After a dreamless sleep and an early breakfast we are off to tackle the next day. My legs are aching and Deepak promises that those 3000 steps were probably the hardest part in this trek. I’m not sure I believe him.
Today is New Year’s Day for the Nepalese; they have a very unusual calendar that they follow so for them today marks the first day in the year 2070, they even have different days in the month. On this day it is tradition for the women in the villages to make a pilgrimage up the mountain to sacrifice a yak and drink its blood which they believe has healing properties. We walk past groups of women, with babies strapped to their backs on route for this unconventional New Year’s Day activity. Usually I am hung over and working out which resolutions I have already broken.
It is colder today and the mountains are all covered in an ominous mist. I am actually really enjoying myself, being at one with nature and having the space to breathe and think as well as seeing how far I can push my body, with the minimum of moaning.
One of the many sights on our journey are porters who seem to be like incredible hulks, their job is to assist with groups that are taking on longer treks by carrying their heavy bags full of mountaineering equipment. You also see these skinny guys and girls with planks of wood strapped to their back or baskets full of food attached to their heads. As there are no roads for cars to transport things the next best thing is people or donkeys!
All this trekking works up an appetite and the dish that everyone seems to eat is called dal bhat. It is homemade vegetable curry, boiled rice, small bowl of lentil soup and a poppadom. It tastes amazing and is a great energy booster. After the chicken incident the other night I am glad to be going veggie for this trip.
We are an hour away from the village we are staying in tonight when the rain starts. It gets really chilly, the wind whips up and bit fat drops of rain falls around us. Even with aching legs I can still get them to go faster than I thought to get into the warm!
I definitely didn’t pack the right clothes and am cursing Deepak for not making me buy thermals. Luckily there is a tiny shop selling handmade Nepalese mittens and stylish hats. I don’t even care what I look like and snap them up, I even end up sleeping in them as it is so cold.
We are now 2860m high and the air does feel a lot thinner here. I get a bit woozy so warm up by a huge fire sat round chatting to other trekkers. Another trek guide comes round with a glass for everyone filled with their local tipple. It is homebrewed rice wine called Rhoksi that at 20% it blows your hiking socks off. After a warm dinner and a few glasses of this potent liquid I head to bed. It is 8pm!
