Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp

On Friday, February 24^th, we took a small plane to Pokhara. It was a beautiful flight in and we could see almost the whole Annapurna range, it was incredible to think that in just a few days we would be up and behind those mountains. It seemed impossibly far away.  I’m writing this after upon our return. It was an amazing and incredible 10 day journey to Annapurna basecamp and back again. It is hard to put words to such a staggering and incredible experience. But after all that’s why I have this blog, so I might as well give it a shot. My goal for this is to share with you the true beauty and amazement I felt during this time, and to give you a glimpse through my eyes and to imagine a different world. This is one of my major goals in writing about my travels.  Here’s the briefest of summaries.

We met up with our porters outside of the Pokhara airport (they had taken the 8 hour bus ride to get here), one was a young man named Rajindra and another a seasoned porter named Santosh. We attained our permits at the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) center and then all packed into two small taxis. During our 1 ½ hour taxi ride, our driver played everything from traditional Nepali and Tibetan music, to Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift (how’s that for a culture shock) all while bouncing along roads hardly fit for a land rover, let alone a small city taxi. Eventually we bailed out at a small town called Birithanti… and started walking.

Geez, yet another amazing couple of days. We are now in the Buddha guesthouse in the extremely small town of Bamboo, it’s actually a very nice place for being out in the middle of nowhere and 3 days walk from the nearest road. All supplies that are here have been carried up on the backs of locals, sometimes a hundred kilos at a time. Often we pass these porters on the trail, its amazing to see someone who barely comes up to my ears carrying hundreds of pounds of coca cola, toilet paper, snickers or tanks of Kerosene up the many vertical miles to the next village (mostly in bathroom flip-flops (it was really interesting to see how Coke got progressively more expensive the closer we got to Annapurna Base Camp called ABC). At one point we had just finished hiking up a mountain (which honestly must have been half a mile almost straight up) and as we sat at the top, trying to catch our breath, an old man possibly in his 70’s came up and over the top and briskly continued walking along the trail.  

OK unfortunately I have to get a little more vague now in order to save both my time and yours. It is hard to tell how far we walked those first few days, most likely not all that far. Although nothing, absolutely NOTHING is flat here (especially your mattresses) so it seems like quite a bit further. While it might be just 5 or 6 miles as the crow flies you climb at least another 4-5 or more straight up and/or straight down. On the hike from Jinu to Bamboo on the 3^rd day, we were actually able to look back and see the distance we’d gone, it was immensely gratifying.

In the beginning we would round a bend and a huge ring of mountains would sprawl out before us. But as we walked further and further into the roots of the Himalayas, they no longer reached out in front of us as a distant goal but loomed daunting and fearless above our heads. Huge giants that have been here since the beginning of time, bring down with them a crushing reminder of mans mortality. After almost 5 days of strenuous and sometimes slightly sketchy trekking, we arrived at Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) almost 13,000 ft above sea level. Within the span of less then 5 days we had climbed around 2 miles straight up, you know your getting up there when you can see clouds drifting by your window. I couldn’t believe it, we had finally made it, and it was worth every step.

This is a small quote that I wrote in my journal while sitting among the giants:   “Wow, all I can say is Wow! We are sitting outside among these peeks drinking lemon tea. From where I am sitting I have an almost perfect 360° view of the mountains that surround us. Including Annapurna 1 which is 8,066 Meters tall” (I would like to add here that there are only 14 peaks above 8,000 meters 8 of which are in Nepal.) “It is such a honor to be among these giants, and they are so beautiful that it takes my breath away (although that may be the altitude). The sun paints them a warm glow and the clouds ring their tops like shimmering halos.”

Unfortunately though all good things must come to an end.  It was sad and at the same time immensely gratifying to turn my back walk away from there. I felt as if I was a better person for having come (although that’s not for me to judge) and I felt as if those mountains would always watch over me throughout my whole life, like silent, majestic angels. It only took us around 3 short days, with a lot of downhill,  to get back to Birithanti and then a quickish taxi ride back to Polkara where we spent two days before flying back to Kathmandu.   

It was extremely hard to return to the pollution and hustle and bustle of Kathmandu after the pristine quiet and beauty of the forest and mountains. But all good things must come to an end, and going from one extreme to another makes me realize how lucky we all are to live in a place where nature and humankind come together in a fairly peaceful manner. 

Catching up

Hey guys, sorry I haven't written for a while, we've been super busy and its been hard to get internet. 

Well, were back in London! We met up with Godwin right outside of baggage claim and took the train to Victoria Station. From there we got on the Tube back to the good old Ridgemount Hotel; everything actually went pretty smoothly for once.  We did a little shopping on Oxford Street so we could try and blend in with the London crowd.

 We took another stroll through the British Museum, just covering the highlights. Had some mighty fine fish and chips across the way and hopped on a bus for the War museum.

