Back to Namche Bazaar the next day to camp ….in the same Guesthouse courtyard as before, …View image…same two-person-two-hole toilet outhouse (encourages friendship or, of course, you could use it by yourself)… View image…

Time for lots of photos, interaction with our Sherpas and people along the way going up and down…stopping for hot lemon tea breaks. Breathing is easy going down but oh so hard on the knees!

There was more time to visit the shops (in case I missed anything), really looking over each little thing and buying new prayer flags for our backyard.

Namche sellers in Nepal

After Namche, down (of course) to one last camp at Phakding, and from there, to Lukla. Sanjeev surprised us the last night with a stay in a Lukla guest house right by the airstrip rather than making camp. Keep in mind that the guesthouses are as cold (if not colder) then the tents. There is no such thing as – heat!

Our Gala Farewell Dinner with camp crew was held in the guest house. The cook outdid himself cooking everything you could possibly imagine…meats, chicken, vegetables, deserts. So much food. And then, the ritual of passing out gratuities to these terribly hardworking people, hugs all around and speeches thanking them. I got to present an envelope to Lo Pa who had saved me from impalement by the Zukio. When you spend every waking moment for over nine days with a group, the people become closer than family. It’s difficult to disconnect after all the hours spent talking, sharing stories and heartaches in our lives, experiencing different emotions, conquering aches, pains and altitude sickness, shopping together, eating unfamiliar food, watching our poor Nepalis load up and carry all those heavy loads – day-in and day-out. Quite emotional.

The group was obsessing…..would we wake up tomorrow to find Lukla socked in (if so, it means another day just hanging around this airstrip)…or would our flight leave for Kathmandu…stay tuned…