Kopan monastery

 Have you ever seen a steaming cup of tea agains the morning sun? It's 6am. The steam is dancing really joyfully blown by the wind. It swirls and spins beautifully going in all directions. The sunlight is the stage.The cup in my hand looks so huge.
I've never taken the time to look at it. Why not?

 That's the beauty of being here. I'm learning massively and I have time to reflect on it and on my life. We are in silence for most of the day. We meditate twice a day :-)

Day 3 - I think I've found it! Things've fallen into place. Have been missing something, looking for something, I didn't know what exactly. I've found the last piece of the puzzle. The picture is completed. I can see what's on it :-)

I'm out of the monastery.
Wow! That was a ride! But I had my belt fasten, for a change :-)




I knew it all along. It's a basic upbringing. The principals are obvious: having compassion, patience, kindness to everybody, regardless of temporary and constantly changing feelings, attitudes, situations, living a present moment.... It's a common sense. I preach it to my clients all the time :-)
But I needed to hear it and I needed to hear it now. Now it was the time, I was ready. On my way I was accumulating experiences. Especially during this last a couple of months in India and Nepal, when I have time to live things, slow down, look and search. It feels like now was the culmination of my path - I have finally reached home...inside me...

Buddhism puts all these principals into a systematic philosophy, logical explanations. It gives a work /mind frame, from which you can derive some guidelines and reminders. It just make sense to me. Maybe I needed a religion... :-)

  I left Kopan in a very peaceful state of mind. Normally, after such an intensive experience, I'd look back with a sentiment, clinging to the emotions and people connected to the place. This time I left without looking back, looking actually forward. It's like I came to Kopan, took what I needed and get on my way. Or rather on my Way :-)

After Kopan crew...having a drink :-)

Happy Birthday to me!

Dear Friends, 

Thank you soooo much for your attention!!! It felt very warm in my heart to receive all the emails and special Skypes!!! 

My birth-day was lovely. It was raining cats and dogs and baby elephants all night and all day :-) I stayed in bed for entire morning and then went down to the nice cafe in my guest house and watched the rain pouring down :-) 

Every year I love to organise my birthday to be right in the middle of a cocoon of my friends. This year I was alone...and loved it as well. I missed you all but I was just good :-)  I felt I'm in your thoughts thanks to your heart warming emails. 

Later in the afternoon I had a birthday beer and apple pie with Emma and Rob (trekking bodies) who've just came down from the mountains. 

I'm off to Kopan monastery now. Out of touch for a week :-) 

Kisses! 

Back to civilisation

I came down from the mountains...whole day bus journey...
These busses here are always very entertaining. A lot of shouting, squeezing and arranging so everybody can fit in:-) Somebody drops a baby on somebody's laps, somebody rests his head on somebody's bag and the whole bus gets into searching a screaming lady's earring... All in the rhythm of jumping road accompanied by the frequent sound of horn :-) Nobody complains or make a fuss. The idea is to survive it in the best condition possible and be done with :-)

I arrived in Pokhara - very touristy town. I treat myself with a wonderful room with a bathroom - I feel like a princes :-)  warm shower never felt better!

The End

I'm very happy I have been on this trek now and not 2 years later. The construction of the road all around Annapurnas is discouraging for trekking. It's just not fun. More importantly, slowly but surely, at the lower altitude, it kills the incomes that the local people have out of the very popular trekking rout. On the other hand, at the upper altitude there are purely ugly constructions of high and style-less lodges that spoil the charm of the place....
2 days after the pass, I also catch busses (3 of them, it takes all day!) to go down to Pokhara.

It was a wonderful trek. Beautiful, meditative and challenging at times. surely the great company added immense value to it. Everybody had a place in the gang. There was a lot of mutual understanding and freedom.
I'm leaving with a lot of sentiment for these mountains. I feel touched. My head is filled with the images, views, moments. It was such an amazing personal inner journey for me. One of these experiences that add to who you become.
I don't feel like coming back to civilisation. Luckily it will be only for 4 days. Then I'll be locked in the monastery for my week long Buddhism course :-)

