Location: Namche Bazaar
Altitude: 3440 metres
Weather: Fine in the morning, cloudy and windy in the afternoon
Hi everyone Denise here,
I’m pleased to say that we’ve all arrived safe and well at Namche and everyone is feeling good.
Strategic decisions
After staying at Monju last night and doing the extra walking yesterday we were happy to be able to have a leisurely start today. It was an 8am start with a breakfast of porridge to warm us up for the climb ahead. Toast with home made apple jam finished the meal. Then it was watching the porters load up our bags (we haven’t been travelling lightly!) and setting off at 9am.
First view of Everest
For the first 30 mins we followed the Dudh Koschi river, simple undulating terrain and then the climbing began; stone steps and gravel. Everyone settled into a gentle easy rhythym, putting one foot in front of the other. The porters continue to amaze us with their strength. A porter that passed us today was 22 years old, weighed 55kgs and was carrying 75kgs on his back!
Onwards and upwards we crossed the Hillary Bridge and just as we were starting to fatigue, all was forgotten when we were rewarded with our first view of Everest! Snow capped and shrouded in cloud…but Everest none the less. So, with renewed vigour we fell back into step and kept on climbing. Chocolate, lollies & water (in that particular order) brought us to Namche Bazaar.
Hillside village of Namche Bazaar
After 3 hours and 25 mins we walked into the stepped, hillside town of Namche Bazaar. The white 2 storey lodges with blue roofs contrasting strongly with the rocky brown/green terraces. We came across a father and his little boy sifting through a tray of caraway seeds removing the stones. After taking a photo of the little boy, he was amazed to see himself on the camera screen. It was fantastic to see the wonder in his face and the smile it generated.
Now time to rest and acclimatise
Our lodge is great, with the most amazing views from the bedroom windows. The bakeries here aren’t bad either! We have spent the afternoon relaxing, roaming around town and sending messages home. We have another rest day here tomorrow, so until then….
Your Messages
Hi everyone – Fiona here…
Thanks for your messages for us.
Jacci – Yes, I worked it out. Bit of a relief and glad to hear it’s all ok.
Leah – Mum has a special yetti foot beer coaster for you from the Rum Doodle.
Sara – great to hear the preparations for the Inca Trail are progressing well.
Hi to Anne and Graham, Bill and Liz and everyone else.
Bye for now,
Fiona
Hi Boys
Thanks for your message. I did see lots of monkeys at the temple and yes Stefano I have all I need for Everest Basecamp now. I saw a bit of Everest today, although it was far far away. We also see lots of children everyday and they remind me of you guys.
Thanks for reminding me of your ages 🙂
Lots of Love
Daddy ( over 40 )
Hi Fiona and family,
Did you choose to stay in the lodges as opposed to tents or was the particular trekking company you used in charge of this? We wonder whether it is a better way to go compared to tents all the way?The bakery sounds great after trekking into Namche, have fun and cute photos!
Ann and Graham
Hope you aren’t too tired after your long walk today, daddy. The little boy in the Bazaar looked really cute. We’re following your progress on the map you left us pinned on the wall. We had a lovely day with Patrick at Zia Rossanna’s today and got to sit on Otto after mummy and Sophie rode him. Lots of love Luca
Stefano also says Hi!
Bye for now, we look forward to reading your messages tomorrow after school.
this is to cassra (way over 40!!) from Luca
Schöne Grüße an Rudi von Heidi und Roland, aus dem lächerlich flachen Weinviertel. Wir hoffen alles läuft gut. Es mach unheimlichen Spaß euch auf Googel Earth zu verfolgen.
Also once again great thanks to Paul for making this page.
Heidi und Roland
Denise, are you an official photographer?:) your pic about this little boy is brilliant! – should print out in National Geographic special issue about Everest and Nepalese culture:) I am always lost if it comes to taking photos… If I were there I would not stop taking photos … I would be pretty much useless being entertaining but would be pretty good taking hundreds of photos;)
Looking forward to seeing more pics from your way, Girls (+Cas;)
Cheers, Mira
looks like you are having fun but looks a bit too chilly for me.
Keep going old fella!
