We spent the night in Kyanjuma, slept well and first thing in the morning (5am) Phil went first with the shower and having been warned the hot water took a long time to reach the shower block waiting 15mins – on returning he warned me that there was a delicate balance between freezing cold water and scalding hot water. Perhaps I should have asked more!
The shower room was a detached building about 10ft square with a small palette to balance on whilst having your shower. The shower head was small and set high on the wall above the controls – all looked well. I turned on the tap and was greeted by a small and fine spray of warm water, limited but sufficient to wet you provided you shifted around. I duly soaped myself and shampooed my hair ready to warm up again. Stepping back into the water to remove the soap it had changed from warm to hot which was fine but then turned to scalding. Perhaps naturally assuming the two taps were hot and cold respectively I stepped aside with my eyes closed due to the shampoo running down my face and twisted one and then the other to discover it appeared that both were hot taps and the water was getting hotter. I could now barely touch the taps let alone clean the soap off me. The room was filling with steam and my only option was to use the towel to clear the soap. An interesting start to the day!
We gathered in the dining room with the now traditional frenetic call of the Sherpas calling “Black tea black tea” whilst running round making sure everyone has the right drink to start their day! A good breakfast followed with seconds of toast from Tasha our host, who went on to say shower is easy just turn the cold tap – the consensus was she probably has never used the shower!
Our trek started with a steep slope up with good views back of our accommodation from the previous night and wider views improving as the cloud lifted. As we climbed a relatively exposed path I started to feel dizzy I decided now was the time to start taking the Diamox. Whether it worked or was psychosomatic I was feeling better within half an hour and haven’t looked back since – only a half dose at the moment though!
The route took us through hamlets as we made space for the dzos and yaks to pass, keeping well out of their way:
Lunch brought us a long drop that came no where close to the significantly more pleasant one we used the day before which was both clean and pleasant smelling unlike many of the European style ones here and back at home!
As we left we spotted a mountain goat high above us on the mountain with its coat being blown in the wind. Wildlife spotting Continued this time with charging yaks – I’ll post the video when back.
The route climbed higher and we passed various waterfalls and then spotted male and female pheasants – the male having iridescent blue plumage. They are the national bird of Nepal.
Dole was our destination which despite our hopes turned out to be mobile signal free despite a walk up to gain some 125 metres to ensure we slept below the highest point reached. All was not lost though as we found beer in the “yeti bar” a short distance from where we were staying – albeit that the time spent in the bar meant that it was dark for our walk back though fields with yaks and various drops to avoid!