Village life

So we headed back from the coast towards the village. It really is nice to be back. It's a different pace of life and I enjoy it quite a bit. It was Aly's first time so Amy gave us the run down. 

Amy explaining the intricacies of bucket bathing. 

We are here to help Amy in her librabry and what she has done is really impressive. I graded papers last time I was there in the same room and it looked like a storage room. It now is looking like a proper librabry. While we where there we catalogued sorted and labeled thousands of books. It's really cool to be a part of a change. It's cool to see the legacy Amy is leaving her school as well. 

Showing how to floss. 

Grade 6

Amy and Aly demoing 

A boy showing us how to brush so carefully. 

Brushing her tongue to get rid of bad breathe. 

We also had a chance to do a clean teeth presentation as well. Amy received a bunch of tooth brushes from a local dentist in her area. So we went to grade 1,3, and 6 and showed them how to brush and floss their teeth. It was interesting. In the 3 classes we went to not a single kid knew what floss was. Oh and they call tooth paste Colgate. It was really fun. Amy has gotten really good communicating with the students but the kids have a really hard time understanding me and Aly. At one point Amy got called away and Aly and I were left to present. The kids couldn't understand anything we were trying to say. After giving them the run down on brushin we took them out into the yard to brush their teeth. The class would get in a giant circle and Amy would go around and put toothpaste on each students brush. Then the would all brush their teeth. Followed by all of them spitting repeatedly. It was really funny to watch them brush. 

I also got another tour of the village. It was the same group as last time and as always they didn't disappoint. 

Headed to the watering hole to see where they fetch water. 

Walking the tracks

The one handed push up. 

Andile teaching me to dance. 

After another stint in the village we would return to Durban to take Aly back to catch her flight. While in Durban we went to the stadium and rode an elevator that took is to the top which has awesome views of the city. 

The elevator

View from the elevator 

Up top 

Aly and Amy 

Group photo

After the trip to Durban I would go back with Amy using the local taxis. We spent that week working in the library to get things in order before she left for vacation. 

Good Friday

It's Good Friday, we are in the village  and we went to a Catholic mission for service. It's been a pretty long day but the services are nice. They are really lively with singing and dancing. The mass part is more laid back. The priest asked me if I wanted to sit in front so it was me and a bunch of older Zulu men. I would get up and dance a little during the hymns as everyone would stand for the hymns. It was interesting. It was really nice of the guy to invite me and it was a bit awkward for a few minutes. Then it was actually pretty fun.  People here are really nice. There are supposedly almost 7000 people here. Amy and I are the only white people unless you count a little albino boy who actually came and stood by us for a while. I think it was an act of solidarity. 

View from the front

Nokuthula and me

Getting back from a long day of worship. 

Zulu people can really sing and dance.  Before school everyday the teachers at Amy's school have a prayer meeting where they sing and share a bible verse and sing and then pray out loud together at the same time and then sing again. The singing is really good. They are really talented. It's a cool experience. The prayers can get a little theatrical. I think it really is a good experience for the teachers though. I enjoyed being a part of it while I was here. 

We brought gifts for Amy's host family and were able to give them to them last night. 

Mla with his gifts

Khanyisile and Nokuthula 

Mama 

More adventures

We rented a car an are now headed somewhere. I actually have no clue where. Amy is running this show and so I am not really asking questions. I am along for the ride. Which is nice actually. We entire to a cheetah encounter thing. It was cool. You got to Go into the cages with a couple different types of cats. The cheetahs are impressive. You could pet them. They were pretty relaxed but snapped at a few people.  

Zebras

The place I went running

The backpackers we are staying at is really nice. The feed the sugar babies every night at seven. They are cute nocturnal monkey looking things. I have my own room which is nice. Also the first time it's happened in quite a while. The property is quite big an had some zebras and deer on it. Today I got a tour by the beagle who lives here. He was pretty good but had some wandering tendencies. He also wasn't very good if you wanted to watch the deer. He would inevitably give you a display of how nimble they are by chasing them. 

Amy as Aly went on a safari tour today and I decided not to go. I am going to Kruger in a couple weeks so thought would be sufficient. It was a really good day. I decided to

Go do some hiking. I started the day hoping to do 20-30km today and did that. I was probably about 25 all said and done. I did some trail running which if you know me isn't really an activity I would typically engage in but it really was pretty fun and probably the closest to running I can to venture. 

I have been really bad about blogging or anything close to it so I am going to do a quick highlights. We went to St. Lucia an went on a hippo tour. I don't have photos because I left my camera behind. We saw a lot of them. We went to a bar one night and sat with some Zulu guys. I got a Zulu name Siezwa. I am sure I spelled it wrong but we had a really fun time and the kept calling me by my Zulu name and asked if I was ok. It means something like nation. It was a really good night. I got some dance lessons from a girl I met at the bar we who was also sitting at our table. It was all in all a really fun night. We went to the beach in St. Lucia as well but it was way to windy. 

