Poking Around in Pokhara

March 13 - 17

So, like I mentioned in the last blog, after getting back to Pokhara from the Annapurna trek, we were too tired to get out of the room. We stayed in the guest house and ate our remaining snacks, rubbed Fast Relief (an ayurvedic ointment from India, FANTASTIC for aching muscles) on our legs, slathered Baume de Randonneur (awesome cream for hikers that I picked up in Paris) on our feet and watched TV until 8 or 9pm.

The following day, we signed up for a relaxing trekker's massage with sauna - our first splurge after trekking. A huge storm raged while we were inside the spa, the wind blew so hard, it was almost a typhoon! But by the time we got out, the rain stopped. In the evening, we treated ourselves again to great steaks from Everest Steak House. Real beef at last!!!

 

The next day, we only ventured out in the morning because after 12, there was a hailstorm and Pokhara looked so...  blue.

But bad weather could not keep us inside for long, at dinner we had great pasta and desserts at Moondance. Lemon pie!!!! Oh my!!!

But it was a good thing after all, because the next day, the weather was perfect! The clouds had parted, revealing the creamy white peaks of the Annapurna range.

Chitwan and Holi Roadtrip to Pokhara

Looks Like We Made It!

We're back from the Annapurna Trek and all we got was this shirt!

Five days walking 80° up and down the Himalayas can do wonders. We lost weight, we were forcibly turned into vegetarians, we learned to ignore the pain from muscles we didn't know we had (the butt has muscles???), we survived the cold and heat, and the unholy combination of heat and cold.

I'm proud of Henri, who limped home on our last day because the road down was hard on his feet. And going up was torture for me, but he was my cheerleader and without him, I would probably still be in the mountains, wheezing and complaining about my wobbly knees. Our guide, Bhagwan, was not a bad addition to the team. He lied sometimes about how near the pit stops were (to get me to walk), but he's alright in my book :)

Nous venons de passer 5 jours magnifiques et plein d'émotions fortes. Nous nous sommes prouvés qu'on pouvait monter 1400m en 7h, puis partir avant le lever du soleil le lendemain matin pour admirer le spectacle sur un sommet à 3200m d'altitude. Nous avons souffert, enduré, laisser nos pensées divaguer pendant la marche et nous avons survécu!
Je suis TELLEMENT FIER de ma chérie et je veux le clamer à la terre entière!
Ce trek nous a encore rapproché, comme si l'altitude avait le pouvoir de sceller les unions, ou peut-être l'effort fourni en commun et cette douce sensation d'arriver au point fixé.
Nous vous racontons tout çà très vite, avec les belles photos des sommets, et vous embrassons tous bien fort!!!

Toute l'histoire... prochainement!
The full story -- SOON!

Happy Holi!

Today is the colorful festival of Holi, the day when youngsters in Nepal and India are given license to throw paint and point water guns at unsuspecting victims - INCLUDING FOREIGNERS!

Notice our Nepal makeovers? Henri lost his moustache and I cut my own hair! (Well, it was a boring night in Kathmandu...)

We arrived in Pokhara from Chitwan this afternoon and the mountainside was like a war zone! Kids were throwing water balloons at our bus. Some people were barely recognizable after the attack, but it was all in good fun. Full story on our Annapurna trek entry... Hopefully soon :)

Happy Holi, everyone!