Day 4: Kalopani to Tatopani
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
1
91
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Tatopani,
Nepal
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
So we set out from Kalopani with much energy for the long walk ahead of us yet again today. We had walked nearly to the end of Kalopani in search of the sign that would tell us the estimated time to the next village, but we gave this up as a waste of time and went in search of breakfast. Up to this point, you see, we had walked for a little while before getting breakfast to warm up, but we were getting into sparsely populated territory and didn't want to chance not having breakfast
some more kids
. We had ordered out food and were waiting when Travis started doing that thing that I scold him for (every now and again...he's never going to stop). He spins his wedding ring like it's a quarter. Spin, spin, spin. I grabbed it and gave it a spin myself, but Travis slammed his hand down over it. I scowled and spun it again, creating a protective barrier with my arms. With an impish smile he reached over my arms and his finger flicked the spinning ring. And we both watched in horror as it sailed off the table and onto the woodplank floor. Fixed to my seat, I thought, "It can't possibly fall through the crack. Our luck isn't THAT bad."
Oh, but it was. And the minute it was through the crack I was on the floor and Travis had covered his face with his hands. He always thinks the worst possible thoughts at these times. And so as I stared fixedly at the gleam under the floor he was already lamenting the ring's loss. One of the hotel staff came in and saw me on the floor.
"Do you speak English?" I asked anxiously. Well enough, was the response. Excellent. I pointed out the ring and said we needed a wire to get it out
poor mule
. He left to get his friend, who came bearing a seriously heavy duty hooked wire. This thing was thicker than a hanger. I took it, although he said he would get the ring out. Better for me to be the person to push it farther under the wood than some stranger, because I can only blame myself. I thought it would be really difficult to get the ring on the hook, but after a delicate operation I had it. Unfortunately the hook was perpendicular to the ring, making it pretty much impossible to get the ring and the hook out of the crack at the same time. But one of the guys pointed out that the end of the plank had a bigger hole and so I carefully tugged my booty along and somehow managed to get the whole thing out of the floor. The guys and I squealed with glee when I succeeded, and we had a laugh. Travis, still in his state of resignation, pointed out that I would not be happy if the ring hadn't come out. But it had, so I was. Crisis averted, we set out in an even better mood than we'd started with. The terrain was less regular than we'd become rather accustomed to, but it wasn't a great deal of up, so it wasn't a bad walk. If anything it was mostly downhill, as we were descending from the high mountains that cover the north of the Annapurna Sanctuary. I think most of our day was spent dodging mule trains and walking through picturesque and never-ending Himalayan towns
traffic
. Just before we crossed the river, we came across an American and a Nepali who studies in the US. Apparently they had passed us in a jeep earlier in the morning, but then we passed them. We walked and talked for a little while, and it turns out that the American's cousin went to Gustavus while I was there. He was rather famous on campus, as I recall (he was a year or so ahead of me), and had a wicked cool last name, so I recognized it instantly. What is a likelihood that a pair of guys from Connecticut would know anything about Gustavus? Not great. But I guess we Gusties spread out all over.
A pretty much vertical descent over rocks that didn't even pretend to be stairs took us to lunch. Descents are really hard for me because of my ankles, but I didn't twist them or jam them or anything. I'd had great luck up to this point. But honestly, this descent would be hard for someone with the most perfect legs of all time. The stairs got to Trav's knee. Not good, but it's wear that's hard to help with a difficult descent.
The towns we passed after lunch had bundles and bundles of orange trees, and they were all covered in oranges
porters with pots
. The smell of fresh oranges was divine, and all I wanted was to eat one. Little kids pick them and sell them to people for 100% profit. Good deal for them. No oranges for us, however. Oh well. Travis also stopped and got me a stick, which became my faithful companion except when I forgot it, which I did a couple times. When he gave it to me I said, "What do I need a stick for?" We'd had such an easy walk, you see. But I ate my words later when we hauled steadily uphill for two days. Finally, after another long day and being the target of rock-throwing girls (they stopped when I turned and looked stern again...apparently I'm scary...I've been told this before), we arrived at Tatopani. Our hotel was totally charming in the center of the town's narrow main street. There was a sort of courtyard inside that had and orange tree, and before Travis and I went to the hot springs there was a beautiful puppy with such soft, thick fur. I love baby animals. Mammals, in particular.
Our first order of business after dropping off our bags was a soak in the hot springs. They were a short walk from the hotel, but the minute we sunk into the water even the short, cold walk was worth it and all our aches and pains were soothed. It was seriously hot, too, and we had to get out periodically to cool off. But we stayed until it was dark...and realized that we had no torch. The walk back to the hotel was therefore a little exciting, but we managed and had a delicious dinner and a much contented sleep.
Tomorrow begins the uphill haul...
Erin