The Pass

The pass is when you have to cross to the other side of the range and the only way is to find the lowest part in between the two peaks. This one, Thorung La, is on the altitude of 5400m. It's the highest pass in the world.
We leave at 5am as we need to get to the pass before the wind will pick up around 10 am.
The day is at it's break. Soon the sun will lit up the peaks behind us. There is many of us climbing the steep ridge to the High Camp. One after another, everybody at his/her pace. I hear only waking up birds and a metallic sound of the walking sticks hitting against stones.  It's a tough climb. We're above 4500m - the air is thin, I gasp for some more oxygen and need to stop every so often to catch my breath. We didn't have breakfast. I start to feel horribly cold in spite of the effort. By the time I reach the High Camp I feel light headed and about to collapse. I can't warm up. A rest and a bite to eat, plus Rich's dawn mittens, help to pull myself together. We're off to the pass.
Surrounded by white rolling hills we go up and down through the snow.
The sun meanwhile is in its full glory lighting up the peaks around. The reflection in the snow is blinding - not possible to take the sun glasses off.
The path leads in the middle of a slope so we need to pat the snow to make a little terrace for the feet.
Everybody for his/her own now. We meet on the top. One step after another. In the white dessert, surrounded by white rocky giants, one by one colourful dots of people move steadily forward. I go slowly, not to loose my breath, trying to find a rhythm to carry on. The pass is at least 3 hours away. The views are spectacular! The feeling of crossing my own bodily and mental limits is even greater! I'm more than 5000m above the world! My legs are heavy, my breath is short and I can't help smiling! The beauty around is breathtaking. The beauty of my inner strength fills me up! Once again I see that I can :-)
The joy grows when i see the guys on the top. Rich prepared a big mug of hot chocolate. It's passed around from hands to hands.
Now a long walk down - descent of 1700m... Piece of cake!
All together it was a long day. We were walking for good 8h and on the way for exactly 12h. Tomorrow a rest.
This trek was one of the greatest things I've done in my life and for myself.

Lady Annapurna

It was such a breathtaking view to see Annapurna for the first time! She ('cause of course it's a woman) was just rising behind us as we were climbing steeply up. In all her majesty, in a white dress of snow - Annapurna II. A bit further, in the cloud we could see the sister - Annapurna IV. And all around we were surrounded by the white ranges, one in front of the other...

 Manang - long awaited promised land! It's a place at 4000m where everybody stops for a day or two to to acclimatise before going higher and through the pass. After 6 days of trekking we've finally reached it. We stay here with pleasure - the place is full of cafes, bakeries...and cinema! So here comes my favourite activity: Vio takes a book and goes to the cafe for a good cup of coffee and an apple pie :-)

Cinema is the sweetest ever! We (about 10 people) are sitting on the cow/yak skin, the fire is crackling and the lady serves us popcorn and a hot cup of tea :-) The film is a piece of crap (In the thin air) but gives us material to joke for the next 4 days.

We say vultures! Gigantic! Huge birds with the long necks coming in and out of their coat of armour like torsos. About 20 of them! Two were having their meal - ripping the meat out of dead goat... You don't want to mess with those guys...

Tchilicho lake
The highest like in the world - 5000m.
To get there we have to pass by a landslide. What a thrill! A hundred meter of a steep slope of a loose rocks above, the same below and one foot wide path in the middle... To add to the picture, you have rushing down loose stones in front of you or behind. It makes an impression! Beautiful!

Trekking around Annapurna

The trek starts alongside spectacular valley...and the road. No asphalt but big enough to have a sporadically passing jeep throwing a full load of dust and fumes into your face...
It takes good 3 days of trekking to get to the decent altitude (above 3000m) where the giant peaks start to impress little human ants.

This trek is a circuit so everybody goes the same direction. It means that you basically see all the time the same faces. After trekking with 2 German guys for 2 days, I hooked up with a British couple and a Brazilian guy. The same evening we enjoyed a company of a semi American guy and his French friend. Add a Canadian fellow and it will be a full gang for the next 2 days. It's interesting and fun!
When the guys went ahead, it didn't took us long to have another gang. First joined a French couple, then a German couple, 2 British guys in the following lodge and slowly also 2 American guys (Rich is a ranger and a great connoisseur of Himalayas! ). Everybody independent, everybody goes at their own pace. We meet on the way or in the next lodge and have great evening together. I can tell you, 2 Brits + 2 Brits equals the Monthy Python life!!! The guys were hilarious! We played stupid card game and they wouldn't stop cracking jokes. It was very entertaining :-)

Together with the stunning views come deep "3D" starry sky at night and...freezing cold... The higher we go, the more difficult it is to stand the cold after the sunset. The lodges usually have a stove in a dining room so everybody gathers around trying to get the spot the closest to the heat and maybe dry sporadically washed socks. The so called shower becomes a "bucket of hot water". It usually happen in the toilet room. You pour a cup of warm water on your back and at the same time you have a draft of a cold air from a glassless window. You understand that in this condition the rate of washing dropped to once every 3 days :-)

Annapurna

Sorry Friends, again no pics...
Now everybody discoveres my difficult relationship with the technology...

I'm off again into the wilderness. This time for longer and higher - around Annapurna. The trek takes from 2 to 3 weeks - I will take some time in between.

Arrivederci! Adieu! Tschuss! Prashchay! Czesc!