Day 1 - Lukla to Phadking

i am at an internet cafe right now so i can type with much more speed.

the day started very early. 430am. we went to the kathmandu international airport to catch our flight. what a zoo!! couldn't believe it. people rushing the doors to try and get in. guys just taking your tickets and bags. other guys taking your bags and wanting a tip in canadian dollars. so crazy. but we got on our flight to lukla at 630am. it was a very little plane. 15 people or so on it, and that was at capacity. the flight was something else. flying through the clouds, then banking this way and that. at one point we banked pretty hard left, and i was wondering why we were turning so fast, then i noticed the mountain we were turning away from. wouldn't be good to fly into one of those. landing was a riot. 200 yard air strip. you stop pretty quick. then we get off, other trekers get on, and away they go. very fast turn around time.

so today we hiked only about 3 hours. less than that even. and it was mostly losing elevation. lukla is on the side of a mountain, and phadking is in the valley next to the "milk river". i forgot how much i just like to hike. the trails are pretty crazy too. you have to watch exactly where you are going, or else you will fall right onto your face. very rocky. lots of stone steps. i think the trail terrain gets better after namche bazar. the hike was pretty easy. but my legs, calves especially, are sore. but i experienced no cardio/respitory distress. so that is good for me.

we got to our guesthouse at about 1130am and ate lunch. garlic soup and tuna fried potatoes with cheese. much better than it sounds. ian and pete went for a walk after that and the rest of us crashed. i slept soundly for 4 hours. had a real hard time waking up. ian and pete went to a little primary school and said the experience was unbelievable. highlight of the trip. i won't talk about it, they can tell you about it if they want. but i will regret forever not going with them.

anyway, we got up finally and went for a walk around phadking. nice place. i find the people in the mountains to be nicer looking. rounder faces. nice eyes. the children are friendly. they want to talk to you and love to have their pictures taken so they can see themselves on your camera. i got a really cute picture of a little girl we were playing with. she had a balloon. i guess it doesn't matter where you are, a balloon is still the best toy for a kid.

anyway, i love being on the trail. the trek to namche tomorrow will be killer. you gain a lot of elevation. the last 3 hours of the day are straight up! don't love that, but can't really don anything about it.

i should go, others are waiting to post updates to their loved ones. no pictures today, maybe in namche tomorrow i can find some wifi.

love to my kids and husband! seeing all these kids makes me, well we won't get into that! having a blast! more updates to come!