Day - ....i don't know.... place- Namche... i think

i smell bad.

today was a long day. 8 hours of hiking, 23km. we descended, then ascended, then did it all over again. my feet are a bit achey, and that is not bad since it is the first time they've felt like that on the trip. coming into Namche i stepped a bit to enthusiastically on my right foot and popped a blister on my right toe. now it is festering in my sock.

after dropping our crap off at the guesthouse we went straight for the bakery... but i am getting ahead of myself...

we left periche by about 7am. we made really good time because the terrain was so flat... well nepali flat but still way better than up up up. by about 10am we reached our first up up up bit. it was the part before Tengboche. funny, i remember coming down from Tengboche and considering the decline a godsend. but coming back it was the worst. we were all really tired when we reached the top of the ridge. i was starving, but no one wanted to eat because they were feeling sick from the climb. so when they voted "no" to lunch i took off down the trail. i figured if we weren't going to eat there i might as well boogie down the trail to the next teahouse and eat something there. i was ahead of everyone, and that is a no-no. there has to be a guide in front and in the back. but i didn't care. i was a little peeved because i was hungry. so coming down from Tengboche is also killer. it is steep going down. really hard on the knees. so after about 10min of going down i hear behind me "AnnieDeeDee!" i ignored it and just went faster. "AnnieDeeDee!" and faster still. but of course my nepali brother caught up with me. just perfect. not only am i annoyed at my hunger, i've got an annoying little brother chasing me down the trail. and by the way, i've decided he is neither my little brother nor nepali lover. he is my shadow. a shadow that doesn't even go away in the shade. so we walked down the trail. him either trying to walk right beside me, or close enough behind me to give me a flat tire if i took even one mis-step. stupid shadow... but he is still a sweet kid. he kept trying to talk to me. then, get this, he asked me if he could have my shoes at the end of the trek!! at first i didn't understand. "you... want my shoes?" "yes". "you want...MY shoes.?" "yes." "uuuuhm...NO". not sure what that was about, but i wasn't about to ask. so it was an hour of straight down. my knees felt very wobbly when we got down. but we got to the teahouse and i got a tiwx bar. a $4 twix bar that tasted like the best thing i'd ever eaten.

we had lunch there too. i feel like i've eaten enough potatoes and rice to last a lifetime. after lunch it was more up for about an hour. but more gradual. then another hour or so to Namche. i am glad we are here. 2 more nights on the mountain, then 2 more nights in kathmandu, then home. i will be happy to be coming home. i have loved the trek/people i've trekked with, but the company is growing tedious. too much of the same company can wear on you. truly it is nothing personal, i'm just tired of looking at the back of your boots. if i stay in my hotel room in kathmandu the whole time reading a book, don't read anything into it.

tomorrow will be another long day. but at least it will be the last. kathmandu is my white light right now. if i can make it to the hotel there (free wifi, tv, air conitioning) i think i will be alright.

i couldn't post any pictures yesterday because the wifi was crappy, but i know it is reliable here. so i will post some before i go.

lots of love, i'll see you in less than a week!