We have it way too easy...

She carried these bags!

I have to take a slight diversion to tell about the people who live in the back country here. They are industrious, strong and extremely hard working. With no vehicles of any sort back in this country, EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING is carted in on donkey or people. We passed people carrying unbelievable loads up and down these hills…the same hills we struggled up with miniscule packs on.

Supplies for stores

All the bottled water we bought…carted in. The rice we ate…carted in. The pre-packaged food they sold…carted in. Fortunately, most of the food they cooked and sold was locally grown and pesticide free. Very healthy in that respect. But then you have to look at their homes, tea houses, electric power, metal roofs, metal poles, we even saw a man carrying what looked to be either a small refrigerator or a small washer, not sure which. Then there’s the feed for the various animals – all brought up on a person’s back. The rocks that they built everything with…all hand carried.

Camping group porters

Note the eggs...

When you look at what they have done and accomplished, knowing that even the cement and paint they used was carried in by back or donkey, it’s amazing. I had the perfect picture that got away – an old woman, at least in her 70’s, carrying 3 duffel bags strapped together. Unbelievable. And the most amazing thing was the speed at which they traversed the hills. Tserig told us that the 5 hour hikes we made were “tourist” times…the Nepalese would have completed the same trek in 3 hours – with a pack.