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Looking back at my blog after two years I can see how much has changed.  Then I was captivated by the countryside and everything that was new and different.  Now, although I still think we are blessed to be living in the most beautiful country I know, life has become … normal.  And that is good.  We have friends, a routine, shops and restaurants which we frequent and where we are known.  We have added another little Pom to our family. We have joined a church in the little hamlet nearby and enjoy the fellowship of the small but friendly congregation.

We have experienced all the ups and downs of everyday life and, most important right now, we are working towards opening our own business and giving back something to the community that has welcomed us so generously.   This has certainly not been all plain sailing, and I have recorded, and continue to record, our progress on another posting in this blog.

The year ahead holds so much promise – challenges and opportunities – and, I hope, by the end of it we will truly be able to call ourselves Canadians.

I drove with my daughter and her husband through Vancouver to catch the last ferry across to the Island where they were living.  After landing in Victoria we continued our journey through the dark to the little village of Shawnigan Lake.  With the voluble excitement of our reunion over for the moment, I leant back in my seat and gazed out of the window at the sky.

Of all the new sights and experiences it was the sight of that alien sky which suddenly made me realize just how far I was from home.  I’m no expert on astrology and could probably not name more than 3 or 4 of the constellations that grace our southern skies, but their absence made such an unexpected impact on me that even now, after 13 years of visiting and 3 years of living in Canada, that first impression of a foreign sky still remains with me.

Taking a break - on my lap

Shandy, at 14 years of age, loves the companionship but is rather overwhelmed by all the enthusiasm and is probably not as playful as Sherry would have hoped.  But on Sherry’s first night here he got up 6 times to walk over to her basket and check that she was still there.

Meeting nose to nose

Although Sherry is our 4^th Pomeranian we have come up against a couple of problems which are typically Canadian.  These, of course, revolve around outdoor activities, such as walking and toilet training.   The first time I took the dogs out in the snow Sherry simply lay down and stuck her cold little feet up in the air.  Shandy, even coming from sunny South Africa, adapted to the snow with ease and has never needed booties nor a jacket.  But Sherry’s coat is still coming through and her undercoat is nowhere near as thick as her new brother’s.  We will probably have to go shopping for a winter outfit suitable for our pretty little girl.

Sherry testing the snow on the deck

As far as toileting is concerned I have virtually resigned myself to the fact that we will have newspapers scattered about the house until spring.

I didn’t count on the time it would take to find premises which would accommodate a daycare and provide outdoor playground space.  However, now, after 16 months of searching, of alternating between hope and despair, I have finally found the space I need – and have unsuspectingly wandered into a tangle of red tape.

So far:

• I have applied for and received approval for a change of use (zoning) for the premises (6 weeks), BUT
• I then received notification from the safety code officer that I need 2 extra toilets and windows to the outside – SO
• I have obtained permission from the owner to put in windows, BUT
• I need a plan drawn up by an architect or draftsman with a good understanding of the building code -THEN
• I have to reapply for a development permit (original one granted zoning) for approval for the windows, THEN
• I have to submit the plans to apply for a building permit in order to make the changes which they stipulated, AFTER WHICH
• I need to find a suitable plumber and general contractor to install toilets and windows, and to move an interior wall, THEN
• finally, we can start cleaning, painting and buying equipment.

It has been like climbing a mountain – every-time I think I’ve reached a plateau, I turn a corner and the path heads upwards once more.  So, to keep myself motivated, I will post on this blog each time another milestone has been reached, until, finally, I make the summit.

The front of the premises, formally a martial arts centre

8th November

Saw this in the CBC News dated August this year.  It confirms my experience of trying to find premises for a daycare in the new communities in the south of Calgary.  There is just no space allocated for childcare in these communities:

“The other thing that’s a challenge is new neighbourhoods aren’t being built to have child care centres in them,” she said. “It’s very difficult for centres to find space to open in some of the newer neighbourhoods in the city.”

Received news from our architectural designer that the floor plans are ready for the development permit and that he is busy with the building code review, which is very strict for childcare centres.  Hopefully we will be able to apply for the permit to install the two necessary windows this week.

15th November 2011

Last Thursday we met with our architect and went through some changes in the plan, which he altered and emailed to us over the weekend.  We took them in to Staples to have the necessary copies printed on Monday, picking them up today – Tuesday.

Then, armed with

• the completed application;
• 10 x 4 copies of the plans (2ftx3ft);
• 4 photo’s of the premises;
• the Title Certificate;
• copies of all the caveats on the Title Certificate (collected from the Registry Office at the cost of $100);
• a letter of authorization from the agent;
• a letter of authorization from the owner of the property for the agent;
• and a cheque for $526,

we headed into the city where we spent an hour going through everything with one of the very friendly consultants in the Development and Building Department. (Probably picked up a ticket for staying too long in our parking stall – but won’t know that until later!).

Now we play the waiting game again, since nothing can be done until the windows have been approved.  It’s beginning to look as it March will be the earliest we can open which means we will have to pay the rental and operating costs for three months without any income from the premises.

2^nd January  2012

Things are on the move again, at last!  On Thursday, 29^th December, our application for a development permit in order to install windows and two extra toilets at the centre, in line with the requirements of the City, was pre-approved.  Today we met with our architect to discuss a few small changes to the plans in order to submit them for a Building Permit.   Tomorrow we will take the updated plans to Staples to have them copied and then drive into town to hand them in at the Municipal offices.

