We ran into Kate and Ben at breakfast. Also met Rich (from Austin) and his daughter who did this hike. Seeing them do a father-child adventure like this make me think of doing something like this with Alisha and/or Rohan. We all shared quick stories of our experiences on this trip. Rich has captured great footage from this trip so I am going to request him to share with me. What my eyes and heart captured was very Hi-Def but I would not mind high quality images to keep the crispness of this trip fresh for years to come.
We hit the road, walking through small alleys stopping at stores to pick up stuff. There was a parade along the street (Ganesh Jatra) with the youth playing flutes, drums, cymbals and a bunch of drunk young men lifting a heavy palanquin with a Ganesh statue within, trying to balance the load and navigating through the alleys. Yes, the "lifters" were drunk. That's what the Thanka painting shop owner told us. It's a tradition. I am OK subscribing to a performance enhancement drink or two for a religious and ceremonial cause. There were multiple parades so we caught a few.
Jason had brought along a bunch of color pencil sets to give to kids in the mountains. Due to our weight restrictions, we have to leave a lot of them back here. We stashed pencils in our bag to hand out to kids in Kathmandu. The shopping was quick and easy. We retired back to the hotel. Jason got packed. Sonam Sherpa gave Jason his completion certificate — legit!
Jason's airport pickup was at 4:30pm. The Ian Taylor team was hosting a dinner for a few climbers who had returned from a month long expedition up Island Peak and Meru Peak. These are real serious climbers, so hearing their stories was exhilarating but I have no such desire. I will watch such climbs on YouTube for now.
After the dinner, Dawa Sherpa presented me with the completion certificate and with the ceremonial green silk scarf. Still seems very unreal that I did this trip that's been so much on my mind for so many years. Dawa, his wife Kay (originally from Ireland) and Dawa's son Sonam, plus some of Dawa's family members together pretty much run the Ian Taylor Trekking operations on the ground here in Nepal. They are fantastic people and make everything so seamlessly easy — always smiling.