We stopped at a nice backpacker somewhere between Durban and St. Lucia. We stayed in a chalet. It was really nice except it hadn't been stayed in for months so it was really dirty. We went to the beach there and enjoyed the sun. The place was run by a British couple who seemed a bit hippyish. I think she was doing tie dye when we came up. They had a huge mastiff as well. 

Back to Durban

So I started my journey back to South Africa. I met with Declan for dinner and then took off to the airport. No problems in Kathmandu. I decided I would leave the airport in Dubai. I am glad I did but I basically just walked around the entire airport to the terminal I needed. It was really good getting some exercise. When I told people I want to walk to the other terminal they kept telling me I needed a cab. It was a longish walk. I Would guess about 5km total. I would guess the people driving by were confused. I was walking on big highways a lot of the time sometimes with no sidewalk. I was glad to get the walk in. The airport here is really nice. 

Dubai

The views from the plane window were impressive as we flew out of Dubai. Lots if huge buildings and some impressive water. Then you fly just a little but and it's just desert land. 

Emirates air flights are quite nice. The plane is far from Full. I have my own row of three chairs to myself. I have about 13 hours of flights and 7 Hours of layovers. It makes for a really long travel day. I think my sleep schedule might be a little off despite the fact that it is only

About four hours from what I am used too. Luckily My sleep habits are anything but normal as it is so I will make due. 

I got into Durban but my bag didn't come with me. Luckily the next day they were able to deliver my bag so no harm really done. I had to buy some toiletries but I will use those eventually anyway. 

Birthday dinner with Amy at Unity

Brandon and Ted some of the peace Corp volunteers. 

Sunset

Another dinner with peace corp volunteers. Great Indian food

The day after getting in was my birthday and also the day I would meet up with Amy. I took a taxi and then a bus to get to the hostel we are staying at. It went really smoothly. The transport here is really good  it's just a matter of figuring out where to pick things up. My birthday was one of my best ever. We really hung out for most the day and then met some friends at Unity bar and had dinner. It was great food. 

Today the plan is a market an then the beach. I have had a chance to travel in South Africa so don't feel so pushed to do so many things. It's a change of pace. I really am enjoying. 

The last couple days have gone my so quickly but we have done pretty little comparatively. We spend the afternoon on the beach today and it was a perfect day. 

Amy's friend Aly came in and we spent the next day in Durban. We spent the time going to a market. We had an interesting time trying to find it but made it eventually. We have been eating really great good. It's been a great time In general. It was the en of the month and I guess a lot of people get paid wether from their job or from the governed do the line for ATMs are hours long. 

We rented a car an are now headed somewhere. I actually have no clue where. Amy is running this show and so I am not really asking questions. I am along for the ride. Which is nice actually. 

Up then down, down, down 3200m to 1200m

So we did it. We walked the entire way. Our last day we encountered some rain but managed to stay fairly dry. We are not driving toward Phokara in a taxi. It wasn't much more than the bus as we are splitting it three ways and will go directly to the hotel rather than the bus station. 

View from poon hill

Prayer flags. They are everywhere. 

We started the day with a pretty good climb up poon hill where we had incredible views of the sunrise over the mountains. The valley was covered in a blanket of clouds. It really was epic. 

From there it was back to the hotel for muesli and hot milk. It's become a staple with porridge on the trip. From there we started our descent. It was harder than expected. It's tiring after than many days an the downhills tend to remind you of all you aches and pains. 

We stopped at a tea house for lunch. It was good but nothing special. And kept going down. 

We made Naya Pul by 4 where we found a taxi to take us the remainder of the way. 

Pack mule with donkeys. One of many hazards on the trail. 

Our taxi. These are the taxi of choice here. 

I am super excited I did it. It was a terrific experience. I would do it again in a second and had I more time I would have probably combined this one with another trek. 

The villages and the people are just incredible. The views majestic and company superb. I had tons of fun getting to know Declan. We talked everything from religion, relationships to politics. Met some really great people along the way. We will hang out until I leave on the 26th. He's a great trekking partner and better friend. 

Here's my plug. Nepal is incredible. It's on my list of places to come back. I look forward to the time I have left and from a trekking standpoint it's great. They really make it easy for anyone to do it. 

Up, up, up. Ghara to Ghorepani

We have had a big climbing day today. It's been really nice. We have been going through these really nice villages. A few stops for warm drinks and I had some yak cheese. It was good. It was really mild. 

A village on the hillside

A tea house

A couple more hours and we will be in Ghorepani with some time to rest. 

We stopped for lunch in Chitre. A nice town high on the hillside. We still have another hour and a half to Ghorepani but it's only noon so we will have a short day. We do still have 500m to climb. 

Just got to Ghorepani and took a hot shower and feel really clean for the first time in way to long. Warm clothes and lounging in the lodge now. It's rainy outside but we somehow managed to miss it for the most part. Our hotel is right on the top of the hillside and our room has a really good view down into the valley. It feels good to rest. One day left. It's kind of crazy. This trek has really been incredible. It's weird to think it's almost over.