Day 5: Kinja to Goyem

Today was Up Up and more UP. The trick is to keep a nice steady slow pace and focus on regular breathing. Great scenery as we climbed higher, seeing Bhandar back in the distance at about the same level, then Deurali. By lunch time we had made it to Sete, so we stopped to eat. I'm not sure why, but I never liked Sete. I had stayed there twice on my last trek and this time had decided that we would not stay there, if at all possible (although Sete has three lodges).

The first picture gives a overall view of where we had come from. You can see the Deurali pass (the dip at the top right), and below and to the left, the village of Bhandar. This was taken from Goyem (about 3200m), so above the altitude of Deurali.

Instead we headed further up, past Dagchu to Goyem (3220m). We walked through towering rhodadendron forests, unfortunately much depleted in places (firewood), and through the clouds which had by now rolled in blocking all views. Goyem seems to exist at three levels because every tea house we passed said Goyem, even as we kept climbing higher. We finally stopped at the third level and stayed in a rather basic tea house (compared to where we had stayed so far). It had a toilet out back with a hole in the floor, very limited solar lighting, and a combined dining room kitchen. This was definitley a little bit closer to what things had been like before. That and we had extra atmosphere fromthe clouds rolling though the door and windows, along with the chickens and goats.

The second picture is of the Goyem kitchen, with the baby basket on the left.

The lodge was run by a lady with a couple of kids, including a 5 month old with an eye infection. The baby was alternately carried in a basket attached to a head strap and slung across her back, on her son's back or held by our porter/guide. Through this she managed to cook us dinner, as we sat in front of the fire/stove to keep warm. Prices up here are quite reasonable with dahl at 120, veg fried noodles at 70, and a pancake with jam at 50.

And finally a couple of toilet pictures for fun. The first is from Goyem and the second from near the Lamjura pass (It was just too good to pass up... the photo that is).