Mice don't just crawl inside the walls and the concept of the Bucket Shower!!!Wednesday Oct. 6, 2010.

The Bakery was our little piece of heaven in this very damp but scenic town of Thyangboche. We had now climbed to 12, 683 feet. The baker was very talented as I'm not sure how she managed to make the apple streudel rise at such altitudes. The apple pies are well known to Trekkers and apart from the German Bakery that Hilary and I found in Namche Bazaar, this was the next best bakery on the Trek. ( the one in Namche had a flush toilet with toilet paper...luxuries that don't exist on the Trek )


I did not devulge but some seemed to enjoy the bucket shower. Much to my room-mates distain, I chose not to shower until we came down the mountain. I just didn't want to get cold. The cabin at French River which my husband loves and I never really enjoyed was starting to seem quite spa like to me.

We basically stayed in a farm house with lots of animals just roaming everywhere. No one really slept here. There were so many mice racing around at night it was like the 401 in rush hour. I saw them on the floor as well as hearing them in the walls. We stayed at this Lodge both on the way up and then dreaded the return on the way back down the mountain. On our return, Lesley felt something on her back and when she turned on her headlight in the middle of the night , a lot of people that had managed to fall asleep were suddenly awoken. Lesley was screaming because she did in fact have a mouse inside her sleeping bag and it crawled up her back and raced back down the ledge ( aka bed ) that she was sleeping on.

I guess Laura and I were lucky that we slept high that night and shouldn't have complained that our room was next to the family that ran the Lodge, including their 2 year old who was charming except when she didn't want to sleep! They told me that they will host 8, 000 people from September-November. The other peak time to Trek is in the spring. I asked what they did in the off-season and the answer was very clear.....WE REST!!

We were allowed inside to watch the ceremony but I did not have permission to take pictures. The permission involves getting pre-approval and making a donation to the Monastery. The shrine to Buddha was spectacular.

Buddhist Ceremony banishing the Black/Evil and Blessing the White/Pure Space.

The Buddhist Monastery. Rhododendron Tea to help with all ailments is made by the Monks here. Rabbin, our Trekking Guide spent a few months here as a boy of 10 years. It is very common for families to place their sons in a monastery for a short time to improve their discipline and humble their attitiude to life and compassion to others. The parents of Nepalese children don't want their kids to get better marks, to win awards or to attain materialistic things. They raise their children to be above all else : loving , kind and compassionate to other people and living things........

Lunch was by the River today and we had a culinary treat...Yak Cheese/ aka Nak Cheese which was very tasty and provided some much needed protein that was missing from our diet. All the food has to be carried up the mountain. There was some vegetation and gardens at lower altitudes but once we got higher, the snow line prevented any vegetation to grow. We found out at lunch that one of the ladies in our group collapsed on the Trek and had to have oxygen. The only way to treat altitude sickness is to go down to lower altitudes. She had come on the trip with a pre-existing respiratory infection which proved to weaken her enough that she could not continue. One of the Sherpas stayed with her until we would return down the mountain and pick her up to go home. One can never under-estimate the power of the Himalayan mountain range and it's humbling shadow cast on our group. I became even more serious about slowing my pace to help with the acclimatization. The slower you go, the less chance you will get sick.

Yes, the suspension bridges continued but now I was almost getting comfortable!! I could look down and not feel as if I was going to throw up. Small victories!!

Our small group heading east today to Thyanboche. We have already " claimed " Ten Gruk as our own personal Sherpa. This would be the amazing group of ladies that helped take me to the top, literally one step at a time. I was so very lucky!!

One of my favorite pictures. Very pleasant but cold day to Trek. Stunning view to start our day. The mountains have shown their beautitude. Nice easy pace compared to yesterday. This is not a postcard, it really is my picture. When I get a chance I will post all my pictures on a web link. The Blog doesn't really do justice to the pictures.