EBC Part 6 The Last Leg

Day 12 continued:

Leaving Namche knowing I would probably never return, I felt very sad

Kat and Far being dare devils
They didn't actually do anything risky

I had stopped on this bridge to take a photo, only for a few seconds but a yak herder on the other side didn’t wait for us to get to the end before letting his 2 yaks go. We couldn’t go back, they would have caught up with us. Phurba tried to shield me but the first one was carrying a wide load which caught the top of my leg. I was scared and screamed, which I felt pathetic and embarrassed about afterwards because I wasn't in any danger, the sides of the bridges expand slightly. I think it was an impulse thing, seeing those two powerful beasts with no brains or brakes closing in on us! It didn’t do any serious damage, just a big bruise. Thankfully the second one wasn’t carrying very much. Phurba was furious and had words with the herder. I think some herders don’t like trekkers, perhaps they think we get in the way. Although in the herder’s defence the yaks may have got impatient and ignored instructions.

Monjo

The longest day of all – 11 hours walking for Bonnie and me! It was dark by the time we arrived, it was a bit of an adventure though, Phurba knew the trail by heart and we had our head torches.Tsurin & Josh walked me to my room, I fell over a step, then on my way back to the dining room I fell over again!!! I think I was light headed from such a long day. 

Very nice lodge with en-suite, lovely hot shower. I had 2 sore toes from so much downhill trekking, and cystitis! but I caught that in time with antibiotics. 

Delicious pizza and apple pie for dinner.

Kat took this photo the next day. I was too tired to do much of anything other than shower and eat! 

 

Day 13: Monjo to Lukla
And finally back to where we started, the arch at Lukla.
We did it. Bonnie & I were crying tears of joy & relief.

This wonderful, kind, patient, caring man had got me to Everest Base Camp and back.

Throughout the trek Phurba, Tsurin and Far ate their meals with other Sherpas, never with the clients. On the last night in Lukla though we all had a very nice meal together at our lodge, it was a lovely evening. We also met and thanked our porters and gave them our tips. We had only ever seen them early morning disappearing into the distance with our kit bags! There were three of them, each one carried two kit bags!! They work so hard for very little pay. 

Day 14: Leaving Lukla

A very sad day, we had to say goodbye to Tsurin and Far.

They gave us lovely scarves and went with us to the airport.

Phurba travelled back with us to Kathmandu.

I felt very sad leaving this beautiful area.

Hotel Malla, Kathmandu

View from my room

It was so nice to relax beside the pool and get some fresh air and sunshine on my sore toes! 

My feet and toes had been fine until the penultimate day,

then these toes got sore from all the downhill trekking.

Bonnie had some tubular sponge dressing that she cut to size which protected them nicely.

Phurba took us out for a meal at a lovely restaurant this evening.

The next day we visited Boudhanath Stupa

It's a World Heritage Site, one of the largest & most significant Buddhist monuments in the world,

and one of the most important places of pilgrimage. 

Major festivals were being celebrated at the time of our visit so there were many visitors,

but it wasn't crowded.

   Bhaktapaur Durbar Square

National Art Museum

Royal Palace

Street Life

None of the dogs were owned, but all the ones we saw weren’t like wild or stray dogs,
they were very calm, looked well fed and happy.

We thought this little fellow was quite old, but he looked happy enough.
He reminded me a bit of our dog Buster.

Women tended to the burning of incense, it was considered bad luck if any fell out of the baskets.

A popular form of transport a cross between a tractor and a bike!

Monkey Temple
I don’t know why I went here because I don’t like monkeys, actually I can't stand the little buggers, they are a menace. We had only been there for about 30 seconds when two of them swooped down and grabbed Kat and Josh's ice creams.

A wishing well and a Stupa.

The places we visited today were very nice. Kathmandu is steeped in history, culture and architecture. But driving through the countryside and walking through the town a lot of what we saw resembled what I imagine a war zone would look like. Buildings that are either part built or part demolished, pot holes in the road, piles of bricks, cabling, pipes lying around. We were told that when the money runs out building comes to a halt and everything is just left. Everywhere was very dusty, I bought some masks for the couple of days we were there. All kinds of animals roam the streets, not just cows and dogs but chickens and goats. Even places like our hotel and the luxury Yak & Yeti are situated in a little oasis in the midst of chaos. I can cope with chaos, I loved travelling around India but I just didn't take to Kathmandu. Nepal is so poor and the people are so nice, they deserve better. 

Our last night together, a meal at Rum Doodle

Although some of the trek was very, very tough we were all very sad when it came to an end and it was time to say goodbye. Ken and I were the first ones to leave the next day, Kat and Josh stayed an extra day and Bonnie and John stayed 2 extra days. Phuba was with us right up to the airport, it was particularly sad saying goodbye to him, if it hadn’t been for his skill and patience I would never have made it.

As a very dear friend of mine said “A great achievement for an old girl”! 

Thank you for your lovely comments.

And now I'm off on another adventure. On Sunday I leave for Cuba. 

Stay warm and well and I will tell you all about it when I return. x