a bit of a departure - walking in #Nepal - part 2

On Monday we were driven from Pokhara to the start of our trek at Nayapul  with some gentle uphill walking passing a suspension bridge in Tikedhunga and shortly after arriving at our overnight stop at Ulleri (1,960m).

On Tuesday our walking was far more up and down hills and stairways to get to Ghorepani  (2,750m).  On the way there we got our first view of Annapurna South. 

Over this week its amazing how much I have learnt about walking up and down tracks and stairs.  Put simply you quickly learn where the best place is to put your feet to get the maximum grip and to minimise the effort you need to put in.



On Wednesday we got up pre-dawn for a vigorous hike up to the top of Poon Hill for sunrise over Dhaulagiri and the Annapurna Range.  

After returning to our tea-house for breakfast, our hike followed a ridge for a while before a steep descent and then a final upward climb to Tadapani (2,590m).  Each day our porters would set off before us with 3 or 4 of our main bags on each of their backs.  In the mornings and evenings they'd prepare food for us and at midday we'd stop at one of the many trek side "tea" stations.

On Thursday we continued going down steeply and then climbed the opposite side of the valley we then entered the larger Modi Khola valley which leads up to the Annapurna Sanctuary. A short distance further up that valley we arrived at Chhomrong. 

On Friday we descended again to cross the Chommro Khola, then climbed up into the Modi Khola valley and up to the main ridge high above the river. 

On this day we were walking near a village at the time that school ended.  As we laboured up the steps on the trek with our light rusksacks and special walking boots small infants would go racing past us with only flip fops on their feet. Kinda made you a bit humble.

Following more walking up steep hills we reached the village of reach the village of Sinuwa (2,340m) and followed the valley climbing steadily uphill to Doban (2505m) and then onto our overnight destination, Himalayan. 




One of the customs I really liked on the trek was that of saying "Namaste"to others you met on the trek as you passed them.  As you say "Namaste" you make a slight bow with your hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. I was told that in Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in you" which seems a wonderful tradition to me.

On Saturday we had a shorter climb slowly gaining altitude going through Deurali (3,170m) and Hinko (3,100m) to reach the narrow entrance-way into the Annapurna Sanctuary and onto Machhapuchare Base Camp at 3,700m.  

On Sunday we rose early before dawn to trek up to Annapurna Base Camp (4,100m)

and then descended along the trail to Doban we retraced our route as far as Bamboo.

a bit of a departure - walking in #Nepal - part 1

In a bit of a departure from my usual posts about being a Rev's husband I'm sharing some posts whilst I'm away walking in Nepal.

Fortunately in our local church we have somebody who has several contacts in Nepal and they have organised a trip for 30 or so people to walk there.

Several others have pitched in to help with the administration and this has meant some great guidance and organisation on issues like immunisations, altitude sickness pills, insurance, flights, visas and organising guides and porters.

In summary the trip will be 15 days away with 3 days of so travelling at the start and finish and the rest walking in the Annapurna Sanctuary up to and down from the base camp at 4,130m under the south face of Annapurna.  Apparently it isn't a particularly difficult trek although there are some steep climbs and a few narrow bridges.

Last Friday afternoon as a party we got a coach to Heathrow to catch our flight to Kathmandu - with a stop over in AbuDhabi  - arriving Kathmandu late afternoon on Saturday and then transferring to a hotel.

The flights went fine and at the AbuDhabi stop over I had the wonderful experience of witnessing an arab gentleman in full traditional garb walking through the airport with a hooded hawk on his arm.  On the second flight they seemed very keen to serve us complimentary hard liquor.  Arriving at Kathmandu airport there is an entry slip you fill in with details of your already obtained tourist entry visa - and then in was onto a bus for transfer to our hotel and a group meal in the evening.

