Oct 10. Tatopani to Philim. Manaslu trek, Nepal.

The real mountains were starting to peek out on the skyline. The water thunders down the very steep river valley of the Buri Gandaki. Gorges are carved deeply through the mountains and  bridges are mere spidery threads stretching across the walls. The water can be heard loudly thundering through. When the water is quiet, the crickets take over with their loud almost electronic buzzing sound.

Walter was fit and well, albeit slow on the walking. Who cares ? We have plenty of time to get to Philim and the vibe of this area is to be savoured.  Elena, like me, likes to walk a bit faster, though neither of us can keep the pace of our laden porters.
Anish and his brother are carrying all three of our bags along with their own and Rajesh's. I feel pleased that I kept the weight down - but then he was able to carry two sets ! The tracks are moist and leeches are about, Anish displays with a wry smile his bloody hand leaking like an uncapped oil well.
There is not much evidence of logging, but here we have a fallen log probably ending up as furniture somewhere up the valley.
We get to a junction by the river and found a nice place to rest and enjoy the sun. The river formed an eddy, tempting, but I wasn't going to chance a swim .
Moonshine in the making. I also like the neatly assembled rock walls, an abundant material for construction. They brew a nice drop up here, constraint is necessary as high altitude rapidly applies a drunken state and nasty after effects. (>3000m = complete abstinence for me.)
The valley views are divine and it was a joy to take the time to walk along them.
I had to try the local drop of beer. It was like drinking an alcoholic muddy porridge. Along with this we also ordered our customary large thermos of ginger tea sweetened with honey or sugar. The ginger tea is good for the stomach and rehydration. /div>
Jagat was a neat village with a hive of activity. The busy life of survival is on show with the kitchen utensils out drying in the sun along with washed clothes. Grains and peppers are also prepared and dried ready for the winter season . Here we had lunch. It took a long time to prepare our dahl blat, but the wait was worth it. I rated it an equal first to the one we had in Arughat Bazar.
A colourful map shows us where we are and the local facilities.
Cockerels are naturally born fighters, these guys went on for quite some time.
At Jagat there is a check in station. You don't get far without the permits.
No fear of the animals crossing this bridge, and the flags will give us good luck. Any fear we had long ago disappeared anyway.
Not many craftspeople are visible outside, but we did manage to see this lady creating a nice weaving.
Remember to walk around to the left of a stupa. It is an important custom and something that becomes second nature.
The construction industry along the Manaslu trek means it won't stay a quiet backwoods walk forever. Some say there is only 10 to 20 years before it gets spoiled like Annapurna. Hopefully it is much longer than that before vehicles are seen.
We stay overnight in Philim. Our accommodation is rather gaudy the cabins are striking with their dark pink coating. We were able to have a hot shower here as well. The local school was donated by a Japanese family in thanks for the efforts the Nepalese did in assisting an ill fated expedition.
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Location: 9VVX+72F, Sirdibas, Nepal

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