Back to Namche

Last night we stayed in Maralung in a very simple lodge with dirt floors.  We were the only guests.  It was a nice way to remind us of the more intimate places that we stayed in on the first segment of this journey.  We enjoyed a non-menu item of fried potatoes with yogurt and timbur pepper sauce.  Timbur peppers have the unique after effect of creating a tingling feeling that circulates around your mouth and into the back of your head.

We had a most enjoyable walk into the lower elevations.  There is nothing more dazzling than the snow covered peaks of the high Himalayas.  But it was delightful to return below tree line, walking through pine and juniper forests with rhododendron patches interspersed, seeing waterfalls and savoring the fresh vegetables that were growing on every available level spot.  We were reminded how pleased we were that we chose to walk in instead of fly in.

- Eydie

Walking to Lukla instead of flying turned out to be a great move.  During this section of our trek, the lodges were smaller and quieter.  We talked to the owners more and could hang out in their kitchens.

 

Our guide and porter, Tanka and Dilli, were also treated better.  They had dinner at a more reasonable time, ate better food, had better sleeping accommodations, and the lodge owners were friendlier with them.  At the lower elevations, the lodges had vegetable gardens.  When you order something to eat, they would go often pick the ingredients fresh for your meal.  Once you get up higher the mountains get bigger and more beautiful but the valleys are mostly just glacial and it gets less interesting when it's all gray.  The food also gets worse the higher you get because nothing but potato grows at high altitude.

- Brook

Once in Namche, we celebrated our successful trek with two of the three couples that we befriended on the Jiri portion of our journey.  Although we still have tomorrow’s walk to Lukla ahead of us, the rustic part of the adventure is over.