Now that we virtually have the go-ahead to make the necessary changes we will probably spend the next couple of weeks, as we wait for this final round of plans to be approved, demolishing walls which have to be moved, pulling up a floor which needs to be replaced, and generally getting ready for the contractors who will be doing the plumbing, putting in the windows and framing and dry-walling the new walls.

Slowly our dream of more than a year is becoming a reality.

4^th January, 2012

A real, if short-lived, dip on the roller coaster today!  We had the building plans printed at Staples and then took the fast-becoming-familiar trip to the municipal buildings in town to hand in our application for a building permit.

The friendly lady who handled our paper work went through the forms and then called someone to check the plans.  Well, according to him, besides a few fairly minor changes we also needed a sprinkler system which the building doesn’t have.  And not just a sprinkler system for the daycare!  Because the premises we’re leasing takes up more than 10% of the entire building all the shops and offices would need to be included.

Besides the costs involved, we obviously could not fit the whole complex with a sprinkler system and could not seriously contemplate being able to persuade the landlord to do so either.  Gathering together our plans and forms we headed home, very deflated.  Not willing to go through the whole process again we were discussing other business possibilities when I received a phone call from the municipality and a very contrite young man apologized profusely and explained that he had been mistaken about the sprinkler requirement.

Back on track again, once home I called our architectural designer and told him our sad/mad story.  The upshot is that he will contact the municipality, make sure that all requirements for the plans are met, and then take them into the offices himself to ensure that everything is in order.  He has been such a support I would recommend him to anyone considering renovations to their business or home: http://www.johntrinh.ca/

And so the saga continues ….

8^th January 2012

Here we go again!  As arranged, John Trinh took the application for the building permit, with the few changes they wanted, down to the municipality early this morning.  He phoned me mid-morning to say that they now want a mechanical engineer to draw plans of the duct system in the building.  The unit has air conditioning so I don’t expect any problems with the ducts, but this involves at least another $2000 to $2500 and another delay.

We can’t afford to wait until everything is approved so, taking a step in faith, we started demolishing the floor which has to be removed in one of the classrooms.  At least this, and the removal of a wall, can be done without the building permit.  We also assembled the reception desk which has been lying in pieces for the past two months.  A March start is looking more and more remote and I am now planning on advertising April as our opening date.  Of course, this means that I am paying the rent and operating costs for an additional 3 months (originally we planned on opening in January) with no income.

Half of the floor demolished.

Stay tuned for further updates.

24^th January 2012

Since my last post we have had the mechanical engineer, the contractor and our architectural designer wandering around the premises, cutting holes in the walls to peer inside, climbing onto the roof to check the furnace units and counting air ducts.  At last the mechanical and electrical plans have been drawn up and submitted with the application for the building permit.

Two bits of good news: the development permit for the windows, which had been preapproved and then advertised for the obligatory 2 weeks has now been passed, which means that the building permit application can be processed immediately; and the landlord, through his agent, has agreed to give us two more months rent-free to finish our renovations.

Richard and I met with the contractor and the plumber yesterday at the premises.  Our contractor, Steve Shiu, says he has been in contact with the city and that the building plans should go through now without any more hassles.  Fingers crossed!

Today we are doing the last of the demolitions – that is, Brian will be doing them, cheered on by Richard.  Once the rubble has been carted away there is nothing more we can do until the windows, plumbing and walls have been completed.  Then we will paint and lay the carpet tiles.

In the meantime I took the programme to the licensing department to have it checked before submitting my application.  I am busy doing the necessary alterations and hopefully that will go in before the end of this week.  I also have to contact the Health Department so that they can look at the plans and make sure there is nothing there that they are unhappy about.  There shouldn’t be a problem since everything has been done strictly to code.

Now to get the website up and running, have our posters and brochures printed, and advertise, advertise, advertise.

Old wooden grain elevator

On Saturday we took a drive to the Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just outside of Saskatoon.  Wanuskewin, in the Cree language, means being at peace with oneself.  We were fortunate enough to be able to watch Josh Wabash, from the Waywayseecappo First Nation peoples in Manitoba.  Josh has been dancing since he was 3 and he demonstrated his talent in full, colourful regalia and then explained the dances to the audience.  His motto: I dance for those who can’t, and I will keep sharing my talents with those who are willing to experience it.

The First Nation dancer at Wanuskewin

Besides the dancer, we also visited the Mistatim exhibition, in honour of the horse.

One of a number of stories of horse battles painted on hide

Wanuskewin has much more to offer, including a number of interpretive trails which we were unable to sample, due to time restraints, but we will be back to visit again some day.

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day so we drove out to Blackstrap lake, which none of us had seen yet.  Blackstrap is a large, manmade lake, fed via an earthern aquaduct from Lake Diefenbaker.  Only about 1/2 hour out of Saskatoon it is a perfect recreational area, offering boating, sailing, fishing and, in winter, cross country skiing.

Cale, ready to go paddling on the lake

Mount Blackstrap, also man-made, was constructed in 1971 for the Canada Winter Games.  Asher remarked, on seeing it, that only someone who has never been out of Saskatchewan would ever consider it a mountain!

The discovery of a self-serve yoghurt shop – Pure – with many flavours of yoghurt and any number of toppings to try – you load up your container and pay by the gram – was the cherry on the top of another enjoyable visit to our neighbouring province.

