Saturday 7th April

Awoke to a cool but pleasant morning. We had huge storm last night – atomic thunder and great flashes of sheet lightning. Battering rain too. We were so excited we pulled open the curtains and watched it all from under the covers. (Yes, I know, how old are we…?)

I had had a restless night – a few niggles from normal life threatening to intrude. So naughty of them when one’s just trying to get on with it. But in fairness, it was partially kicked off by The Tummy. So it was very nice to hear the cheery chirping of birds outside, and know that the gift of a new day was right there for the taking.

A generous breakfast was served: watermelon juice, coffee, fruit plate, ‘muesli’ (or cereal of a sort), toast, and eggs. Knowing that our first warm-up walk was coming I tucked in (again, slightly crossing fingers).

A while later we set off, poor Jeremy loaded up like a mule (all those just-in-case items when you’re not sure what to expect) and me wielding my new found weapon (walking pole).

I am not a fan of descending anything, as anyone who knows me will know, but the pole was a boon! At last – something to hang on to! You could practically pirouette round it as you slalomed down the hillside. It was a steep and winding path dropping down 200m, set in a mixture of stone and red sandy earth. In case you are like me, the trick is not to look down at the view, but just a few steps ahead. Eventually you will get to the bottom. Hooray!

This morning we had Amit and Uday to guide us, one at the front and one at the back. They were incredibly patient with us stopping to photograph this and that. But it is special, and we want to capture and record lots of things.

The delicate pinnate fronds of the acacia..

Eventually the reassuring rush of river water was to be heard, signalling the end of the descent. A few swigs of water were extremely welcome.

Then began the climb – a steep one – up through the terraces and on to Ude’s village. Time had stood still here, aside from one satellite dish I espied. Tethered bison and cattle, goats, piles of straw for feeding them, mud glued roof tops were all there. The inhabitants stared at us but smiled too through a jagged landscape of intermittent teeth. We greeted one another always with a nod and a ‘namaste’. With Uday and Amit’s help we were able to understand some of what people were saying. One old man appeared, his shiny brown skin stretched taught across his cheekbones, lamenting how old and sore he was and that there nobody was left anymore (his friends having passed away). He spoke smilingly but it was sad. He said his legs hurt at night. He was 87 years old. Not much one can do, except smile back and give some warmth.

No matter where you are in the world, it would seem that the problems are the same.

This was old rural life still going on.

Uday showed us his bison tethered in the yard. They are used for milk.

The contrast of the muddy paths of dirt and cow pats, with the colourfully painted houses and bright colours even in the oldest of clothes, was striking. Tasks are simple: fetching water, cutting wheat with a scythe, portering heavy loads up to the village balanced on the head. All done in the fresh mountain air. Who’s to say that this is any worse than living out one’s days in an air conditioned office block or pushing through the smoggy rush hour?

My goat like traits came happily into play as I clambered on up without too much difficulty. We passed by a shrine for justice on the way and rang the bell as we entered. There were lots of bells hanging before the shrine, each of which represented a justice achieved by the supplicants to this particular god. I did hope they were not tokens of revenge!

Another break for water and then up to the very top, arriving at the Ghantika Temple where a Saddu lives.

We had climbed 500m to an elevation of 2200m! We had to take off our walking boots in deference as we took a look inside. There were Durga, Ganesha and Vishnu in various representations. The Sadu looked quite jovial, robed in pink. He is 58 years old and has lived up there since he was 15, surviving solely on the gifts of Hindu devotees.

It was lovely to get the boots off for a bit and flex the toes. I have a good relationship with mine, plain and clumpy as they are. I feel able to do anything in them (well..almost). More slurps of water and on we continued, Amit pointing out things along the way: walnut trees, the delicate fronded acacias, and long thin oaks, quite unlike our own. On the ground were strewn clusters of long red pine needles, almost hair like. They use them for sweeping houses.

It was a much easier descent, through our nearest local village: Chalnichina. On the way round I had a go at pumping water from the local public pump. It stands by the side of the road, for easy public access, a bit like a petrol station!

Eventually the winding stairway path down to our lodge appeared. Out with the pole again, and what felt a bit nerve racking yesterday suddenly didn’t. We passed a wood pecker on the way down who was extremely busy, tapping assiduously outside his hole.

As I write this, we are having a quiet afternoon, each writing something, a torrent of fat rain low overhead, soaking the entire area. The weather forecast is thunder and rain for the next few days.

Tomorrow we are due to leave to hike for three nights and four days, with just the bare essentials in our rucksacks. I have been alarmingly informed that there will be no hot water or electricity for the first two nights.

So there may be a slight interruption to the usual services. (Unless there’s a change of plan). Back on line when possible!

I close with these young faces. All photo credits to Skip today, as we decided not to duplicate shots.