Christmas Day & The Long Slog

We woke bright and early to dress and pack our bags and realised that Santa had arrived! I had brought stockings for Q and Paul and Paul had brought a stocking for me! Q got an Aspinals of London cylindrical hip flask, coated in black leather with a blue interior and with two small cups in the lid – engraved with his initials. I had filled it with port before we left so that he can enjoy a celebratory tipple at the top of the mountain! I had bought Paul an SOS Talisman bracelet on a watchstrap so that if he ever runs into trouble during one of his long rides or runs, whoever finds him will know how to get in touch with me! He also got a yo-yo and some silly Mensa puzzles made of metal to keep the two boys occupied for a few hours in the mountains. I got some lego, a flannel and a luggage tag. All useful stuff!

After breakfast – where we wore our Santa hats and were suitably festive – we set off on a long trek to Tengboche. We knew it was going to be tough, leaving Namche and heading around the mountain before climbing deep down into the valley to the river…and then climbing straight up to the village. The height gain was immense and the walk was tough. The winds often picked up and threw sand and grit everywhere, into your eyes and throughout your clothes. Given that we have to wear these clothes for at least another week, it really wasn’t pleasant.

We ate lunch at Tengboche, a very good feast of fried vegetables and potatoes for me. This is where Paul and I stayed last year, before heading off once more to drop down into the valley, over the river and back up the other side of the valley to Pangboche. I think we all felt tired, heavy legs and ready for the end to be in sight. True to form, the lodge was at the far end of the village so once we entered Pangboche we knew we still had another ten minutes or so to walk uphill some more. I could wait to stop! We arrived at Everest View Lodge to find small, confortable rooms in full sunlight, warming nicely from the strong sun. I also noticed my face had been quite affected by the sun too and appeared a little pink in places! We realised that there was no water so after a rather grim wet wipe wash to clean off the dust and grime, I put my bedtime clothes on and we enjoyed a Christmas tipple of Baileys (from Paul’s flask) and a piece of Toblerone. I ventured downstairs to the single room to finish my book and rehydrate on a bucket load of black tea. My head was feeling a little heavy but we had climbed over 600m so that may have been why – but after drinking an eternity of tea (and weeing pure clear urine!) I knew I wasn’t dehydrated!

After a couple of hours of reading and resting, dinner was served at 6pm. The boys ate mashed potatoes with veg, egg and cheese and I enjoyed dahl soup with boiled eggs. Yum. I decided we needed a Christmas treat so ordered two Snickers Rolls for us to share – a snickers, wrapped in dough and deep fried. What a treat!!

I was in bed shortly after 7.30pm, feeling tired from the day’s exerts. Another early start tomorrow, another long day ahead…but we have much more challenging days to come!!