Hi everyone!
Kylie & I are back from our 17day trek through the Annapurna Range. It was fantastic!
We actually had a mishap on our first attempt as I got really sick & had to be airlifted out by helicopter back to Kathmandu. It sounds a bit dramatic but walking with diarrhea & a big pack isn't fun. I still don't know what it was from but my infection levels were 3 times as high as they were supposed to be. Although I didn't want to go to hospital & be pumped full of antibiotics I had to follow the travel insurance procedure. On the flip side the flight Kylie & I had through the gorge & over the manicured rice paddies back to Kathmandu was so amazing! Absolutely breathtaking. I now have a new love of helicopters.
I took some time to recover in Kathmandu & then decided that we came to Nepal to get into the mountains so we headed off again for take 2.
The scenery was so contrasting throughout the 17days...we started off with green lush bush and cascading waterfalls then as we moved up in altitude it started to get cooler, the environment harsher & the goats began to appear. The goats over here are so gorgeous. Each of them are so unique - some have spotty ears, others one brown leg or their backside dipped in chocolate. I loved looking at the differences between them.
Before we started the trek we thought we'd be without a shower for the whole time just using fresh water streams where we could, but on our first night we were greeted by a warm shower. This wasn't always the case & at the higher altitudes with freezing cold nights sometimes we weren't so lucky but we at least had the option. The teahouses provided some good food which varied greatly in quality but on the whole was good. We ate plenty of Dal Bhat (the national dish consisting of rice, dahl, pickle, steamed spinach with chilli & potato curry) & also weren't deprived of any goodies such as apple pie. I had some of the best apple pie I have ever had, while on the trek. Marpha, a small town known for its apples produced some damn fine apple pie. My mission is to recreate one when back to Oz.
The night before we climbed the pass (5416m)...we got snow!!!!!! We woke to a winter wonderland. It felt like I was somewhere in Europe. We trekked up to the top of the pass in what felt like every piece of clothing I owned. I didn't suffer from an altitude sickness but was quite breathless towards the top while climbing. We had perfect blue skies & celebrated with warm ginger tea to try & get feeling back in my fingers. 'The band' (a group of us that became good friends during the trek) intended to write 5416m with our bodies in the snow but we were all so cold we wrote it in the snow with a stone instead & snapped a few pics.
The scenery changed dramatically after the pass...it went from white fluffy snow to brown sharp arid looking mountains, known as the Muktinah Valley which leads into another large walking area known as the Mustang Valley. I thought this scenery was stunning. The winds blew through the valley from 11am till 4pm everyday so we would try to do most of our walking in the morning to avoid the dust.
We met some fantastic people, had perfect blue skies for 15days of the trek, covered 220km, learnt OODLES of new card games & drank LOTS of ginger tea.
This feels like such a minute summary but it's a start. I would love to post some pics but will probably do that around xmas time.
Hugs & happiness
Nellieoxo
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