Now unfortunately we are leaving London, but we’ll be back soon.  We have a 6 hour flight to Qatar and then a 4-hour flight on to Nepal, hopefully they have TV’s!

Well were back in Nepal, for better or worse! It was an interesting flight in, no cows on the runway this time, which was nice. We were met at the airport by some friends and a van sent from the hotel which took us directly to the Tibet Guest House in the heart of Thamel. This would be our home for the next month or so. Watching Godwin’s face as we took our first ride around this interesting city was very entertaining. For someone who has never been in Asia he took it remarkably well.  As we drove by the garbage filled Baghmati River his face remained remarkably calm and only revealed a hint of “oh my goodness what the hell am I doing here”.        

Wow, big day. We’ve only been here a little over 2 days and it already feels like two months. Today we went to ACP (Association of Craft Producers). I always love going there, everyone is so incredibly nice and their products are beautiful. Also the President of ACP a woman named Meera Bhatterai, is one of the smartest people I know. The women who work at ACP have known me since I was 5 months old,  so almost as soon as I walk into the room their all shouting “Babu!” and beckoning me over to sit on their laps.

After a while we left the girls behind and decided to walk back to the hotel instead of taking a taxi, and I’m really glad we did. As much time as I have spent in Nepal it always amazes me how Kathmandu can vary, I love going out of Thamel (the main tourist spot) and walking through the actual city. It is still chaos but it is a different type of chaos. The streets are wider and the shops don’t just sell things for tourists. Instead they sell every day household items. We walked through and discovered a vegetable market, with all the locals bartering over onions and trading gossip. Several friendly goats munched away quietly at garbage in a corner. We walked through Durbar Square where people were selling strings of flowers for Shivaratri and plucked chickens with their necks broken hanging over the stalls.

Godwin and I got several books at a great local bookshop called Pilgrims. The Snow Leopard, Into Thin Air, and Siddhartha have now been added to my list of books to read.

(Who was the genius that decided to put 2 d’s in Wednesday?) Whew what a couple of days, we’ve all been super busy and tomorrow were leaving for the trek, so I’m going to try and get right down to it. Monday was Shivaratri (which means night of Shiva) we met up with Ram and his two son’s, Pradeep and Roshan. We caught a bus heading for Pashpadinath and once we got off we were immediately engulfed by a sea of people. It must have been really interesting for Godwin because he was at least a head taller then most of the people and could see above the crowd. At one point I asked him what was going on up there, he said that along the road in both directions as far as he could see it was packed with people, dogs and cows. Lucky for us we were heading the same way everyone else was.

We must have walked for at least 2 miles, always trying to keep track of each other through the dense crowd. We finally found an entrance that wasn’t jam packed with people and slipped through. We squeezed through a tight walkway with ramshackle huts on each side, and random Sadhus (holy men) passed out everywhere. As we crossed the river the smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils and I forced myself not to gag. As I looked upwind I saw that further along the river where the Ghats where they cremate their dead and then throw the ashes into the river. Between that, the smell of the rubbish filled Baghmati, the smell of hundreds of thousands of people and the smell of 20,000 sadhus getting totally baked it got kind of hard to breathe.

As we were climbing up a hill to get a better look at the festivities people started yelling and running. Not sure quite what was happening, we all looked to each other in confusion, then we all scampered up the walls if nothing else to avoid getting trampled but also to get a better look at what was going on. Unfortunately though we couldn’t see anything through the smoky haze. Later we asked Ram what he thought had happened, he said someone was probably teasing a Sadhu and then got into a fight, after which the police got involved and started hitting everybody in sight.

We finally made it up to the top of a small hill next to the river. From this vantage point we could see the masses of people poring in, and the fires burning the bodies of the dead, the Sadhus lying around surrounded by clouds of smoke and dogs scampering here and there. People dancing in their traditional cloths and some singing songs surrounded by people shouting and crying or sleeping. It was an amazing sight and I wish more people could see it. The beauty of cultures other then their own, and seeing and experiencing thing way it is outside of their own little worlds.

We ended our trip with a lap around a small temple, ringing a bell and got a tika (blessing) from the statue of a lion’s head. Then we walked back through the chaos, said goodbye and parted ways with Ram and his boys, climbed into a taxi and headed off. 

A taste of Sevilla

Got to tour the bull fighting museum in Sevilla, a huge tradition here and one that dates back to training the nobility in warfare. Interesting piece of local flavor but.......

Here I am in the Cathedral of Sevilla, I'm standing in front of the tomb of the great Christopher Columbus himself! The chapel right beside this tomb is where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave Chris his formal farewell and where they received him back when he returned from "discovering the Americas". WOW, lot's started right here and after being in Peru it's really interesting to see this spot.....

