This was a much needed, and last day of rest. Our last was at Namche, which is full of steps and not very restful. Pheriche is in the bottom of a valley and totally flat. Of course, there's not nearly as much to do, but I can handle that. I slept 12 hours last night (thank you travel doc for the ambien) and feel so much better today. While Bogdan and Irene went on a hike up a ridge, the rest of us have been reading, laying cards and meandering. Oh, and Dana surprised us all and gave our hostess a manicure. Seriously. She brought nail polish and top coat with her. I also visited the internet cafe a couple of times, but it was slow and expensive. In the courtyard between the cafe and the hospital, there's a beautiful monument to fallen Everest climbers. It's 2 steel cones with flat surfaces facing each other. On the flat surfaces is the name of every dead climber. It's truly amazing to see the number of names. The altitude sickness talk at the hospital was pretty informative. Afterwards, we got to check out the facilities and the doctor showed us how to use a Gamow Bag, since many of the lodges higher up have them. Also, I was told that the dry cough I've been having is known as the Khumbu Cough and is very common -- 60% of trekkers in the region get it. I bought some cough drops and a buff nearby to shield my face from the cold.
Time for dinner and a good night's sleep. Fingers crossed for the next few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment