Epiblogue

11/29-30/19

Well I just couldn’t stay away. After a restful night in Lukla we met our guide at the chaotic airport where all the trekkers were attempting to ‘hitch a ride” on one of the flights out. Luckily we had tickets, but unluckily it was to a city which was a 4 hour drive from Kathmandu. Again, we boarded a rickety aircraft and were aimed DOWNHILL along a SHORT runway ending precipitously in a 1000m cliff. I don’t think I was the only one who held his breath for that nerve racking takeoff.

We landed in a dusty field and found our driver to Kathmandu. Those roads put Montana’s winding, mountain hugging roads to shame. As our driver darted and weaving through mountain traffic with the precision of a surgeon leaving his fares in a perpetual sphincter puckering state, we did enjoy the countryside of Nepal. It felt like a National Geographic moment with my hat on backwards hanging out of a car window with warm Napoli air blowing in my face as villages, farms, and people passed  this was an adventure. We stopped a few times on the way to sample exotic fruits and stretch. Then we hit the dense traffic and mayhem of the big city. The smog was everywhere, the streets were saturated with motos and cars, and the heat was oppressive. We arrived just in time, for our patience was thinning.  

Ah, a warm shower to wash away weeks of cold weather hiking grime. May have been my highlight of the trip. Ben and I set off for massages and bough the trekkers package which involves stretching and walking along our backs. It was heaven. That night we rejoined the parents for a wonderful dinner and drank and laughed all the way back to our hotel. Tomorrow Ben and I are going white water rafting!

We awoke early for some coffee before our rafting trip. We had been egging in our guide (all 5 foot nothing of him) to come rafting with us. It wasn’t until we were on our way that he mentioned he could not swim. We met up with our hodgepodge rafting company and were joined by some polish and Australian tourists. It started out as a simple trip. Ben and I were the only ones with some experience so we sat in front and took the brunt of the waves. Then the rapids grew more intense.

On our last rapid our guide told us, “when the raft flips over swim to the right, cause if you go left, you die.” He did not disappoint we raced down a tumultuous narrow span of ferocious water. A literal wall of water slammed I to our boat soaking everyone and Myla said it was the scariest moment of his life as he sat shaking like a leaf. But we made it through laughing and whooping. We then had a Nepali lunch by the side of the river and took our 3 hour terrifying ride back to Kathmandu. Meanwhile mom, Viv, and dad took a guided tour through the city visiting beautiful and tranquil Hindu holy sites and sampling the local cuisine. One more day of shopping then we head back! Can’t wait!!!