What a contrast to yesterday. It was brilliant bright blue sky and the mountains glistened. Some great panoramic shots were taken from Tyanboche at 3840m elevation and we set off for the daunting 17km trek to the Chumoa Guest House at 2860m elevation. Circa a 1000m drop. When you consider Everest Base Camp at 5364m in the last couple of days we have descended over 2.5km in elevation. Not suprising that everyone was complaining about their knees!!🤣
We set off at about 7.30am and the mood was bouyant. It was so warm that at our first stop on Kanzuma, I persuaded a number of the group we needed a lager shandy and pringle’s. It didn’t take much.! 🤣
So the walk to Namche Bazar for lunch was filled with laughter, games and some great views of the valley below. We were even graced by the presence of a vulture overhead.
We arrived into Namche Bazar for lunch but grabbed half an hour shopping before it was ready. A few tried to get a ‘5364’ tattoo. So will any get the number and where will they put it? 🤣
Lunch was a simple fare but the highlight was one of the group getting spicy soup in her eye. The verdict is out how this really happened. 🤣
Straight after lunch we headed out of Namche Bazar and due to a loose stone, I did fall for the first time. Apparently I was graceful and it looked like slow motion.🤣
We did take a pit stop to pick up and take 1kg of litter down the mountain to Lukla. Unfortunately it was closed.
The descent was never ending and everyone couldn’t believe we had actually ascended the same path. About halfway we encountered, what appeared to be, a whole herd of Yaks carrying gas bottles. Then all of a sudden a herd of donkeys appeared and raced on. All of this caused a complete traffic jam for at least 10 minutes. It was chaos! 🤣
‘Weak one’ now known as the ‘Strong one’ led the pack all day. What a reversal. She never stopped but she did point out a few areas on the route where her DNA had been left due to her Accute Mountain Sickness. 🤣
The weather changed later as we crossed the multiple suspension bridges to descend further into the valley.
We finally left the national park to a big ‘thank you’ sign and a timely reminder that every tree absorbs 22kg of CO2.
Well the Dal Bat Curry is on the way and beers are flowing. A boom box has been hacked and some great tunes are playing. It could be long night! 🤣