An 8 hour drive through the Prairies did not really appeal to us and we resigned ourselves to a long, boring trip.  Happily, this was not the case, and the trip reminded us anew of the particular charm this part of Canada holds for those who are open to its beauty.

Driving through the badlands

The drive took us through the badlands with their distinctive coulee landscapes and hoodoo rock formations and along route 9 past endless fields of yellow canola flowers.

Canola fields

We took Shandy with us which necessitated a number of stops for walks and water.

A 'Shandy' stop

In Hanna we found a lovely coffee shop/antique store where we stopped for the obligatory latte before continuing on our way.

With only one wrong turn we found our way to our destination and spent the next two days exploring Saskatoon.  What a pretty little town!  Highlights of our stay were the visit to the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo,

Taken at the zoo

lunch at the Berry Barn

The Berry Barn taken from the pathway alongside the lake

and cooling off at Pike Lake Provincial Park which is just 20 minutes from Saskatoon where the boys took the pedal boats out onto the lake.

The boys set off across Pike Lake

The 8 hour drive no longer seems so daunting and we look forward to our next visit at the end of September when the Fall landscape should offer us a completely different perspective.

The driver picked us up after breakfast at the hotel in Kathmandu and we were treated to a beautiful scenic drive through the mountains to Okur where we found Moona and many members of her family waiting for us on the side of the road.

Arriving in Okur, Palung

We were warmly greeted with hugs and flower leis and then quickly unpacked the vehicle and followed her through the terraced fields and over a suspension bridge to her house.

On the way to Moona's house

Our warm welcome continued as we each had a bindi applied to our foreheads and flowers put in our hair and were then treated to a meal of rice, dahl and potatoes outdoors under a large shady tree.

Bindi's on our foreheads

After the meal we took a walk through the village, following the road uphill to a second village where we stopped at a tea shop for chai.  Sarah, who turned out to be a magnet for both animals and children, was soon surrounded by the latter who were fascinated by her camera.

The village street

The five of us shared a long room with three double beds upstairs in Moona’s house.  I slept fitfully and rose early to join Judy for a short walk through the forest.

Since it was too cloudy to see any mountains we initially decided against the planned drive to the lookout point for Everest at Daman.  However, after walking from the house to the village for tea, egg and chickpeas, our driver, Ram, appeared and it seemed we were going to do the trip after all.

In a packed vehicle – 10 passengers, South African taxi style – we headed up into the mountains on a switchback road which took us past valleys of cultivated terraces and into the indigenous forest.  Our first stop was at a small temple, Shree Rikheshwar, about 2 km south of Daman.  To get to the temple we set off on a 1 km walk along an ancient pathway and up and down a myriad steps laid with stone.

Pathway to Shree Rikheshwar

Turning a corner on the trail and coming upon the temple with its thousands of prayer flags was a stirring experience.

Prayer flags at the temple

From there we drove to a tea house where we stopped briefly for tea and coke

The cooking area in the tea house

... and the scullery

and then the rest of the group set off, walking down the hill to the Everest Panorama Resort, while I elected to drive down to the gates where I joined the others and walked up to the resort. There we used the facilities – ‘real’ western-type toilets at the restaurant – before climbing back into our vehicle and making our way to the Everest lookout tower, where, despite our best efforts, we were unable to spot the mountain in the mist.

Entrance to the resort

What we did see, however, were approaching storm clouds, green with hail!

Our next stop was a traditional restaurant where we were served a mouth-watering meal and watched the hail materialize, pounding the roof and road with small stones.  The hail had stopped by the time we left the restaurant and we drove back to Palung in intermittent rain.  Once back in the little village of Okur we elected to stop off at the tea house for a while as we waited for the rain to stop and then walked the 20 minutes back to Moona’s house.

By this time it was getting quite cold so it was lovely just to settle in and rest, looking at photo’s, reading etc.  A light meal with the family followed and then early (very early) to bed.  I went to sleep quickly and woke up around 4am, having slept for a full 8 hours!

The next morning we had a wonderful send off by the whole family.  We first had  a full photo session including all the family and the dogs

Family photo session

and then, as we walked away from the house after many ‘namaste’s’ and hugs we found a whole contingent waiting for us at the start of the pathway where two pots of flowers had been set up and we were blessed with leis of yellow and red flowers and a red bindi on our foreheads.

Saying goodbye

The rain which had fallen all night had all but stopped as we made our way along the now familiar paths through the fields and across the suspension bridge to Okur, accompanied by Moona and some of the family members  Here we made our last visit to a tea house in Palung  to breakfast on boiled eggs, potatoes, chickpeas and tea before, after another round of photo’s and hugs, we piled into the vehicle in which Ram was to drive us back to Kathmando and the start of our Annapurna adventure.

Road out of the village

I have just completed 16 days trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.  Fourteen of those days were spent on our feet for an average of eight hours a day, walking above green terraces, along cool forest pathways, up endless stone steps, over dry, dusty roads and snowy mountain passes, in sun, rain, sleet, snow and howling winds.

During this time we stayed in remote mountain villages, most accessible

only by foot or on the back of a donkey.

We had the privilege of briefly sharing the lives of the gentle, hardworking people who make these magnificent mountains their home.

What follows is a copy of the journal I kept during the trek.  So much remains unsaid ….

Starting out – Besisahar to Khudi

Our journey, in a surprisingly comfortable minibus followed the road to Palung for a while and then turned off towards Besisahar.  The roads were congested at times but what a beautiful route!  We stopped for lunch at 11.30 at a Nepalese restaurant in one of the little villages along the way and then continued our journey, finally arriving in Besisahar at about 2.30pm.

