Around the World with Hardy(T)Around the World with Hardy(T)
After a night camped by
the lake at Pokhara, getting to know the trek staff over a few games of
volleyball and an excellent meal, we set off in earnest on our trek. The
first day involved a fairly steep climb up to a Buddhist temple which commanded
an excellent view over Pokhara and the valley and gave us our first glimpse
of the snow-capped Annapurnas. It also gave us a chance to get used to the
sort of terrain we'd be covering over the next week or so. Fields of lentils
and other crops, steep, terraced hillsides, and the solid paving-stone like
slabs of the walking trails, busy with other trekkers, farmers with cattle
and sheep and villagers going about their daily business.
On the first night we camped at a village called
Bhundi, before setting off the next day to climb Panchase Peak, at 7,500
feet, the highest we would climb to on the trek. It was a steep climb, but
the view from the top was fantastic - Machhapuchhare, the sacred 'Fishtail'
Mountain, now clearly visible before us. I was also very impressed to come
across a beer vendor halfway up Panchase! we'd been walking for two days
without a beer, and here, in this totally remote part of Nepal, was a man
sitting halfway up a mountain with a dustbin full of cold beers! At least
we were able to celebrate my brother's birthday, in his absence.
We trekked a few more
days along this fairly unspoilt trail. Every day the mountains were clearly
visible and they seemed to change colours with the light, particularly at
dawn at dusk. But the highlights for me on this section of the trail were
the Nepali people we met along the way. By day we would be inundated by
curious children, always with a smile and usually with a snotty nose, and
by night the villagers would come down to our campsite and put on traditional
song and dance for us.
Continued in Annapurna(2)...