namche bazaar is where we are at. i sit and type using a dodgy keyboard at an expensive internet connection, just amazing that this can be done from here at all.

7 days of walking, at least 7 hours each day. Up up and up followed by down down and down. the rare flat sections most welcome. i know the sight of my boots so well. tough , very tough but wonderful. getting up at six each day and walking by seven. through villages where some things have not changed in 100s of years. wooden ploughs pulled by two bullocks. women working in the fields. all sorts of foods being dried in the sun. children washing at the outdoor tap (no water shortage) to get ready for school. old women lying in the sun next to babies. mule trains passing by with melodic bells chiming. porters carrying impossible loads.

and then the new – mobile phones, tv via satelite, electric lights, small hydro schemes, fake north face clothing, and Buffs – the “in” wear for the region, trekkers and villagers alike!

all with incredible views. overwhelming ever-changing views. it could take me a lifetime to move through this landscape and fully appreciate it.

our first view of everest was exciting and awesome. seen from a far it was lower than other peaks but it was Mount EVEREST!!!

with strenghtened legs we moved up into the khumbu today, joining the ranks who fly into lukla. even more trekkers and porters and mules and now dzopkyos on the trails.

a rest day here tomorrow and then further up into the real mountain zone