Besisahar - the start of our trek

Suresh, our Sherpa, had announced during the last leg of our drive that we had a 2 hour walk from there to our first lodge.  No-one had really prepared for walking but, after a half an hour looking around Besisahar and doing some desultory shopping – Judy got her track suit pants – we headed out of town.  The 2 hour walk was fairly easy with no steep inclines and we made good time, even with a number of stops along the way to take pictures, look at birds – a bulbul and a king-fisher – or just admire the view.

We walked through a couple of small settlements before arriving at Khudi and finding our lodge, which was basic but clean and inviting. We sorted out our bedrooms and wandered through to the dining room for tea and a few games of Bananagram.  After a delicious but far too lavish dinner we drank hot chocolate or tea and chatted or read for a while.

The lodge at Khudi

A young American girl turned up with her guide/porter quite distraught just before we went through to bed.  They had been walking for a couple of hours in the dark and the rain, having missed the bus which would have taken her through to join her two friends.  Although she originally planned to walk on for another hour our shocked looks and exclamations changed her mind and she booked in for the night.

By 9pm everyone was ready for bed to prepare ourselves for the next day which would be our first full day of hiking.

Khudi to Siurung

I slept well, woke early and tried for a shower but had to settle for the tap.  Sorted out our belongings and then went up to the dining room for tea, followed by breakfast and bought water.  The American girl came in for breakfast and we got photos of her with all of us before starting our walk.

Setting out from Khudi

Walked in the rain on and off and then the sun came out.  It actually got unpleasantly hot for climbing – and we did a lot of climbing! Siurung, the village we were aiming for is at 2300m.  We stopped a couple of times for a short break and then lunched on the mountain side on fruit and boiled eggs – lovely!  It cooled off after lunch, raining intermittently and soon getting cold enough to don raincoats.

A nice long winding road past a picturesque farmer’s cottage led down to a suspension bridge.  We could see our destination at the top of the next mountain!  Flowers were quite prolific along the way – rhododendrons and white orchid-like flowers hanging from the trees.

The first of many suspension bridges

Crossing the bridge

We continued climbing up to the village where we were given three rooms in three separate houses.  Very basic accommodation but it felt good to be able to lie down on the beds for a while after enjoying a cup of tea.  The skies cleared and we were treated to a stupendous view of the snow capped Himalayas.

Flowers

A good dinner in the ‘’community centre’’ followed by entertainment in the form of first a small boy and then a woman dancing to a drumbeat and singing.  Judy, Mel and Ruth gamely joined in, Sarah and I declined.  Leis were handed out to all.  The entertainment went on far too long with everyone dying to get to bed.  When we eventually did I slept well, to be woken by barking dogs around 5am. Judy and I probably had the best accommodation – two separate (but tiny) rooms, mine with no window and Judy with unglazed openings.  Mel and Ruth slept above a very noisy goat and Sarah had rats in her room!

Siurung

Siurung to Jagat

Breakfast at the ‘’community centre’’ – muesli instead of the oats and honey we had ordered – and then we set off through terraced fields and isolated villages.

Terraced fields

The villages this high in the mountains are lovely – cobbled stone streets and clean and picturesque.

Village

Lots of downhill today, mostly over rocks which was taxing for the knees.  There were some beautiful waterfalls along the way.  We stopped at one for a water break then climbed up to a shop/restaurant where we had lunch – noodles – delicious!  We have all sworn off meat for the duration of the trek.

Waterfalls crossed the trail

It rained a little on the way to our lunch stop but soon cleared up and we continued downhill until we reached the road.

Walking in the rain - little boy tending to water buffalo

This was dusty and uninteresting after the paths we had been following but a bit easier on the legs.  We followed the river which was a torrent of blue water augmented by waterfalls gushing down the mountains – no shortage of water here!  The river must be fed chiefly by snowmelt.

One of the many waterfalls along the way

The road turned away from the river and started climbing up the mountain.  We opted to take a shortcut to cut out one of the curves in the road.   I managed this with a little help from Lila whose ready hand helped me over a couple of really difficult spots.  The road continued upwards for a while and then dipped down towards the village, Jagat, where we eventually found our lodge.  A  beer and a shower in rapid succession and then dinner and bed

Donkeys in Jagat

Jagat to Dharapani

After tea and breakfast we left Jagat for Dharapani in sunny weather.  There were lots of ups and downs today as the path and road followed the Siyanga river.

The trail followed the river

We walked about five hours before we reached Tal where we had noodles for lunch.  At the restaurant at Tal our meal was interrupted by a series of blasts bringing rocks crashing down from the mountain side into the river – evidence of the construction of the new road which will eventually change for ever the Annapurna Circuit. ( Due to the road construction, after Chamje we had to follow a new route along a rather dusty road and had to move to the side of the road a number of times to make way for donkey trains coming and going).

Road construction

We crossed the river a couple of times on suspension bridges and, at one stage, walked through a waterfall which cascaded onto the road, ran across it and down the mountain side.

Another waterfall crossing the road

Another suspension bridge, shared with donkeys, cows and two men carrying mattresses took us through a picturesque little village from which we had another half hour walk to our destination.

Crossing into Dharapani

One last suspension bridge, yet another climb and we were in Dharapani.

It was a long walk today – 8 hours on our feet with a stop for lunch – and not an easy one, with lots of rocks to negotiate.

