The Traveling Freeses: Day 11

”The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” - Chinese Proverb

For us we are carrying away small precious memories from this inspiring place. Every day brings a freshness and calm as we make our way through Annapurna. It was another beautiful night spent in a beautiful place. We rise and dance to our daily routine of watching the mountains awake as we eat breakfast then pack our gear and hit the trail. There is something so simple and comforting about repeating this daily practice. So peaceful and calming with no phone, TV, news media at all. So nice being off the grid.

After about 3 miles of hiking we see our first monkeys on this trek. They are high in the trees and to far away to get a good picture. We then pass by a building and I hear this funny noise coming from inside. I ask the guide what’s going on inside and he ask the person standing at the door. He said they are making butter so, I asked if I could go in and see. Sure they said, so I stepped into this dark room with a gentlemen sitting on the floor working this interesting butter churn machine. The only light was from a small wood fire which glowed in the corner. I ask if I could take some pictures and he agreed. After snapping a few pictures and taking a bit of video I ask him if he’d like to see it. He said OK but, was not sure what a video was. Once I showed him his eyes and face glowed with happiness and he laughed out loud. He apparently never saw himself on video. We both laughed at the video as I showed it to him a few times. We then exchanged goodbyes and off I went.

Making butter

We stop for lunch in the town of Pothana which offers some good views of Fish Tail. We also hike about 1 mile (1.5 Km) up behind the town to get even better views of the Annapurna Mountain Range. It’s a bit hazy so I’m unable to get any really clear pictures but, you get a great view.

Funny, as I am taking pictures around town I see a local teenage girl with a shirt that reads “this is not a photo opportunity”. I always ask before taking a photo, never wanting to degrade people by treating them like zoo animals. I must assume that a lot of people just snap pictures without asking which turns people against tourist. As you get closer to populated areas you run into more local people who do not want their picture taken.

We eventually stop in Dhampus and get a room at the Paradise View Hotel. It’s a new hotel and the room is really nice with a private bath. The view of the Annapurna range is stunning. As daylight disappears and twilight emerges the mountains glow with one of the most radiant sunsets I have ever witnessed. The vibrant colors slowly transform through different shads of blue, red and orange as the sun sets lower and lower. Pictures never reveal the true beauty of a sight like this. It must be experienced with all your senses, seeing with your eyes and felt with your heart.