Dharapani to Chame – I don’t like your altitude (2nd blog in 12 hours)

A great night’s sleep. In bed by 7.30pm and asleep (bar 1p) until 6.30am. Ten hours at least. My Achilles was aching but Prem soaked it with a rag dipped in boiling water and salt. Christ, that was frickin hot, but over the course of the day it helped. And after masala tea and porridge for Jet, and milk tea with omelette for me, we set off. And almost immediately a real big mountain came spectacularly into view. 

I’m sorry to jump time sequence, like Pulp Fiction, but as I’m sat here in the cosy kitchen of our tea house this late afternoon, there is a flute player around the corner tripping out Himalayan music. It is enchanting. The smell of wood smoke, maybe some incense, and certainly curry cooking in the village evokes emotion. I love this. Trekking frees up my sense of smell, which is usually restricted to Donald Trumps. Back to Bruce Willis in the morning.

Walking up the valley and more mountains came into view. With the moon hanging over the range. 

Looking back the clouds were hovering on the mountainsides but were white and billowy, not dark and grey.

After a while a footpath cut up the hillside away from the track, and we followed it up ancient steps. The sun had come round into the valley but this way was shadowy and winding in some shade from the heat of the sun. Jet was taking the climb in her stride, although I was struggling a bit with the steepness and some pain, but not a lot, in my Achilles.

We came to a tea shop and I asked if we could stop for a cuppa. Then a bunch of Jet’s like minded crew came down the hillside.

And they gathered in the relatively luxurious vegetation around the water tap; until they tried to eat the clothes there for washing and were chased away by the lady of the shop. 

It was another couple of hours before we arrived at the village for lunch. Jet tucked in to rice and cheese omelette and I copped for fried potatoes with vegetables and local wild mushrooms. Great, great, great. Reinvigorated and energised we left the village and set off for Chame.

We nailed it. Heel painless, everyone on form and we were born, born, born….. born to be alive. Which has to be the crappest rock lyric in all of history. The track followed the river, although high above it. This photo doesn’t capture the steepness of this rock face. Very steep. 

As we approached Charme we crossed a brow and something miraculous happened. And it had to be pointed out to me. Above the first layer of clouds to the left of centre are some unusual white shapes. Annapurna 2 at 7,900 metres. Oh my giddy frickin auntie baby! Out of this world. Clearer photos over the next few days I’m sure.

We slipped into Chame and ensconced ourselves in the Moon Over guest house. Around the corner from this shrine.

8,000 feet, moving into the ‘altitude zone’, I can expect to be short of breath. Tell this asthmatic something new. 

Night night.