The Cathedral of Sevilla, 3rd largest in the world! When King Ferdinand "reconquered" Sevilla in 1401 he boasted that "we will built a cathedral so huge, people will think us madmen" and although it took 120 years, thats exactly what they did. 

Eating some delicious churros and chocolate in a roadside Cafe, a daily event! 

The finish of our 2nd week of Spanish class in Spain. My certificate for 30 hours of class and a great picture with my professor Rebeca!

Ummmm, me standing in front of a wall of really cool pictures of happenings in Sevilla!

Cordoba Spain

The famous Jewish philosopher Maimonides of Cordoba was one of the greatest mind the 12th century. He was one of the first people to believe that secular knowledge and religious faith could go hand in hand.  

This is the famous Mezquita of Cordoba, built in 786 by one of Moorish kings it was later captured in 1236 by King Charles, who upon witnessing its immense beauty did not tear it down but instead built a church within it. 

This is the Mihrab of the Mezquita were the Imam stood to give sermons.  

This is the church built by King Charles V within the Mezquita of Cordoba. 

Here we are having a very nice lunch outside after a huge amount of sightseeing!

Awwww isn't that cute. (You can see the Mezquita in the background with the church rising out of it.) 

Here we are in our first week of Spanish school in Nerja Spain, first day in and my head is already about to explode.

Having some great traditional (and very fresh) seafood pialla on the beach in Nerja!

The worlds largest stalactite/mite in the world! In the cuavas right outside of Nerja.

Having a two hour class about the caves gave us a total of 5 hours of Spanish class that day.

Spain and Language school in Nerja

On Jan 21 we flew from London to Malaga in the south of Spain (along the costa del sol) and off to stay at the Riad de Adelucia, a quaint little hotel with a Moroccan motif on a pedestrian side street in Malaga. Saturday night in Malaga is hopping!!! We went out about 8 and around 9 every street had wonderful little restaurants open and people standing and eating and visiting. Wow, what an intro. Picasso was born here but we didn't have time to go to the small museum here yet... maybe when we come back. The next day we were off to find a bus to Nerja, a small town up the coast, where we were to begin language school on Monday!

Bus station in Malaga! Hmmmm....que como?

Balcon de Europa in Nerja! Ric's happy, back in the sun! Viva el sol!

During break at language school...sporting my Messi "Barcelona" shirt since Barcelona beat Madrid last night! BIG game......

Back to work in the classroom with Celia, our hard driving Spanish teacher at Escuela de Idiomas Nerja www.idnerja.es!

Not all was in the classroom though. Here Celia is taking us on a field trip to go and use our Spanish at the Mercadillo! Not only did we have to use it at the market, we had to find our way there. It was really fun (AND I found my Messi/Barcelona shirt there!)

Off to Europe! Round two!

Wow, It's Jan 27 and we've been gone almost 2 weeks and we haven't posted a thing! It's partially because we have been too busy and partially because access to the internet hasn't been as consistent as hoped! Alas, it will be a journey mostly of pictures with just a little commentary!

We started in London, which we thought was just a jumping off point but ended up being a huge experience in itself! We LOVED London, the sites and the people. Never have we been in a large city like that and found so many helpful and friendly people! Everywhere we went people were just amazing.

We were definitely tourists in London. Taking the double decker buses everywhere, enjoying the British Museum and Gallery, going to the tower of London, taking photos in Piccadilly circus and Trafalger Square, searching for platform 9 3/4 and shopping! We had a great little apartment near Victoria Station (about 10X12....seriously and complete with kitchen!) We even went to the "Theatre" and got awesome seats to see "Wicked" in its 5th year of production!

Alas, a picture is worth a 1000 words, so they say, so here goes!

Ohhhh, the British Museum!!! Great to see the Elgin Marbles and bits of the Parthenon that we weren't able to see when in Athens (because.....they're in the British Museum! Lots of controversy over that!

Any guesses? Rosetta stone.....need I say more. Quite cool actually!

Tipping one in the Museum Tavern where Karl Marx and other great writers have explored great thoughts......Orwell, Ezra Pound, you name it! It's been here since before 1850!!! 

For those who haven't seen it here's the Tower of London! We saw the crown jewels here....we thought there was just one crown....wrong. MANY crowns and huge diamonds! Great place to look at  weaponry and read about beheadings and torture! 

Hands down, by far, the best live production all of us have ever seen. "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria Theater in London! It was so entertaining and the acting was amazing. Thanks to Mamu and Papu for letting us do that! WOW! It was a night to remember!

Well, I got my hair cut in Peru so why not in England! Here I am braving the next international hair cut. This one was GREAT! Wish I could do this all the time. Next haircut....who knows where!

Hmmmm.....which to choose! Who says the English don't know how to eat! We had great pastries and coffee! All around London was just a fun place to be. I'd come back (and will be back!) in a minute! Next stop Spain!