tell him why.)

We are now in Pokhara, and we make a pit-stop lakeside.  Absolutely lovely. People, locals and tourists alike, leisurely strolling and boating and relaxing.

 

Hop back into the SUV and off we finish the drive to the trekking starting point.  I think we drive an hour or so, if that, most of which is super bumpy (need 4-wheel drive here) and, as always, the scenery does not disappoint, to put it mildly.

 

From a mudslide

I wasn’t kidding about bumpy was I?!?!

I love the otherworldly quality of mist and clouds settled in the pockets of the Hills.

We encounter groups of kids along the way who want us to stop and listen to them sing and dance in exchange for money.  We are now smack-dab in Day 1 of the festival, Tihar, and this is what kids do. 

(Imagine trick-or-treating but with entertainment, and you give money instead of candy, and sometimes you get a tika and a flower back)

 

 

The first group literally holds hands across the road in front of the SUV so we can’t pass until we stop.  LOL.  

Then the three of us get dropped off in a tiny village.  The trek begins …

This is literally outside of the home 

where we were dropped off to begin the trek.

 

Of course, I warn Bidur that I live in Florida for 17 years at sea level with zero steps.  God only knows how this will go.🤞🤞🤞🙏🙏🙏

 

We are cranking along with some incline, but the views are wonderful - we are in the foothills – and I am feeling good.  My heart rate quicky elevates but it feels rigorous and not too terrible.

 

“Too terrible” comes sooner than I had hoped LOL

 

We are in the Annapurna Conservation Area.  It is the largest protected area in Nepal.  It is also the most popular with trekkers in all of Nepal.  It is not crowded, though.  We only intermittently pass groups of trekkers.  

It is breathtaking!

 

We are in the region of the Gurung people – the dominant ethnic group of this part of Nepal.  Like all ethnic groups in Nepal, they have their own mother tongue, though most also fluently speak Nepali.

 

They are animists – “the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and perhaps even words—as animated and alive”

 

They practice a mixture of Bon religion and Tibetan Buddhism with a splash of Hindu.

 

You need a permit to trek here.  The permit helps maintain the condition of the trails and networks but remember, the trails and networks are here primarily for the mountain people to get around.  Their version of “sidewalks.”

 

Steep rock steps … and more steep rock steps … and more steep rock steps … and more steep rock steps … 

 

This is "easy" compared to below.  

A major portion of trekking in this area looks like below. 😬

Look at the loads those porters are carrying. 😮 And look at the age of the person descending.  Another 😮

And then if I haven't already said it, more steep rock steps.  😜

Up and up we go ...

I literally just keep my head down and trudge.

 

A few times I think to look up and I get light-headed.  No joke.  Keeping my head down becomes the name of the game when going up.

I stop intermittently to “take some pictures” AKA take a break, and sometimes I even need to sit down to regain composure.

OMG.  What was I thinking?!?!  As my mother has since reminded me 😂

(And todays was only 1 ½ hours – what in the world will it be like to do this tomorrow for 5 hours?!?!)

Bidur says, “Not too much further.”  I don’t believe him 😎

 

He is amazingly patient and tells me always we are not in a rush.

 

That is a village across a valley.  

Lots of waterfalls ... spot the one in the upper left-hand corner???

Sujan, on the other hand, is far ahead and laughs in a cute way when I finally reach him and make some kind of face to tell him he is insane for doing this and how fast he hikes. 

 

Susan has his pack on the front and mine on his back.

I can't remember what this was but I remember snapping the pic and since my feet are in it I clearly was trying to show something.  

If you figure it out, please let me know 😀

We finally make it. Oh good.  We are at the village.

 

 

 

 

But oh no, the village is basically carved into a hillside, so the village is nothing but steep rock stairs in between all the homes.  Aaacckkkk. This Florida girl is getting put to the test.

 

More steep stairs, and more steep stairs, and more … you get the picture.

 

By the way, homes double as storefronts, and tea stops and lodges.  They are largely dependent on tourism, otherwise they would be subsistent farmers only.

 

But trust me, they aren’t “living large” on their income from tourism.  

 

After an impossible-to-count number of steps we FINALLY reach the lodge.

Flowers everywhere ... 

Ahhhhh, what a view!!!

The highest mountain in the shot is Annapurna South.

 And ahhhh, what a nap.  LOL

 

The room is fine.  It’s considered a fancy trekking lodge.  (Just for frame of reference.)

 

This shot is for you, Mel.  Miss you💜💜💜💔💔💔

Relaxing with the Himalayas as the backdrop is beyond description.  And the gorgeous flowers everywhere only enhance it.  If I were a writer, I could see coming here to escape and relax into the peaceful serenity, but oh wait, there is a trekking group from Texas staying at the lodge, and yes, they are loud LOL, but they are clearly having fun and they aren’t impossibly loud.

Fishtail is the name of this mountain.

 

We enjoy a nice fireside Happy Hour with delicious “bar snacks” followed by dinner.

The popcorn was yum and these marinated peanuts that were fantastic.  They had some spice and roasted onions, tomatoes and I don't know what other goodness. I think this recipe might be exactly what I had. Peanut salad?  Makes sense - you eat it with a fork.

I discover this Green Chile Sauce that is hot with a hit of sweet. (The Texas folks poured it on but I could only stand a bit becuase of the heat but I loved it.)

No internet or wi-fi in the room.  That is hard for me.  I can’t help it.  But I survive (and this theme plays out on the whole trek – WIFI in the common areas but not the room) and I survive by gorging on super fluffy, totally predictable light-hearted novels.  I know, I know … I can’t help it.  

 

Bedtime is early.  It’s how trekking works.  I sleep okay with a couple of spells of reading in the middle of the night.  No complaints.

Sunrise is early and I can’t miss that …