While in Kathmandu we couldn’t fathom that we would be capable of waking up and walking the day after a ten hour drive. But we’re excited. The mountains are working their magic and we are all keen to get going.
We’ve decided against guides or porters. Instead opting for minimal but essential gear and the opportunity to walk at our own pace (or really Tom & Jacob’s pace). The day starts off well, the little ones are excited to have each other, there’s lots of game playing, swords and chatter. Their enthusiasm meets reality eventually however and starts to wane, each time hoping the little village we’re passing through will be the one. We call out Namaste to the people we pass by. They delight in seeing our littlest guys passing through.
The final 2km the little boys are in dire need of motivation. We pass a little roadside shop and 30 rupee (approx 20c) secures five chocolate wafer bars. Spirits are at once lifted and it’s not long until we spot a lodge with tables set out in the garden. We decide lunch here if nothing else, we settle in and order just as spots of rain start. We all move inside, it’s as cold as a fridge with no form of heating except the cooker in the kitchen but the people are friendly and just enough English is spoken. Cooking for an unexpected nine people is obviously a big ask and nothing happens quickly. Three hours on we concede we aren’t going anywhere for the rest of the afternoon and consider our options. It’s not the cosiest lounge room to spend the evening but there is a tv in the corner. It’s showing a NZ documentary on eels of all things and occasionally a news item shows, though we only pick up the occasional word Covid is the dominating story. We sit inside sheltered from the rain as the kids write their journals and play phone Ludo.
Eventually the guys head off down the road to check out the only other option on this stretch, Julie & I head upstairs to check out the rooms, we get a fright when opening the door to one as we see a massive leg of meat open air curing in a bowl and the door is quickly closed. To be fair it is so cold there are no flies in sight. However the guys come back saying the other option is a large wooden shed so we go with it. Bags not sleeping in the meat room.
Being at altitude takes some getting used to, Phera sits around 2500m above sea level it’s still early in the season and the weather is (apparently) colder than usual. Once the sun disappears the temperature drops quickly and this guesthouse unfathomably has no fireplace inside. Sherpas are tough and the doors pretty much stay open all night with the inside temperature dropping as fast as the external one. We wear most of our warm clothes and shiver, waiting for dinner. We meet Sangay who speaks American accented English. It turns out he studied and lived there for 6 years, he tells us he’s building a house down in the valley, and that last night he spotted a small leopard down there. The owner invited him to stay at the lodge as he had been camping down next to his house for two months. I take a moment to process that we’re struggling to stay warm inside in spring and he’s been camping through the Nepalese winter. We ask about the lack of a fire and he says this has only been rebuilt a year ago, it had burnt almost to the ground. So we can hope it’s a work in progress, but maybe it’s a reality check. The toilet and washroom are at the bottom of the garden, a basic squat toilet with bucket as we have come to expect. But the views are next level.
Late afternoon Sangay returns and gets a fire lit outside for us to try and warm up a bit. It becomes a massive drawcard for our younger trekkers to pole sticks and throw twigs to watch the sparks fly. Eventually our host manages to cook up enough dinner to feed us all and we get to hit the (very cold) hay – but first Sangay says he has a treat for us. He tells us there’s a kiwi farm nearby and my brain searches for the least likely option; either our national endangered flightless bird is being farmed in Nepal or I have 100% misunderstood the growing climate of kiwifruit. It turns out it’s option two. Sangay breaks out the clear kiwi fruit liquor, I don’t manage more than a sip but it helps take the edge off the chill. It’s only day two and we have been welcomed so graciously by the people in the Khumbu. We feel very lucky.
After a long day and a cold evening it’s time to attempt to get as much sleep as we can, excited for day two tomorrow.
