The walk to Manang was almost a stroll in comparison to the previous days’ trekking. But just to keep up my track record of one health problem per day (blister, diarrhoea and then altitude sickness) I managed to get very sunburnt on my hands, neck, forehead and nose from the sharp mountain sun! The pleasant morning breeze disguised the sun’s bite completely, and it was only in the afternoon that I noticed the rapidly increasing redness. Dorchi no doubt has me classified as a walking disaster by now!
We walked past the other side of the mountain to Annapurna Sanctuary Base Camp, where Ozge passed through four and a half years ago. It seems like such a short time. I sent her a postcard through time and space and dimensions back then to tell her “I’m right here – you’ll find me very soon!” I got the sense she joined me for a brief while on the hot and dusty trail after that…
After reaching Manang, via a local archery competition at a monastery nearby, I spent a cosy evening hearing other trekkers’ tales on their way up and down the mountain. We were asked to fill in the Yeti Hotel’s guestbook, and in the column for “purpose of visit” where everyone else had written things like “Trekking” or “Holiday”, I scribbled “recite poem at Tilicho Tal”. Call me eccentric!
I went to bed filled with peace. The only sound was the thumping of my pulse in my ears as my body acclimatises to the 3600m of Manang, and the cracking and booming of avalanches coming down from the heights. They stop way before reaching this village though, so they were not scary at all – more like a background base drum beat to my high altitude-induced dream weirdness.
I made a glorious trek up to a monastery called Praken Gompa in a cave on the mountainside this morning. I wanted to visit the ancient Lama Tashi who lives there and blesses travellers’ journeys across the mountain passes in exchange for a small donation towards the upkeep of the monastery. Not only did he bless our journey and gave Dorchi and I sacred red strings to wear round our necks, he also said special blessings for the prayer flags that we are bringing with us to hoist at the Pass. He blew incense and spread rice over them too, while chanting prayers. He is 96 years old and has lived in the cave monastery for 40 years. I felt very honoured to meet him and receive his blessings, and gather them for our prayer flags too.
This afternoon’s entertainment involved a visit to the Himalayan Rescue Centre in Manang where there was a free talk on altitude sickness. I wasn’t about to miss that! The information given confirmed that I definitely had the mild symptoms of AMS in Lower Pisang, although they didn’t feel mild at all to me! Then the doctor (former GP from England) measured my blood oxygen saturation and pulse which were 97% (extremely good for this altitude) and 110 (a bit fast) respectively. It seems like my body is acclimatising as fast as it can, but the diarrhoea, fatigue from walking and gains of altitude over 600m really challenged me… but because I now feel pretty good without any headache, I have a clean bill of health to go on up the mountain! Gratitude to my body.
If my Danish lowland genetics should be too slow to adjust to the altitude at Tilicho Lake and beyond, Dorchi has a sneaky back-up plan of hiring a horse and having me ride over the Pass so I can get down quickly to altitudes that suit my constitution better on the other side.
There is undoubtedly a sense of danger in all this, but I feel like we are well prepared for most eventualities, as we continue on this adventure leading very far from the beaten path. Nepal is a country where extreme physicality and spirituality co-exist in the very fabric of the rock.
