Day 88 - 28 October 2009: Day six of Annapurna Base Camp Trek

Yesterday’s jogging was a big wopping mistake. I wake up feeling like the texture of a melted lollipop stuck to the ground. We have to climb back to the other side of the valley today, which changes from testing to killer due to my condition.

My left knee and foot are aching badly and I find putting my weight on the left side very difficult. Going uphill I can use my left as the trailing leg, so perversely I am going uphill quicker than I am going down, the latter of which I am doing by side steps. Fortunately, much of our route ‘down’ the valley is actually uphill, so we still manage some distance.

I am getting near to tears. Laurie claims boys cry more than girls. I retort that my four and six year old nieces cry more than their six month old baby brother. In fact I can imagine my nephew saying to himself: ‘you girls cry too much. Me, I’m just going to sit here sleep....and crap myself occasionally....’

the snowy striped tail mountain cat?

We stop at Chomrong again, this time at Chomrong Cottage Lodge as it has been recommended to us by a Brit couple we chatted to on the way down. They especially recommend the pizza for dinner. There are quite a few of the lodges that serve pizza, though it is not on the standardised government menu, but having seen some I have not yet been tempted. However, the one I have for dinner, which I share with Laurie with a convincingly good bean enchilada is actually pretty good. It’s got a nicely cooked base, although there is too much garlic in the tomato base. Also recommended from the specials menu is a big serving of sludgy chocolate cake.

I also have a great hot shower, which isn’t available at all the lodges, although Laurie comes out of hers crying because there was no cold water in the mix for her. It was so hot she couldn’t even turn off the tap. Thankfully she did have the wherewithal to grab her towel before jumping out of the shower room.

Another highlight of this lodge is the view from our window, which looks out over the valley with clouds encircling the peaks. A lot of the rooms we have stayed in didn’t have windows at all, and were set amongst the flatland anyway.