Oct 12. Ghap to Lho. Manaslu trek, Nepal

I still remember last night's pumpkin pie, I should have taken a photo. I hear that sometimes tourists come and stay a while, some being chefs will pass on their knowledge. The dal bhat; also was of high standard. with good pickle and variety of vegetables including a tomato it is funny how these little things that we take for granted are such a special treat when you are so high up and away from city 'civilisation'.

Talking about food, it is very much a rural area, so you get to see aspects of food preparation and cultivation. Often grain of all types and other crops such as beans are out in the sun drying.

Today I was wearing a thicker top and thermal longs as it is getting cooler with these higher altitudes. We are now at an altitude of around 2400m. I am still travelling with a single layer though, as walking builds up body heat quite quickly.

Rajesh has been coughing for the last couple of days and it doesn't seem to be abating. We hope it doesn't get passed around, and I avoid kissing him (lucky I am not so inclined !). I have my own issues though, with a good sneezing bout in the morning.

Often breakfast is some sort of chapati or egg option, this morning I chose the pancake for something different. Breakfast is full of carbs - apple pancake, two boiled eggs, but I miss the roughage, so in future I'll have muesli and eggs for the protein.

Walking along there is the odd milling machine or saw mill or still that fascinates me every time I see one.

Our start today was less pressured with only 5 to 6 hours walking time. The crickets aren't so loud today, perhaps because the ampitheatre of the confined valley was more open now. The noise was so loud in places yesterday, sounding like the whine of high revving electric motors with failing bearings. I even recorded the sound for posterity.

The birds are quite vocal, but as usual for birds in the forest, hard to see and even harder to capture on camera. The alpine flowers are blooming everywhere, the predominant colour being yellow, with a spattering of red or white to create interest.

Kids were heading home from school for their holidays, like us they were walking. They board in Samagoan, being distant from their home the many villages spread throughout the valley. This is a significant holiday on the Nepali calendar, Daisan or Dashain as some spell it. I love Nepal for all its festivities, and religions, it makes it a fun place to live.

At lunch we have gained quite a bit of altitude, sitting at 2930m according to my gps., and we are going up. The sun is out and the views as usual of the postcard variety. The village scene is a delight.

There were signs of the influx of money around here with new construction abound. The school is also undergoing reconstruction. I met the local teacher and her father. She teaches to up to grade five, 20 kids ranging from 3 to 8 years of age.

It was tougher going, with oxygen not so freely available. At 2930m there is 70% of the oxygen that you would get at sea level. An altitude oxygen calculator is available on the internet, at my high pass ascents reaching over 5000m there will be 55% availability. I am glad we are taking our time to reach these heights.

We did not see any mules or other pack animals today. I kind of miss their bells and the calls of the handlers. However, there ws evidence of animal trains, I managed to traipse directly on some faeces. There is a grading system I have developed - a poo rating - for stepping preferences high to low: dog, yak, horse and then donkey.

My stair training back hope came in very handy on this trip. There are many climbs involving long rocky sets of stairs. When animals pass you make sure you are against the wall, especially if there is a precipice on one side.

After lunch it was getting quite chilly, so I appreciated my earlier choice of clothes.

I got a little lost in Namrung due to my photography of grain and bean seed drying and other things so different to home and generally disorientated in the maze of roads. I ended up at a police station. They were a bit suspicious as I did not have any passes, but I assured them that Rajesh had them all. How would I get so far with no backpack and the station at Jagat etc? With their suspicions allayed, I was put on the right track to Lho. I think they were stirring the pot with me a bit anyway.

The kids were again annoying with their persistent requests for pens. Their smiling faces soon turned to evil retaliation. One kid threw a rock at me when I did not oblige. I kept my cool not retaliating, but there might be others who may not be so collected especially after a tough day of walking.

It didn't take me long to catch the others. Walter is in his element at walking strongly, probably more like the Italian alps here. Rajesh is losing his cough. The views are are now more like the photos of the Himalaya with the major treeless Himal peaks poking through and becoming more omnipresent.

Lho is a pleasant village sitting at around 3020m in elevation. I am feeling good and energised. We are staying at the first guest house we came to. Apparently you need to grab whatever is available quickly as they quickly fill up. Many houses up here have a stone gateway, and indeed the town.

Look up inside some of these gateway arches and there is magnificent artworks depicting a story, not well interpreted by me, but admired nether-the-less.

There are quite a few mani walls with their prayers inscribed on stone tablets. I marvel at the effort that must go into the production of these tablets. To respect tradition you go clockwise around them. I once almost went anticlockwise and somehow found an invisible force causing an about face - the spirits ?

I love the flowers in this area, as well the grain fields, which are planted at times on fields the size of postage stamps high up in the valleys. The toil to tend to them must truly be a labour of love, at least survival anyway.

Spin these drums to invite good will. I am at peace with that. Every now and again I can't help it, but end up spinning one or two.

The villages are adorned with prayer flags. The colours of these flags are yellow for earth, white for water, red for fire, black for wind and blue for the air or nothingness. The flags often have prayers written on them as well.

The locals are quite friendly and happy to chat. This lady tried to sell me a rug, not something that I could practically carry.

Our accommodation with its bright blue roof. An all too encroaching colour of tacky modernism that is such an ugly blemish on the wonderful scene presented by the more traditionally clad buildings along this walk.