The lodge we stayed in was comfortable and the food, once again, delicious.  Ready for bed by 8pm.

Our lodge at Dharapani

Dharapani to Chame

We had less than 7 hours walking today, starting off with a fairly easy walk along the river and then climbing steeply up through pine forests – an amazing variety of pine trees – interspersed with rhododendrons.  We were rewarded for the climb by magnificent views of Annapurna 2 and the Lumjung Himal massif.

View of the mountains

After the climb the track widened and the trek became fairly easy with just a few difficult places to negotiate along the way.

We stopped for lunch

We stopped for lunch after about four and a half hours – vegetable curry and rice and noodles – and sat outside to eat.  However the weather rapidly cooled off and jackets were quickly unearthed from backpacks.

After lunch a short two hours of walking took us to Chame for our overnight stay.

Walking into Chame

Our excitement at finding each room had its own toilet was somewhat dimmed by the fact that there was no water for the cisterns.  But hot tea and a lukewarm shower refreshed everyone while Judy wandered off to the market to find another flashcard for her camera.  An internet café right in the little lodge complex allowed us to access our emails and send off messages to families at home.

Internet sign

The weather had started to close in so we only had brief glimpses of Annapurna 4 through the clouds.  We drank hot chocolate and played Bananagram until dinner – Dal Bhat (rice and lentils)– then, well fed and nicely relaxed, we retired to bed and read.  An early start tomorrow for Lower Pisang.

Chame to Lower Pisang.

After breakfast we walked out of Chame along a relatively easy, wide road, shared by various donkeys, cows, horses and porters.  It rained a little and was too cloudy or misty to really enjoy the peaks.  After climbing a while we crossed a landslide and rounded an enormous rock face.

Rounded a rock face

Crossing  a suspension bridge, we continued to climb in earnest as the rain changed to sleet and then snow, turning the landscape into a winter wonderland.

It started to snow

It was snowing quite heavily by the time we reached our lunch stop and everyone donned beanies, gloves, buffs and jackets.

Vegie curry for lunch and then a magical hour and a half walk along wide easy pathways to Lower Pisang.  The rest of the group elected to do the climb to Upper Pisang but I opted to stay and finish my book which I did wrapped up in my sleeping bag – our room was freezing!

Wearing virtually everything I had, I joined the others on their return and we gathered in semi-dark in what appeared to be a dining room/bedroom.

We gathered around the fire

Tomato noodle soup for dinner accompanied by hot chocolate and I was more than ready for bed by 8pm.

The room was very cold and I battled to sleep, as did Judy who was sharing the room with me.  I finally unearthed and donned the down jacket lent to us by Himalayan Glacier Tours which did the trick.

Lower Pisang to Manang.

I was feeling a bit queasy in the morning so ate very little before we started our day.  A nice trail today, although it felt long.  A long, steady climb near the start at the top of which we overlooked a lovely snow clad valley surrounded by mountains – Pisang Peak, Tjuli and Annapurna 4.  The latter, however, kept coyly hidden beneath the clouds.

Clouds hid the mountains

We stopped for lunch and listened to our host explaining, in impeccable English,  how vegetable growing in the mountains hasn’t changed over the generations – no pesticides and only compost made of pine needles which had been thrown down in the animals’ enclosures.

Lunch menu - nice, if you like yak!

Sureth told us we had about an hour and a half to go to Manang after lunch but it seemed to come up far quicker than that.  A large, clean and quite sophisticated village – we passed a little shopping centre and a couple of places offering laundry services. Once we reached our lodge we found our rooms and quickly put our feet up

Manang

Manang – Rest Day

I felt tired and quite miserable on our rest/acclimatization day in Manang.  I must have picked up some sort of a bug and was quite nauseous at times.  Spent most of the day on the bed, reading.  The others were more adventurous and walked up to the monastery and then later to the glacier lake.

Glacier lake

In the afternoon I went to a lecture on AMS given by an American doctor who runs a clinic in Manang.  I spoke to him afterwards and he recommended a course of antibiotics which I bought from his clinic.  Hoped I would get my appetite back soon as I needed the fuel for the pass!

Manang to Ledar

After breakfast of poached eggs Judy went to the clinic for antibiotics as well and brought back a batch of imodium tablets for me.  We left Manang after 8am and started a steady climb which lasted most of the day through increasingly barren countryside but with some stupendous views of the mighty peaks of the Himalayas, including Tjuli West, and Annapurna 2, 3 and 4.

On the way to Ledar

We stopped for lunch – onion and garlic soup – and learnt that we were making for Ledar instead of Yak Kharka – about an hour further along the trail.

Lunch break

Very tired of walking by the time we arrived.  We had a short rest and tea – although I had lost my appetite completely by then and gagged over a cookie!  Then we walked uphill for about 200m and sat in the sun for about 15 min to acclimatize.  Headed back when the sun went behind the mountain and it started getting really cold.

Sitting in the dining room, we chatted to a Belgium couple for a while.  I declined dinner in favour of snacking on dried mango and nuts.  Took ages to get ready but finally climbed into bed and started warming up.

Another 2 days and we start heading back down. (When I wrote that I had discounted the climb to Ghorepani!!)

Ledar to Throng Pedi/High Camp

I hadn’t eaten much for about 4 days and finally hit a brick wall today.  Made it to Throng Pedi by stopping to rest every 10 steps or so on the uphills. I don’t remember much of the day’s trail as most of the time I had my head down, counting my steps and trying to control my breathing.

