on our way to the goddess of the sky...

No doubt that our week in Pokhara was relaxing, cathartic, and gluttonous.  We ate at every 'German' bakery that tempted us with their apple strudels and not-so chocolate cakes, and enjoyed delicious Indian and Nepali food every night.  Fortunately, we came across early in the week two staples:  a small breakfast eatery for which the name escapes me & the Almond Cafe.  We ate at this small family business and enjoyed every breakfast of our time in Pokhara, and at the Almond Cafe, where we were sure of its food because only locals ate there, the waiter took a liking to us and we got a few tummy aches from eating ourselves silly with Nepali food.  

One day we took a day hike to the neighborhood Stupa which would have been the most delightful view of the town if the Annapurna mountain range hadn't remained elusive until our very last morning (those mountains were just a tease, really, insisting that next time we spent our trek-time on their grounds and paraglided through their skies), and made two friends along the way.  One, a 9 year old Nepali boy and two, a 60 year old French female artist.  He served as our cute porter who knew flawless English, showed us his school in the mountains, could say hello in 6 languages, and educated us of his hometown.  She became an instant friend who was a bit insecure with her English (though, of course, she was brilliant), picked up pieces of trash along the hike to add to an art piece she was working on in Pokhara, and had traveled the world (and was on her way to Calcutta for one of her shows) to present her art.  She was strong, beautiful, and a creative spirit.  It made me look forward to the array of characters we will inevitably meet on our trek.  

We arrived back in Kathmandu yesterday afternoon to the unbelievable hospitality of an old high school friend of mine, Osborne, who is working at the American Embassy for the next year and a half (total of 2 years).  In the midst of catching up on each others' lives, Britta and I found ourselves being astounded by his apartment filled with washer/dryer, refrigerator, and microwave (thought we'd been teleported back to America for a second there), and being overwhelmed by his hospitality.  Above and beyond.  He should go in to hotel management...or more friends should visit him in Kathmandu (:  

Tomorrow morning, bright & early at 5:45am, Britta and I catch our longggg bus to Jiri, the starting point of our 25 day adventure.  Like the vast majority of our time in Nepal, many unknown stories await us, and hilarity to be sure.  I look forward to sharing with you all many a ditty when I return to K-du April 11th.  

Until then, Namaste....