Annapurna III
Tatopani to Ghasa
The morning after our marathon trek to Tatopani, Alexa dramatically declared that she needed a wheelchair to go down to breakfast and that she wasn’t walking anywhere that day. We had been considering taking a rest day in Tatopani (since we’d skipped the one in Ghorepani), but the more Alexa whined, the more determined we became to not give in to her tantrums. In the end, we decided to leave late and make it a short day. As we began our trek around 10AM, I began to question the wisdom of not taking a rest day as my calves screamed at me with every step, but after about an hour we all seemed to have walked off the stiffness of the previous day.
After lunch, it started to rain, but we were so hot from walking no one seemed to mind. However, when it didn’t let up and started to rain progressively harder, it wasn’t so much fun anymore. At times, it was raining so hard that we had to stop and take shelter in homes and shops along the path; thank goodness, their occupants were delighted to have us as temporary guests. Near the end of the day, the path began to climb again and we found ourselves on a narrow slippery trail clinging to the side of the mountain with the Kali Gandaki River raging a few hundred feet below us. Adding to the challenge were the constant mule trains coming down the trail, forcing us to press our backs up against the rocks to allow them to pass. Just after the trail had turned inland, a mule train came around the corner in front of us and Simon got caught on the opposite side of the trail from us. As he perched on a rock waiting for them to pass, he was struck by the basket dangling off one of the mules and was knocked into the underbrush. Luckily, there was nowhere for him to go and he was only shaken up a bit. It was a wake-up call for Claude and me though, as only a few moments earlier, a similar incident could have had disastrous results.
We were wet, cold and tired when we finally arrived at our guesthouse in Ghasa and were looking forward to a hot shower. Unfortunately, the solar-heated “hot” water wasn’t even lukewarm and we were still shivering when we hustled into the common room to warm up. We forgave the lack of hot water as the guesthouse house brought out trays of steaming masala tea and hot chocolate and shoveled hot coals into the warming pan under the table. We were also delighted to discover that there was a family of five from the States also staying there. While we had been congratulating ourselves for trekking in the Himalayas with our 6 and 8 year old, they had us trumped, for sure, with a 1 year old, 4 year old and 8 year old. Alexa and Abby, the eldest, quickly claimed their own table and were soon playing cards and chatting like old friends while Elise, the 4 year old gave Simon a run for his money as they competed to see who could talk the most. I think it was the first time that I ever saw Simon come in second in that department. Claude and I really enjoyed swapping travel stories with Shaun and Linda, a couple of doctors from Utah, over chapati and Dal Baht. They have been traveling with their kids since Abby was born and have lived and worked all over the world. We were inspired by their philosophy of working for a few years to support their travel habit and then moving on to their next adventure. They were very relaxed and laidback and their kids seemed well-adjusted and sociable. It was cute to hear Elise speak with a British accent since they had been living in the UK for the past few years. We were sorry to have to say goodnight and the kids bounded out of bed to take part in a makeshift soccer game in the yard the next morning.
We snapped a few photos and exchanged email addresses and, as usual, the kids bade mournful goodbyes to their new friends as we set off in opposite directions. Shaun and Linda told us that the skiing is great in Utah and invited us to stay with them if we ever decided to come to Salt Lake City. Don’t think we aren’t considering it!
Tags: Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Tatopani, Travel
tambour
I had been following your trip during the year. I have been unable to see any blogs during the last 1/3. I have so many questions. My husband and I are trying to plan a year off and it is daunting. Our house is on the market and we would like to leave by the new year. Are you back and settled?
Sandy
We are back and getting settled. Returned in early August and had to relocate to a new province (Quebec), buy a new home, get the kids enrolled in school and start making some $$. Hence the lack of blogging…
I plan on adding some new material soon so stay posted!
Good luck planning your trip – you won’t regret it!