A frozen waterfall on the way to Throng Pedi

When we got to Throng Pedi Sureth wanted to push on the High Camp which would mean that we would have a shorter hike up to the pass in the morning.

Shuffling into Throng Pedi

I assured him that I could not walk any further that day and elected to hire a yak of which there were two at the lodge.

A choice of yaks

For the record, riding a yak is not the most comfortable of experiences. However, having reached High Camp in one (rather shaken) piece, I arranged for the yak to take me to the top of the pass as well.

It was bitterly cold in our room at High Camp and I sat with the down jacket covering everything else I was wearing trying to write my journal wearing gloves.  Apparently the next day, after crossing the pass we head downhill on a rather harrowing path, made worse by ice and snow.

High Camp over Throng La Pass to Muktinath

We were woken at 4.30am this morning and quickly sorted out our bags so that the porters could collect them.  We then made our way to the dining room through a fresh fall of snow for a plate of hot porridge.  It was still very cold.  The rest of the party went on ahead as I waited for Baba, the yak, to take me to the top.

Yakking up the mountain!

Feeling as I was, without Baba I doubt I would have made the top of the pass, (although there were times when I came close to climbing off my stumbling steed and trying to make it on my own two feet).   It is a long, hard climb, made worse by the freshly fallen snow and the bitter cold.  The first people to set out had started trampling a path in the snow and the man who led my yak attempted to improve the path by stamping down the snow as he walked, but unfortunately what held a human’s weight didn’t do as well for a yak and more than once Baba stepped into deep snow and went down onto his knees.

Since much of the path led around the edge of a precipice with snow sloping down from above and dropping away below, I quickly stopped looking down and just concentrated on staying on the yak’s back.   Apparently my fellow ýakker’ also found the trip quite hair-raising.  He had hurt his knee and had decided to avoid damaging it further over the pass.  Once we reached the top, however, he emphatically refused to go downhill on the yak and, as far as I know, made it on his own.  Quite honestly, I think attempting a ride downhill on a yak is suicidal!  Still, looking back, I count the ride as one of the highlights of my trek.

Sarah arrives at the top of the Throng La Pass

Everyone quite euphoric having made it over the pass as the possibility of AMS had remained a spectre in the background during the previous days’ climb, especially for those who had never climbed to that altitude before.

Our party at the top of the pass

Prayer flags were hung and photo’s taken before slithering our way down to Muktinath

Throng La Pass 5416m

Swopped the yak for my ‘’yaktrax’’, (named after the yak, these are light weight ice grips which are worn over regular hiking boots} and managed the downhill without too much trouble.

On the way down

A long, hard haul though!

Muktinath to Marpha

Our lodge at Muktinath

We left at 8am this morning and walked until 6pm with a break for lunch.  The first two hours were lovely. It was sunny and we walked through villages, downhill most of the way.

Villager weaving yak hair scarves

Unfortunately this didn’t last very long. At around 10am the wind came up and blew gustily for the rest of the day.   The trail led along a plateau above the Kali Gandaki gorge.

Kali Gandaki gorge

The landscape was barren, and the trail  very rocky. After a while we turned off the track onto a road where the passing jeeps threw up sand and stones at us and evidence of landslides kept us from walking too close to the rock walls.  The wind whipped up sand which stung our faces and then, just before Jomsom, it started raining, the wind driving the rain to the extent that it, too, actually stung at times.

We clambered down a rocky slope to Jomsom where we stopped for lunch and discussed taking a bus through to Marpha but none was available and hiring a jeep would cost around 7500 rupees.  Instead we pushed on to Marpha and arrived exhausted.  Beers brightened us up, as did the decision to take the bus through to Tatopani the next day.

Marpha to Tatopani

We got away at about 8am this morning after a visit to the Buddhist temple.

The village of Marpha from the Buddhist temple

Marpha is such a lovely clean town with cobbled streets and cedar branches burning aromatically in little braziers in the road.  I would have loved to have been able to spend more time exploring.

Marpha

Lila had organized a jeep for the same cost as a bus as three Russian girls had already hired it!  We finally set off with 13 people loaded in like sardines.  Sang the Mountain Song and then entertained everyone with some Xhosa and Afrikaans campfire songs.  The Russian girls sang for us and then the rest of the crew gave us a few renditions in Nepalese.

Ruth and Sureth set off from Ghasa

After an uneventful but hair-raising trip to Ghasa Ruth and Sureth got out to walk the next stretch.  The rest of us caught a local bus with no shock absorbers on the back wheels and quickly set sail again.  Riding a local bus is an experience all its own.  We had to stop and back up a number of times to let other vehicles pass as generally the road is only wide enough for one at a time.  We drove above the Kali Gandaki valley along the edge of the road looking down into the gorge, and, at one place we had to stop and wait while road workers cleared a landslide on the road.  Altogether quite an alarming trip, not improved by the fact that we passed at least one ill-fated bus which lay forlornly at the bottom of the valley!.

A local bus

The bus finally lurched into Tatopani where we found our rooms and then went down for lunch and drinks.  The rooms each had their own showers and (working) Western-type toilets.  Luxury!!  After lunch we went to the hot springs and soaked in the hot water for a while – lovely. Then back for a shower and just to relax.

