The daalbhat from the night before worked well. A little too well. I slept like a log, but woke up the next morning feeling really lazy. My plan had been to trek over another pass on this day. Right when I woke up i knew that a change of plans would have to be made. I just didn't have the energy. It felt like my body was finally calling it quits after 18 days of abuse. There wasn't much to see on the other side of the pass anyways. This is at least what I told myself.
It was really nice having a lazy morning. I still woke up around 5:30AM and after a cup of coffee took a slow walk aroud the lake. It was yet another beautiful morning and the walk was great until my head began to spin. Quite strange. For the final third of my walk I used momentum and the thought of tibetan bread for breakfast to get me back to the lodge.
The tibetan bread was delicious and so was the omelette I ate with it. For the next hour I drank tea and read more of "The Ascent of Rum Doodle". I insisted on buying this book from the owner because I've seen what her son has done to other books that are lying around. I couldn't bear the thought of such harm coming to this masterpiece of literature.
The thought of remaining in Gokyo for another day crossed my mind, but instead I chose to head down the valley where the air is thicker. After slowly packing my bag and paying for the past 3 days (which came out to a wopping US$28.50) I slowly began my trek back to easier breathing.
I read in the Lonely Planet a while back that there are lots of stray dogs in this area who like to tag along with trekkers. I didn't experience this. Instead a young boy named Ram who had a large empty bucket on his back chose to accompany me. We talked a little, but overall little was said between the two of us. No matter how slow or fast I would go he insisted on staying right at my heels. A bit annoying at first, but eventually he grew on me and I bought him lunch. We parted ways when I stopped for the day in Phortse Thanga and he continued on to his home in Kumjung. Nice kid that Ram.
The altitude difference between Gokyo and Phortse Thanga is over 1000m. My body seemed very thankful for this. The place I stayed in was unproperly called the River Resort. There was a river, but nothing about the place made it a resort. No masseuse or mud bath. Despite the decieving name, I managed to enjoy myself very much passing the time reading, writing, and eating potatos. I went to bed hoping for a bit more energy the next day.
The energy didn't come. I was even more sluggish and unmotivated to hit the trail than the morning before. I enjoyed another relaxing morning though. For the previous few weeks I've always been in a rush to start trekking in the early hours of the day so it was very nice to take my time two days in a row. After a good breakfast and loads of tea I was on the trail by 9AM.
My early morning sluggishness remained for about 2 hours, but I soon forgot about being tired and got into a good rhythm. Around noon I walked into Namche Bazaar for tea and lunch. I was on the trail again by 1:00 and feeling really good.
I walked and talked with 2 germans and their nepali friend for a while. We all stopped for tea in a place called Benkar and the woman that prepared the tea for us proposed marriage to me. I had to graciously and kindly decline the offer. Since my arrive in Nepal over 4 months ago I've had at least a dozen marriage opportunities come my way. For some reason I don't think the interest lies solely in my good looks and sparkling personality. I wonder what it could be?
My final stop for the day was Phakding and I got there around 5:00PM Right when I arrived the idea of my Himalayan excursion coming to an end started to sink in. I had planned to walk to Lukla the next day and fly back to Kathmandu thus eliminating 6 days of backtracking. I wasn't ready for the end so I counted my money, made a budget, and once again changed my plans at the last minute. This decision was made with full knowledge that at many times in the days to follow I would wish I had flown back. After a light meal and a little reading, I was off to bed proud of my new change.
In sharp contrast to the previous two mornings I was quite motivated the next morning and on the trail by 6:00AM. I was very happy to be continuing my trip. Two hours after setting off I came to a fork in the trail. Left to Lukla. Right, back to Jiri. Without hesitation I veered right.
In order to maintain a comfortable budget of 500 rupees per day (about US$7) I would have to make it to Jiri in 5 days. This meant I would have to move 1 day faster than I did before. No problem.
Other than a few quick tea stops, I didn't take a break until about 1PM. I had Ramen noodles and a coffee for lunch. I forgot about the attitude I encoutered previously on this section of the trail concerning me speaking Nepali. Unlike most other people I've spoken Nepali to, the people around here seemed like they would rather me stick to English. It's funny. I'd speak in Nepali, then they would reply in English. I enjoyed the game though, so I continually insisted on speaking Nepali.
Three more hours of walking brought me to the village of Khari Khola which has the largest spiders and bees I've seen in my life. I was quite tired when I arrived and one of my toes had developed an ingrown toenail. I relaxed the evening away, then went to sleep.
And just like that day 21 came to an end. Coincidentally enough, so did week #3.
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