At around 8am we leave Namche Bazaar for the long walk down to Ghat - a descent of around 1000 metres. For the very first time ever my knees start to play up - the left one in particular. There are many steps on the path and they tend to be generally higher rise height than your average staircase. This tends to overload the knees somewhat so to relieve the stress I find myself lowering the left leg at the expense of the right one. Fortunately this doesn't cause any overloading of the right knee so it isn't too bad walking.
The day is a beautiful one for walking and we are taking it reasonably easy. A stop at Benkar for a drink near the waterfall is very pleasant.
On our way up we had stopped at Phakding and the accomodation was fine but Ang Nuru wants us to overnight at his Aunt's lodge at Ghat - about 40 minutes past Phakding. Lunch at Phakding is pleasant and we chat with some other travellers while sitting outside in the sunshine.
After lunch it is on to Ghat only to find that his Aunt only has a double room available. We are offered accomodation in the monastery but I decline because I don't want to offend the monks by not sticking to rituals or whatever. I am really quite annoyed with Ang Nuru for not organising it properly. This is probably exacerbated by low blood sugar after walking for several hours so we sit inside the tea room and have a drink while Ang Nuru goes off to find us alternative accommodation. Eventually the situation is resolved and we have two rooms (which amounts to exclusive use) of a new lodge just a few hundred metres towards Lukla.
The new lodge where Ang Nuru has arranged our rooms is, in fact not quite complete. The upstairs area where the rooms are is not completely fitted out - there will probably be a few more rooms up here eventually. It is fresh and clean although the toilet is a bit of a trek outside and around the side of the building.
In the late afternoon as we are resting and reading there were some huge thunderstorms and torrential rain. However, the nights sleep is good and I only have to go outside once during the night.
O2 93% Pulse 60, pedometer 20770.
Wednesday 17th October 2007
Today is a fairly short but slow walk from Ghat to Lukla. Looking around at the mountains dominating both sides of the river valley we discover that yesterday afternoon and evenings rain fell as snow on the peaks down to between 3300 and 3600 metres.
A little way along the track we stop for a few minutes to watch some monkeys raiding a garden plot - and being chased off by the garden o wner. I guess this is one of the penalties for living in such wonderful surroundings.
The uphill stretches make me a bit blurry-eyed but this clears quickly when I rest - frequently! I used Tiger Balm on my knee last night and it has eased it a little although there is still some discomfort rotating through the last 10 degrees before the leg straightens.
A long shot of Ang Nuru's house across the valley.The two-storey house cost $4,000 to build.
After about 3 hours we reach Lukla where our accomodation is at the Shangri-La Lodge which looks out over the end of the airport runway. At this stage the pedometer reads 12050 steps.
At lunch we meet up with Ang Nuru's friend, Mike Quayle. Mike is an Englishman from the Isle of Man and is associated with a charity which builds schools in Nepal. He also provides free marketing for The Sherpa Society.
Ang Nuru tells us that the hotel will confirm our flight details for tomorrow once the Yeti Airlines office re-opens at 3pm. Later on they tell us that we are confirmed for flying out at 9am which is a good time. Both Ang Nuru and Pasang are going to their homes, which are not too far away, for the night and we will see them in the morning.
Lukla is one of the less inspiring places to stay but we have a walk down the main street later on. The street is very dirty with broken stone paving which would account for a few sprained or broken ankles for the unwary. In the middle of the street there is a drain which is barely concealed under stone slabs.
For dinner back at the Shangri-La I have Spaghetti with a tomato and cheese sauce which is quite OK but I couldn't finish the whole dish.
We are early to bed and I read for a while until my arms become too cold.
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