27th January 2017

Three fried eggs, a heap of chopped sausages, two grilled tomatoes, and a slice of some kind of aloo dish were washed down with two cups of coffee. After that, two slices of toast set me up for the day. I’ve no idea what Sue fuelled up with, probably fruit, cereal, and jam on toast. We’ll see which breakfast powers us through today’s trek.

We met the rest of the group outside the hotel, having first stowed our suitcases safely somewhere. There was some debate about whether Joyce would take a taxi or walk. She had both knees replaced a few months ago and wasn’t sure she could manage it. In the end, she decided to join us. I lent her my walking pole for support.

The sky was overcast, and there was the faint scent of rain in the air.

After a brief minibus ride, we set off purposefully along a dusty cart track, heading towards the mountain ahead. Fortunately, it wasn’t as tall as the peaks flanking us on either side. After about a kilometre, Josie and I both agreed, this was dull. We had expected something more demanding. Half a kilometre later, we got exactly that. The track narrowed into a trail and grew steadily steeper. At times, I had to give Sue and her shorter legs a hand over the larger rocky steps.

The mountain path had few buildings along the way, and the higher we climbed, the more impoverished the homes appeared. We paused frequently for long breaks as it became clear that most of the group hadn’t anticipated this level of effort. To their credit, no one complained, apart from pointing out that this was far from the ‘easy trek’ promised in the information sheet, but then we are not sherpas who would probably consider this to be a stroll.

The higher we climbed, the better the views became, and Lake Fewa below gradually shrank in size. It started to spit with rain, and the landscape was soon shrouded in clouds. The rain and mist came and went at the whim of the mountain gods. During the clearer spells, we occasionally spotted griffon vultures and kites circling overhead, but as we ascended further, we saw them swooping and diving from above.

We came across a small hut perched on a promontory. Sue and I were at the front with our guide, and the rest of the group was somewhere below, out of sight. For a laugh, we hid inside the hut and shut the door. The rain soon began to pour as the first few arrived. Uncertain, they stared at the hut for a while, but it wasn’t until some time had passed that one of them dared to open the door and discover our hiding place. The silly things grown-ups do when there are no children around. The rain eventually stopped; we had amused the gods.

Ever upwards, we passed a small farmstead where I struck up a friendship with the farm dog. He followed faithfully by my side for the next couple of kilometres. Show a dog a bit of affection, and they repay you with unwavering loyalty. We crossed a dirt track where our guide called on his mobile phone for someone from the lodge we were staying at that night to come and collect Joyce on a moped, as she was struggling. We waited until he arrived and whisked her away. We pressed on, though by now, our destination was within sight.

Determined, I was the first of the trekkers to reach the lodge, followed by the guide and then Sue. I suppose that makes it official: fried eggs are better than fruit when it comes to charging your battery. I had lost my loyal companion at a farmstead sometime earlier, but he tracked me down and bounded into my presence just before I reached our destination. We were both pleased to renew our bond, though a few in our group deemed him a “manky dog.” Some people just can’t see the inner soul.

As the last of us arrived, the rain began to fall, and the lodge was swallowed by a thick, chilling cloud. What would have been stunning views all around turned into a grey, featureless blanket.

Lady Luck was on our side again. It was up to us to choose our rooms, and without seeing it, we picked number 5, which turned out to be the best in the lodge (according to the guide). It had the only heater, a bath and a shower, plus a TV! A luxury compared to the others, so we decided to keep our good fortune to ourselves to avoid any retribution. Ssssshhhh.

After settling into our room, we headed to the hotel restaurant for something to eat. Eventually, the rest of the group joined us, and with the rain pouring outside, we sat down and waited (for quite a while) for our drinks and food to arrive. By the time we finished our meal, the rain had stopped.

Returning to our room, Sue and I geared up for an exploratory walk. We set off through the tiny village, chatting and admiring the scenery below. The road was little more than a dirt track, but work was underway to improve it. The reason became clear about 2 km from the lodge, where a huge new hotel was being built by the Japanese. We couldn’t help but wonder why it was so large and why it was being built there. The view was nice, but it didn’t overlook the lake or even the Annapurna range; it faced a meandering river far below. Strange, these Japanese.

On our way back to the lodge, we came across my loyal friend, who had tracked me down once again. He was so pleased to see me, and I was equally glad to see him. He got an extended ear rub for his tracking skills. We lost him again when we stopped to shelter from the rain and chat with other members of our group.

Returning to our room, we turned the heater up to full blast and sat in front of it, toasting our toes, not feeling the slightest bit guilty.

Later, we had our evening meal downstairs in the restaurant and chatted with some trekkers from the USA and Denmark.