I don't want to go back down :-(
Trip Start
Apr 14, 2009
1
11
16
Trip End
May 07, 2009
Pheriche, Nepal
Friday, May 1, 2009
Breakfast was awesome and little Johnny and Eugene joined us which was really nice of them. Johnny ate Skittles for breakfast. The kid amazes me! He's going to climb Everest and he eats Skittles for breakfast. Eugene answered the hundreds of questions I had for him with a big smile and so much kindness. He's hoping to reach the summit on May 8 because he'll turn 64 that day which made me realize that he was born on the end of the Second World War official day: May 8, 1945.
We were packed and had to say good bye to Base Camp. I so would love to volunteer and stay at Base Camp for the full two months required to climb Everest. But apparently it is not that easy to stay up there even if you're willing to pay for your own trip, food etc. and work for free for the camp. The only few spots available for volunteers are usually taken by the guides' girlfriends. Oh well... I'll keep dreaming about it and maybe one day it'll happen.
I was sad to leave, so sad. I had tears in my eyes and stopped every five minutes to see Base Camp fading away... So not ready to go back to Kathmandu. Martha kept telling me we still had four trekking days before we reach Lukla and get on our little plane to leave the Khumbu but I am still very sad.
I felt extremely tired hiking back to Gorak Shep. I was behind everybody. For the first time I felt some soreness (in my butt!). Being sore didn't bother me, I felt I had no energy in me at all even though we were getting more oxygen as the day went by. We stopped for 20 minutes in Gorak Shep and could feel today was not going to be a good day for me. We then had lunch in Lobuche and I took a nap that helped a little. But something was wrong with me (I was probably paying the price of my short night). Each step was getting more and more painful. Pemba carried my backpack and even without it I was still on the verge of falling of exhaustion. I asked Deana if it would be OK for Pemba and me to go ahead. I just wanted to get to Pheriche where we're spending the night. I didn't want to take a break every hour or wait for anyone. Deana accepted and Pemba and I left ahead of the rest of the group. Even though I had only one thought in mind (getting to Pheriche, laying on a bench and sleeping) I could not help but admiring the amazing valley we were in. We had not come up that way. It looked like a pastel painting. We passed by the memorial area. We saw some adorable baby yaks. It was snowing, it was cold, I was having a physically and emotionally a difficult day but I will never forget the beauty of that valley.
The lodge in Pheriche (called Himalayan Hotel) is stunning (14010 feet = 4270 meters). It is owned by a sherpa who has traveled extensively to the US and specifically to Colorado. I do feel like I am in Colorado. Everything is made out of wood and looks so neat. The place is decorated in a tasteful way, there are books in all kind of languages on a shelf for people to borrow (and we can leave our books here for future clients) and there are showers! We all decided to pay to each get our shower...the best feeling on earth after I don't know how many days using baby wipes as soap and water.
Wonderful Martha got me a Diet Coke to cheer me up after this tough day. That was so sweet of her. That was the first time we saw Diet Coke too! I really appreciated the gesture. Roger let me borrow a book of his about Everest and I relaxed reading more stories about mountaineering. We had dinner with candlelights (!) and relaxing music. The owner really turned the place into a 5-star hotel. He owned another lodge that wasn't so comfy. He decided to build the lodge of his dreams making it the dream lodge for all trekkers and climbers! A team on its way to climb Nuptse is staying here as well tonight.
The dinner was wonderful and it felt all the more wonderful that we were all showered! No more greasy hair and sticky skin... Pasta, yak meat (not bad!), mars and snikers pies were our menu tonight and God knows how great it felt after this long day. I thought of little Johnny wondering if he'll make it to the summit of Everest. After playing Spades with Jonathan, Martha and Deana (we are catching up with Deana and Martha!) we called it a night. Did I mention in the previous days how we taught Dawa and Pemba how to play Spades? Jonathan and I kept losing so bad against them. That was just unbelievable. We spent hours trying to catch up with our score until we figured out that Pemba was cheating. That little monkey knows how to deal cards a certain way so he gets exactly the cards he wants. He's so good at it, it's crazy!!! We had suspicions but we couldn't figure out how he was doing it. I gave him a hard time for being a lama and being a cheater. That just made him laugh!