The lodge at Tatopani

Ruth and Sureth arrived earlier than expected and most of the group went back to the hot springs later in the afternoon.  Everyone met for drinks down in the courtyard afterwards  – nice atmosphere, 70’s music playing.

Relaxing in the courtyard

We ate dinner in the courtyard as well – spinach burgers – delicious! So nice to have my appetite back! – then played a few rounds of rummy before retiring.

Tatopani to Shikha

Lay in a bit this morning and then had a shower and breakfast and chatted for a while with two guys from the Netherlands before leaving at about 9am.  After climbing for a while we crossed a very rickety suspension bridge and started climbing again in earnest.

Crossing a rickety bridge

The sun was shining – a beautiful day – but it got steadily hotter.  I really battled on the endless steps and thick sandy road.  By the time I reached where Judy and Ruth were sitting in the shade of a tree I had grave reservations about being able to complete the trail today at all.

Endless steps

Fortunately the landscape started changing as we walked through forests which gave shade and a light breeze started blowing.  Although the trail continued upwards the cooler weather was a life-saver and I managed a lot better, albeit with a number of stops to catch my breath.

View from our rest stop

We reached our lunch break after about 4 hours.  We heard the first rumbles of thunder while we were having lunch and the thunder continued as we resumed our walk.  Clouds covered the sun, the breeze freshened, and, although we continued climbing ever upwards, it was much easier to keep going.

Steps leading through a village

We finally arrived at our destination where hot showers awaited us.  A nice fire was going in the dining room where we all gathered to read, play cards, or just sit and chill.

Then dinner at 7pm and off to bed.

View from my bedroom window

Shikha to Ghorepani

Leaving Shikha for Ghorepani

A short walk today.  We left Shikha at about 8am after a breakfast of poached eggs and Judy and I arrived in Ghorepani at 12.30pm.

The path between the two villages is beautiful, forested and filled with the sound of birds, but the climb is relentless.  We had a couple of short stops but the plan was to push on to Ghorepani for lunch.  The trail led through miles of rhododendron forest where most of the trees were in flower – absolutely beautiful.

Rhododendron forests

Judy at a village water fountain

Sarah and Ruth were not feeling at all well.  They went on ahead with Lila and Mel and were both rolled up in their sleeping bags when we arrived.

The rest of us had lunch and chatted for a while to Ned, a young American who had signed up for a hike to the Annapurna Base Camp and then found he was the only member of the trip!  It didn’t seem to faze him.  However, the rain and hail, which started to fall again soon after we arrived, did, and he went off to buy a rain-jacket at one of the little shops in the village.

I went down to the internet café, which was part of the lodge, where I picked up an email from Richard.  This was the only the second time I had been able to gain access since starting the trek – so nice to hear from home and to know that everything was alright.

Back in the dining room I sat at the fire for a while to get warm and then went up to the room I shared with Ruth, climbed into my sleeping bag and read for a while, dozed, and wrote up my journal.  Finally went down for dinner then back to bed where I slept fitfully all night.

Judy and I had decided not to be woken early to climb Poon Hill in the morning as we were almost certain that the cloud cover would obliterate any view of the mountains.  Ruth, apparently, woke up at about 9pm, though she had been left behind from the trip up Poon Hill and dressed and rushed down stairs only to find everyone was in bed and asleep.

Ghorepani to Hile

Melanie, Ruth and Sarah went up Poon Hill but the clouds obscured the mountains and Judy and I were well satisfied with our decision.  Woke and read for a while when Ruth left then went downstairs and had a lovely hot shower followed by coffee.  Packed our things when the others arrived and then had poached eggs and toast for breakfast.

Rain poured down as we ate but abated a little before we left.

The road to Hile

The trail through the forest

We  started climbing down almost immediately and continued to do so for the next 6 hours with a short break for a drink and another longer one for lunch. which we ate in an open rondavel overlooking a valley.

Lunch at the rondavel

After ordering potato soup for lunch we watched in horror as the porters chased and caught one of the chickens in the yard and proceeded to slaughter, clean and cook it for their own meal.

The mist started rising

The mist started rising in the valley as we sat there and it got steadily colder.  After finally getting and eating our lunch we sat around, freezing, waiting for the staff to complete their meal in the warm kitchen/kiosk!

According to the map there are 3280 stone steps on at least one section of this journey and my knees felt every one of them.  Despite this, it is a lot easier climbing down than up and we felt for the many trekkers who passed us coming in the opposite direction.

The pathway led through rhododendron forests with the occasional magnolia tree, figs, cherry trees and many other unidentified species.  Hundreds of birds could be heard in the branches and we even caught sight of a monkey.  The rain made the stones and rocks slippery and I landed on my backside once, but on the whole, a beautiful, if damp, walk.

When we arrived at Indira everyone thought we had made it for the day so it was with some reluctance that we forced ourselves to walk the final ups and downs to our lodge in Hile.

Our lodge at Hile

Once there, we sat outside under cover, eating popcorn and chips, while Sarah, Mel, Ruth, Lila and Pratish played cards.  Eventually it got too cool so we elected to eat dinner indoors and retired to bed around 8pm.

Hile to Nayapul and Pokhara

Our last day of walking today, as we hike out of the mountains to meet our jeep which will take us through to Pokhara.  I chose poached eggs again for breakfast then we set off downhill again, out of the little village of Hile.

Leaving Hile

It was a much easier downhill without the rocks and the thousands of steps we had to negotiate yesterday.  Most of the walk was very pretty with the river running along on our right and lots of trees and greenery all around us.

