At 2:30 am, the dreaded headache returned, but not as severe. While one might think that this is a good sign, it in fact is not. The goal is to have the adverse symptoms gone completely, and then, you can ascend again. So, we had to make the decision to keep going down.
Mingma took us on a different route, past a 600 year old monastery and up along an insanely narrow ridge. I never knew I had a propensity for vertigo until today! We saw lots of yak, mountain goats and golden eagles. Our final stop for the night was a little town called Psortse, at about 13,000 feet. It is a small village and we stayed at the Namaste Lodge, owned by Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa and his family. Lhakpa had attempted a summit of Everest in 1983, and made summit in 1985. It was exciting to meet an actual sherpa who had been to the top!
In addition to the notoriety of their owner, they have the best Sherpa Stew and Rara Noodles, as the vegetables are all fresh from their garden – potatoes, carrots, parsley, cilantro. And fried potatoes too. Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering again!
Funny thing the menus and what they offer. On a menu at a teahouse, there are several things listed. For instance, at the Namaste Lodge, a room will cost you 200 rupees, or $3.00. A bowl of hot water for washing – 150 rupees. A beer? That will set you back 250 rupees. Yep, a beer will cost you more than a bed.
For our after dinner entertainment and completely random,, a couple of guys from an organization called Extreme Ice Survey came by to show everyone the work they had been doing with time lapse photography of the recession of the Khumba and Gorak Shep glaciers. We all sat around the warm stove and watched a slide presentation on their laptop. Totally unplanned and enjoyable!
And, Wally is feeling much better – not 100%, but getting close.
Quote of the day:
Bette: There’s only so many times you can spray yourself down with Lysol.
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