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As bright eyed as possible at 4.30am we meet out guide downstairs in just the light of a torch to make the one hour climb to the top of Poon hill for sunrise over the Himalayas. It was a tough climb up with more dreaded stone steps winding up as the light increased. Finally slow step after slow step I finally made it to the top, although Ammie was doing it harder with an upset stomach & a few spew stops. The views across the Annapurna Himalayas were amazing, but first we had to battle through the crowds to find a spot to admire the changing light & view. Securing a spot of cold concrete on the edge of the viewing area we watched as the first beams of sun sliced the edge of the snow capped range. The mountains seemed incredibly close and loomed in front of us not sharing their silent secrets. With a little frost on the ground and a distinct chill in the air we started our descent after about 20mins and countless photos. Going down was easier but I still took it slowly, not wanting to slip on the damp stone. We returned to the guest house to enjoy a hearty breakfast with views out the window of the same awe inspiring peaks. We soon had to face the rest of our descent back down the path and for me the first few hours were not so bad, although I could start to feel a few achy muscles at our morning masala tea break. With every step down we were amazed that we had climbed up these steps just the day before as they seemed endless & increasingly difficult. By lunchtime we were growing sore from the strain of our weight pushing forward with every descending step. We had lunch just past the two swing bridges and felt like we were most of the way there as we had conquered both the up & down of the endless stone steps. Wandering back through the village with some distinct pain in our feet we passed our first night's accommodation and came to the dry dusty road to start the walk down its windy steep lengths. The guide, feeling sorry for Mum & her every painful knees, surprisingly arranged a 4x4 which was passing to give us a lift back to Nyalpul. Much like the Sani pass the 4x4 bounced & zigzagged down the road coming scarily close to the sheer drop below. It would have taken us hours to walk the rest of the road back so we were in the end thankful for the easy end to our trek. At Nyalpul our ride was waiting to whisk us back to Pokhara where we checked into our new accommodation at Butterfly Lodge. The manager had upgraded us to deluxe rooms which just happened to be on the fourth floor. Up more painful steps we relished in a cleansing shower & clean clothes before slowly manoeuvring down the four flights and just making it to the dark restaurant before the skies opened & hail poured down. Thankfully we hasn't wanted to go any further, enjoying a basic dinner before making the climb up stairs again for a quiet night of recovery.
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