Annapurna -Day 16
This morning we had breakfast with the two men before we all headed off on our journeys. Dave and I left just after the two guys and Rik followed later on. After a while, Willy the shaggy dog from the guest house, had stopped following the two guys and instead followed us all the way to Larjung where he met his girlfriend (we think Willy was a boy) and left us while we ate lunch. The wind wasn't so bad today and the trail was quite steady and flat that I was fine wearing my socks and sandals today (to give my Achilles a rest). We had an amazing array of scenery today passing by some incredible views that reminded me of Canada with the pine trees dotted under the snow capped mountains. The scenery kept changing and we saw the biggest glacier fixed in between the mountains. It was amazing! We took some short cuts through the wide and stoney river bed and hopped stone to stone when we came to the flowing river parts. At one point it was too awkward to get across so I had to take my sandals and socks off and walk through the chilly water. Refreshing and not as cold as up in the mountains last time I did it.
We carried on for a while until we came to the sign for Titi Lake which was a side trip up the too of the mountain. Rik had carried on so we couldn't tell him our plan to go up and see the lake. We hoped we would catch him in Ghasa. We took the side trail up the steep hill for an hour until we came to the lake surrounded by marshlands. It was pretty cool and with the backdrop of the snowy mountains and desert scene, it made a perfect picture. We carried on through the pine forest which was really nice and had some amazing views, before heading back down through some small villages until we saw a sign for Ghasa which said 1.5hrs. We took the trail which led us across two bridges, more bamboo forests and eventually a main road which we knew meant we were close. It got dark and with our flashlights out, we headed towards what looked like Ghasa, before being greeted by a bright headlamp coming towards us which was Rik. What a coincidence! We headed to the guest house he had chosen and are some dinner. There we met a mixed country group including one irish girl which was random, all of whom were on what seemed to be a tour of the circuit. It was quite cringey to sit there and listen to them ask their guide every little thing as if being in school. One guy asked exactly how hot will the hot springs be and another girl asked for an itinerary for their time off in pokhara on a few days. Rik, Dave and I retreated to our room and bitched about then for a little bit, saying that we were glad to be individual Trekkers and to have the freedom to do what you want. The way then acted made me really glad I wasn't on a package trip, nor would I chose to go on one in the future if I had a choice. Here we were, three individuals all trekking together and having a great time but with the freedom to do or own thing too! Tomorrow we would walk to Tatopani -which means Hot water in Nepali, where we would spend the day in the natural hot springs! We couldn't wait! And weather the group decided to walk or take their jeep was another story.
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