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| The only flat spot |
OK…we’re on vacation…sleeping in is supposed to be one of the perks, however, not if you’re up in the mountains. We were up at 6:30 the next morning in order to be completely packed, had breakfast, and ready to travel by 7:30. Did I mention some stairs yesterday? Hmmm…believe I did. Well, we had a few more today, in fact about 3 hours worth of stairs, straight up, unrelenting, switching back and forth, giant sized, small sized and in-between sized. They went on and on and on and on…I continued to marvel at the ability of the local people to just climb the stairs WITH huge loads on their heads and backs. I had a little tiny day pack and it was too much at times (and most of what was in it was water!). The beautiful valley, the farms eked out on the steep slopes, the children rushing up and down the steps; even though it was tiring, it was uplifting and satisfying. Fortunately, the Nepalese have a long standing custom of creating rest-stops along the way, these stops consisting of wide platforms where you can easily set your pack or basket down and then talk with the other people who are there. It’s an old custom, a way of gathering news, exchanging information, learning about others, and just plain resting. Usually there’s a tree of some sort planted in the middle, offering shade and respite from the hot sun, or perhaps a bit of protection from the pouring rain. Believe me - we took advantage of all of these stops on the way up the hill.
While we toiled up the hills, we were also delighted to find numerous waterfalls cascading through the various valleys we wound through. Many times we were able to hear the falling water but not actually see the falls. Some we were able to get a peek of through the foliage. It wouldn’t be until the last day, as we returned to our starting point that we realized that all the water we were seeing would wind its way down to the valley we started in, pouring under our first bridge. We did find a beautiful pool that would have been a great place to soak in the water if it had been warmer – it was frigid. It was definitely worth the rest we took, however, just to take in the tumbling water sounds and enjoy the beautiful colors of the pool.
OK…we’re on vacation…sleeping in is supposed to be one of the perks, however, not if you’re up in the mountains. We were up at 6:30 the next morning in order to be completely packed, had breakfast, and ready to travel by 7:30. Did I mention some stairs yesterday? Hmmm…believe I did. Well, we had a few more today, in fact about 3 hours worth of stairs, straight up, unrelenting, switching back and forth, giant sized, small sized and in-between sized. They went on and on and on and on…I continued to marvel at the ability of the local people to just climb the stairs WITH huge loads on their heads and backs. I had a little tiny day pack and it was too much at times (and most of what was in it was water!). The beautiful valley, the farms eked out on the steep slopes, the children rushing up and down the steps; even though it was tiring, it was uplifting and satisfying. Fortunately, the Nepalese have a long standing custom of creating rest-stops along the way, these stops consisting of wide platforms where you can easily set your pack or basket down and then talk with the other people who are there. It’s an old custom, a way of gathering news, exchanging information, learning about others, and just plain resting. Usually there’s a tree of some sort planted in the middle, offering shade and respite from the hot sun, or perhaps a bit of protection from the pouring rain. Believe me - we took advantage of all of these stops on the way up the hill.
While we toiled up the hills, we were also delighted to find numerous waterfalls cascading through the various valleys we wound through. Many times we were able to hear the falling water but not actually see the falls. Some we were able to get a peek of through the foliage. It wouldn’t be until the last day, as we returned to our starting point that we realized that all the water we were seeing would wind its way down to the valley we started in, pouring under our first bridge. We did find a beautiful pool that would have been a great place to soak in the water if it had been warmer – it was frigid. It was definitely worth the rest we took, however, just to take in the tumbling water sounds and enjoy the beautiful colors of the pool. 
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