On sunday we all got onto another bus for a 6 hour ride to Pokhara 

the #parish weekend away - 10 tips

The parish we are in where my wife is a curate very fortunately invited us to their weekend away before my other half started in her curate post.  Here are 10 tips for using such an opportunity well - if you're lucky enough to get one. 

1) get used to being introduced as "xxx's husband" - and have ready a potted summary of what you do, your family etc. etc. (as you will be asked these type of questions a lot) 

2) get good at asking the right questions - so you can learn and remember some key things about each person you're introduced to

3) split up from your spouse and join different groups/sit at different tables - that way you double between you how many people you and your other half can meet

4) work out a way to remember names and faces and info - for the weekend we attended all attendees were provided with a list of who was at the weekend.  This was very useful as the other half and I got into the habit of taking a quick break after each meal on the weekend to share info on who we had each met and who between us we hadn't met

5) sharing info - in comparing notes on who we had met we fairly quickly ran into the issue of what info others have given one of you that you should not share with the other half.  We decided that we'd rely on each others judgement about what sensitive info we should not share with each other (sensitive ='s stuff somebody would reasonably assume you wouldn't share with others)

6) take some photos of the group when it is together  - (e.g. mealtimes)  - especially if there isn't a planned group photo - this can be very useful in keeping a record you can use to remember who is who.

7) if you meet any retired clergy spouses ask them for their top tip - you might not get an immediate answer, but they'll probably come and find you later to give you some advice.

8) if you're the more noisy confident one - then you may want to throttle it back a bit when you are meeting people with your other half.

9) don't start volunteering for stuff - I told people I intended to not do so for at least the 1st 3 months so I could get a feel for where i might be most useful in the new church.

10) if there isn't a weekend away - then see if there is some sort of other church event you could attend to make some basic introductions with the "keen" ones so when you pitch up there are some people you know.

Where did my #weekend go?

One of the many things they don't tell you about - as the spouse of a clergy - is how your weekends are changed forever by the character of you partners Rev role.

I'm still trying to work out how to deal with our changed weekends.   

Before my wife became a Rev my weekends used to be about having some down time with the children and wife and maybe even indulging a little in food and wine.

But now the other half is a full time Rev I've found that weekends are often her busiest 2 days.  

I had thought that we'd just adjust so we would use the weekday she does have off as our weekend. But in practice that doesn't quite work.  Partly because its only one day - a Monday in her case - and partly because whilst the wife's weekend changes are reinforced by her Rev role I don't have the same unstoppable impetus forcing me to change. 

As her day off is a school day the children aren't around during the day so any family time together is late afternoon or the evening.  And what with the amount of homework schools give out now, plus the practice of teenagers multi-screening (laptop, TV, smartphone) our family together time is mainly our evening meal together.

If anybody has any tips on this whole the weekend isn't any more conundrum please pitch in with how you approach it.

keeping in touch with old #friends and making new ones

When my wife first started exploring whether she was being called to be a priest we'd lived in a village for about 12 years. Having moved there from a south London suburb we'd enjoyed the more friendly atmosphere villages often generate. And with a school and church in the village we quickly made contact with others - particularly with those who had children of a similar age. Over time those contacts became good friends - as our children went through school and life events together. So when we moved out o the village to the place my other half  was going to be a curate we wondered how well we'd manage to keep in touch with our old friends in the previous village.    Of course social media has helped a bit on this - as it does with keeping contact with others who are abroad. And as we're only an hour or so drive from our previous village its not to hard to drive over. So what we've found works best is arranging to meet every 4 months or so at a pub midway between us and our old village for a lunch, some drink and a natter. I know my wife has also found it helpful to keep in contact with old friends who knew here before she started putting a collar on the wrong way.  They have a certain distance from her day to day experiences now which - I think - is helpful. And although we have made friends in the community where she is doing her curacy - that friendship is different in its characteristics. Partly - and obviously - because the length of the friendships with those she has met as a curate is shorter. But also because its a different type of friendship - akin in a way I think to the type of friendship you might have with work colleagues.