15 Apr 2025, Tuesday

 15 Apr 2025, Tuesday

Prioritized Daily

2nd day with diarrhea

6:30 am we ate breakfast                                                                                7:00 am  depart Phakding for Namche Bajar a distance of about 12 km.    (we cross 5 swinging bridges today)                                                          7:20 am first bridge, 8:30 am second bridge, 10:20 am third bridge,     10:20 am we crossed the third swinging bridge                                      10:30 am stop and have lunch in Jorsala on the Dutkoshi River              Took picture of Thiland Buddhist Shrine and picture of Jmokpa, a cross between a cow and a Yak                                                                        (Most of the old wooden bridges have been replaced with metal ones.  The government of Nepal pays the locals to replace and build new metal bridges, build and repair trails, and maintain the park)                               We crossed the 4th swinging bridge and then the 5th, Hillary Swinging or Suspension Bridge and most famous.  The first and lower bridge across the river gorge is for bungee jumping.  From the bridge we hike 600 meter almost straight up for 600 m. to where we spent the night at the Namche Bazar Guest House.  On the way we stopped and Sudip went in the Sagarmatha National Park's last checkpoint, where permits and TIMS cards are checked.  At the second I saw an elderly Sherpa with a walking stick carrying about 90 pounds on his back and neck.  It took some time for Sudip get our passports and permits checked, and while I waited I met Y__ and elderly gentleman and we started talking.  He was 84 years old, from St. Petersburg, Russia.  He has a son living in NY.  I helped him with his pulse oximeter, an instrument to check his blood oxygen and heart rate.  We talked about our families and where we were from.  He asked me my age, and I wanted to know his.  He was not going to base camp and wanted to know what I contributed to my health and energy level too.   It was the same question a couple had asked me at the bungee jumping site lower down the mountain.  The only thing I could think of and was the correct answer, The Lord.  Shivakumarr Pune was there with a small camera, making videos for his YouTube site, Gojustore.  He interviewed us and when Supid finished we continued on ut the mountain.  I kept my solar panel charger on my backpack.  I want to be sure I have enough power in my cell phone to call Debbie before I go to bed, if we have Wifi.  It has been a beautiful day, and it did not start raining until after we checked into our guest house at about 4:00 pm.  I had my own private room, and it had a shower.  It had only warm water for about 2 or 3 minutes, and then it went ice cold when I had shampoo in my hair and had not finished showering.  I cannot complain being this high up in the Himilians, I am blessed to have a shower at all.

In my journal in September 2019, I had recorded that the porter carried and cooked our food.  This was incorrect; the guide buys the food, and he and the porters serve and clean up after we finish eating.

       Breakfast picture of Sudip and my half-eaten bowl of chicken soup (this was all I was able to eat, breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a little toast for 5 days)

 Tax Day in USA

lunch will be at Jorsala.