rain rain rain

9.15.2012

The locals left rooms five, three, two and one in disarray while the couple from the UK left room four as if they hadn’t slept there.  Sweeping, making beds I did, Maya objected when I started to clean the bathrooms yesterday so I’ll leave them as is for Didi who has been too busy in the past two weeks to get to the rooms before late afternoon.   

Ramesh brought up Maya this morning and he sketched out an itinerary for the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) in eight days.  Maya is telling me Laxman went to Pokhara and we will begin the trek tomorrow!  Well, am I ready?  Pretty much, lighters I need. Temperatures at the base camps will be around freezing so this part of the trek is my concern.  Wool shawls, socks may be an issue, keep em dry is primary.

So Prakesh comes to room six and we talk.  Years of drug abuse and a divorce from his parents has him at the crossroads; to change or not.  Maya advises me later not to let him in the room.  His mind his mind no change.  Yes there’s something missing, a lot of connectors have been cut off and he wanders everywhere hoping for charity though everyone knows him and his family and they won’t give him a thing.  I knew giving him something may be wrong and may result in his showing up unannounced and unwelcome, he did have the black and white Tibetan string that had been around my ankle for at least three years.  I never felt it fall off.

Rain has held off so far up but it is darker now.  Another mother ship cloud hovers above the mountain and it begins.  The three painters earlier finished painting the upper garden and tower railings and we watched to see if colors ran from the 75 minute thunderous downpour. A quartet of recently retired Australians arrive in the deluge and take two rooms.  Packing packing packing, almost finished, should weigh less than ten kilos and will weigh far less when I am wearing everything three miles up in the air. 

The air has 30% less oxygen after 10,000ft and there was no problem with Muktinah’s 12,700ft heights though the difference there is I took seven days to reach that elevation.  This time it’s 14,000 in four.  Bistarly

It’s almost time to sleep, Simon and Garfunkel lulls me quickly.