Part 3 - Towards Dolpo!

When we wake up at 5.30 am, it is raining. We hate to get up in bad weather. But...at 6 am, it is dry. (At that time, I think there must be some guardian angel watching over us). It is very cloudy and misty, but this is definitively better then rain. The first climb is towards the Nautale La at 3900m. It is a beautiful climb because of all mountain wildflowers and woods, but we don't see a thing. So at the top, our climb is not so rewarding. After the pass, we descend towards our lunch spot.

Just before lunch, we meet a few hunters. They are carrying the carcasses of some blue sheep on their backs which are dried and chopped into pieces. Their skins are neatly rolled up like the IKEA skins we find in our stores. The smell is awful. Funny thing is they are carrying very old rifles with them, the ones you have to fill with gunpowder in the front. So every single shot must be right. At lunch, Rick is very enthousiastic and decides to wash himself in the river. Brr. Freezing cold.

Despite our mini-breakfast, Rick and I walked very good. I had only eaten 1,5 pourri and a bowl of porridge. Pourri is a kind of Nepali bread which is boiled in oil. We hate them because they are very fat. Only with some honey we can eat them. Pourris are bad :-( The landscape is fantastic. You can clearly see the transfer from the woodland to the treeless hills. Temperature is going down: this afternoon ca. 13 degrees Celsius. Our campsite is fantastic (Seng Khola, 3900m). I decide to wash myself in the river, but auwch what a cold!

The next day, we wake up with a clear blue sky. What a day! After a steep 600m climb we prepare ourselves for the next clim to the Baradaha La pass (4450m).

Beautiful autum colors and a blue sky full of big vultures. Wow. We are quite high already and you can feel that. However, Rick and I are feeling well so we decide not to take Diamox already. Tomorrow we will go down again, so our acclimatization program is just fine. When descending the pass, we can see our campsite (Purbang, 4050m).

We see two tiny white dots, which are tents of local hunters. What an amazing landscape.

After a long, long descend towards the river, we have to crawl the last part up toward those tents. As soon as we set up our tent, the clouds are coming up and we don't see a thing. Grrr. We have the feeling we are in the middle of an overwhelming landscape, but all we see is mist.

The clouds are bringing al lot of cold air, so all we can do is stay in our tents and do nothing. I am longing for the dry, neverending Dolpo landscapes. Maybe we are facing the last effects of the monsoon because it is the end of September.

Yihaa! When we wake up, we see a clear blue sky. It is just below zero, so it's a cold breakfast in the open air. Just to warm up, we have to climb 500m to the first pass. It is a beautiful climb, but very windy. The weather is better then yesterday, and so is our mood. The next climb heads towards the 4500 m Jang La. Our climb is not very rewarding: after reaching the pass, we have to go do 1500 m to Sahartara. This is the landscape we were waiting for. Little trees and a lot of low shrubbery in all kinds of brown and green shades.

It is really really hot. At the end of the day, we reach Sahartara, a little village just above Tarakot. It is a tiny Buddist settlement with a gompa, many chortens and a few houses. We are very happy to be here. Tomorrow we will have a day off.

We camp on a fantastic spot between the bushes. However, there is no running water nearby. The only water available is from a hose that leads water from up the hill to the village. We decide to wash ourselves on a spot where the hose is broken. When we get started, we are spotted by a group of cows. It is clear they are smelling the water and want to have a drink. Suddenly we are surrounded by a crowd of curious cows.They steal water from our bowls before we can use them by ourselves and don't want to go away.

Then, the shepard pops up. I hope he will chase his cows away. Bad guess. He thinks it's funny, sits down and starts gazing at us. I am feeling very, very uncomfortable, because the Nepali are not used to bare skinned women in their underwear. So I jump behind the bushes, waiting for them to leave. After a while, the sheperd is bored and walks away with his cows. All what is left is a mud pool. Grmbl. Rick thinks it's funny. In my next life, I want to return as a man.

The next morning, the weather is fantastic. Early in the morning we start throwing balls with the staff. But not for long: the bushes have sharp thornes and soon our little rugby ball is pierced. Game over :-( At breakfast, we see our kitchen staff walking with a goat. That means: meat for dinner. Rick wants to see how the goat is decapitated and takes some pictures.

I don't feel sorry for the goat (he has had a terrific life) but don't have to see this whole process. In a blink of an eye, the goat looses his head and is chopped up in tiny pieces. The best parts are for us at dinner.