The path through the trees

I love the stone cobbled streets and little walled paths running past the quaint little villages which we passed on our trek.

Unfortunately too soon we came to the construction of the new road and followed that almost as far as Birethanti.

The village of Birethanti

Right now the ‘road’ is simply a wide dusty track where walls and vegetation have been blasted away – as yet, no traffic other than the ubiquitous donkeys.

We reached the village of Birethanti by 9.30am and, because we were not planning on a lunch stop, and the jeep was only expected at Nayapul – 35 minutes down the road – by 11.30am, we stopped for tea/coffee and apple pie or pancakes.  Aside from the flies, this was a pleasant interlude, and far better than standing waiting at the bus terminal for the jeep to appear.  While there we tried to get photographs of Fishtail Mountain as it teased us from behind the clouds, but with little success.

Lila started getting restless so the rest of us filed obediently after him leaving Sarah, still shopping at a little stall near the teahouse, with Sureth.

We walked down the hill, across the pedestrian bridge, and into a different world.  Instead of the well swept stone streets, we negotiated muddy, churned up roads.  Many cars lined the pavements and a couple of motor cycles zoomed past.  This side of the village is much dirtier and far less attractive than all the remote villages we have wandered through on our journey and an unfortunate reminder of the negative consequences of building a road through the Himalayas.  It was with  relief that we finally climbed the last hill and found the terminal with our jeep waiting to be loaded up.

Nevertheless, it was a bitter-sweet moment.  Our epic journey was over.  A jeep ride into Pokhara and tomorrow a tourist bus back to Kathmandu – leaving rural Nepal, which we have come to love, behind us.

The journey to Pokhara on barely paved roads took us about one and a half hours and the hotel was a pleasant surprise.  Near the lake, comfortable rooms, hot baths/showers etc.  We sorted out our belongings and bathed then joined our porters and Lila for one last time to thank them and hand out tips.  Quite an emotional moment – they have been a great crew and attentive to our every need and we have felt quite close to them over the almost three weeks we have spent together.

It was from our hotel in Pokhara that evening and early the next morning that we finally got our photo’s of the elusive Fishtail Mountain: Machhapuchhre, the holy mountain.

Fishtail Mountain

Back in the city

A long bus ride over some hair pin bends, above deep valleys brought us back eventually to Kathmandu and Hotel Shanker and the end of our trip.  We had dinner at Rummydoo with Suresh, provided by Himalayan Glacier, obviously a favourite with returning trekkers – where we decorated a ‘foot’to be hung in the restaurant, celebrating our own trek.

Our 'foot' commemorating our trek

Coming back to civilization’ was quite a culture shock after two weeks in the mountains.  Both Pokhara and Kathmandu seem to have achieved an uneasy peace between town and country living with fields, haystacks and livestock extending far into the urban sprawl, but the traffic and confusion, especially in Kathmandu, was made bearable only by the proximity of flush toilets and hot showers!

The peace and tranquility of the ‘himals’  have been left far behind, but hopefully we all carry a little back with us in our hearts.

The start of our trail

This is an easy, fairly flat trail of about 4.5km at an altitude of  6,368 feet.  The first part of the trail was well sheltered from the wind and took us through forests of snow-covered trees which allowed frequent glimpses of the mountains surrounding us.  A picture perfect setting requiring many stops for photographs.  Finally the pathway opened up at the lakes which, covered with ice and snow, had no definitive beginning or end.

A cold wind harried us as we snow-shoed past the lakes and back into the shelter of the trees. Since we were in no hurry to complete the trail, we found a spot in the sun where we could sit and enjoy a snack.  Someone had been there before us and dug a large hole in the snow into which we dangled our snow-shoed feet.  Other than the risk of frostbite on our nether ends it proved to be a pleasant place to stop, eat and talk.  Getting out again, however, did test our physical prowess!   Another 20 minutes took us back to the beginning of the loop, shortly before which our path intersected with a cross country skiing pathway.

Trees and snow, a magical combination!

Despite many stops for photographs the trail only took us an hour and a half to complete, not counting our snack stop.   Altogether a very enjoyable afternoon in the mountains.

One of the snow covered lakes

Snowshoes work by simply distributing your weight over a larger area and so preventing your feet from sinking too deeply into the snow. This quality is apparently known as flotation.

It didn’t take me long to settle on snowshoeing as my winter pastime.  Its relatively inexpensive – the only outlay is for a good pair of snowshoes; it can be enjoyed virtually anywhere there is snow (and in Calgary in winter that is usually everywhere), opening up parks, forests and mountain paths which are usually inaccessible for other hikers; AND they don’t slide! Well, generally don’t, but that’s another story.

Snowshoes

Having tried downhill skiing, cross country skiing and skating I rapidly discarded each as leaving me with the unpleasant sensation of being completely out of control.  Snowshoes keep me grounded while allowing me to explore this wonderful new white world I’ve adopted.

So far I’ve been snowshoeing at Nakiska, in Turner Valley, on Powderface, along the Elbow river, through a community park, and around the acreage.  Beyond stepping on the back of the shoe once or twice and falling on my face, it has been an easy skill to accomplish and satisfies my desire to spend quality time out of doors, regardless of the weather.

Hiking in the snow

If that’s not enough to convince anyone to try their hand (foot?) at this sport, snowshoeing is a low impact, high cardio workout, burning up to 600 calories an hour.  See you on the snow!