It’s amazing to watch your journey so far. I can only imagine the sights and experiences you are all having and seeing. Not sure about the swinging bridge.
Cheers Lesley
PS: Denise the Hawks went down by 3 goals yesterday.
Hi Cassra Ma Man. Looks like you are having a great time. Seeing your photos I’m getting even more depressed I didn’t make it. Hope everything goes well. All the best.
Mehrdad
hi beck, unfortunately no good news on the footy front. Dees went down to the swans by 49 points. Bate injured – not sure how long he will be out for. The only good news is that in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters we played a bit better than we have been over recent weeks. We still got done but the signs were a little better than previously. Port Adelaide this week at the MCG – surely we will break the drought one day!
hope you are feeling better, love meals
Hi Fiona and co.
What a wondrous site for all; your first view of Everest. Fiona, what a special treat for you. It is amazing, almost a year ago you stood on that summit of all summits! What a hard road it was and what an accomplishment!
Great photos. I too, enjoyed the boy helping his dad sort the caraway seed. Nice job, Denise. I love his smile!
MC
“If a smile can light up a room, imagine what it can do for the human spirit.” mc
Cas,
Great to see the photo of you on your way to BC .. living the dream.
Take plenty of time to stop and “smell the roses”… or rhododendrons or whatever plants are native to Nepal 🙂
Enjoy !
Peter B
Hi Cas,
Looking good and happy on the picture! The best part is probably still to come. We will be following you in your tracks…
Kiki, Fredddie and the boys
Hi,
Well done all of you for making it to Namche Bazaar! Julia – I had to do a double take of the photo of you as for a moment I thought you were Inna! Are you fully recovered Beck? That 75kg bag – which one of you does that belong to? 🙂 Hope you enjoyed your rest day. Take care, Dame
Good to see that you are on your way. Pictures look good. It is good to be able to track your (and Paul’s) progress. It will be good to get your impression of the parks and conservation (and also the native rhodo’s), as Sir Ed and Peter hillary have been keen to extend Australia and NZ park agency support to areas such as Nepal. Every two year or soon we host some park staff from Nepal. Sir Ed is the patron of the Parks Forum which brings together all the key park agencies.
Hope you get this message and are having a great time.
McCarthy’s from Glen Iris
Hey Ma,
Good to hear you’re all having a great time. It looks like you’ve already seen some fantastics things and I’m sure there’ll be more to come. Denise’s photo of the boy is fantastic! I hope you end up with a few ones like that youself. Hearing all about your trip makes me wish I was going too!
Everyone at home is well and so far Mama’s meals have come in very handy. Sadly, there are no more for tomorrow night! I am still busy with work but I’ve realised that I only have about 8 more weeks of it doesn’t seem nearly so bad. On the other hand I’ve made more of an effort to organise myself because 8 weeks really isn’t very long.
I hope everything keeps going splendidly and I look forward to getting the updates. When will it be your turn to write?
lots of love,
barls
Hey Dude
Hope you are having a brilliant time
I am sure you will beat me up all the hills when you get home if you can still remember how to ride your bike !
Take care buddy and we will continue to watch your progress
Rob and Marie
Hi
Looks like your having a great time we are enjoying watching your progress. Live the dream
Lots of Love
Paige, Mark, Courtney & Toulouse
We have finally had some rain over the last couple of days and we are due for more later in the week. How’s the weather been for you? The look of wonder on the little boy’s face is fantastic and so innocent; I am looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos when you come home. As for the footy, the Hawks loss to the Bulldogs was disappointing but was due to the guys mucking around with the ball too much (as usual) but the Buddy Franklin show was fantastic, kicking 6.1 for the day – a big highlight. We are sitting 8th on the ladder with about 102%.
Take care and keep safe.
Cathy
Hi Denise,
The photo’s are awsome and can i just say your looking particularly smashing also!!
Everything looks amazing and we all think you are too! Am on the edge of my seat for updates and cant wait to see more.
Go girl!
Casey
**Dont look down**
Great way to enjoy the trip with you. Hope you are having a great time and keep warm. Looks a bit chilly to me. Good luck to you and all the rest of your group.
Darik