Saturday May 23, 2009 - Altitude Acclimatizing

We got up late trying to catch up on sleep from our late night/early morning adventure. Had a tea and a plate of cornflakes and milk and 1/2 a banana which seemed so civilized. We all enjoyed the peacefulness and the warm sun and of course our splendid view. Ray and I went for a long walk and came back in time for brunch: fried egg, fried potatoes, tomatoes and chipati. We feel so spoiled. We had a nap mid-afternoon, and around 5 or so Ray was doddering around and I climbed about 1 1/2 hours up the mountain side behind the camp site. It was very rocky and sandy and footing was quite difficult but the views made up for the breathless effort (remember I was at 3700 -3800 meters above sea level). I came across a deserted stone cabin with prayer flags and surrounded by manin stones. Found the source of the town's water supply. Saw a myriad of pretty little ground cover flowers. At the point that a big black wooly yak looked up from grazing and stared me in the eyes before taking a step towards me, I decided it was time to go down! This was much easier as I slipped and slid through the loose stones, squelched over the marshy grass, and climbed down over the boulders. I enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the mountain, the quiet moments of reflection. It was also an opportunity to accpt the reality that I was actually in Tibet. How lucky I am. On my way up the mountain I had noticed Daphne leaving the camp site; then shortly after that Suzette left. When I arrived back, I discovered that Daphne had broken down and Suzette had gone to the rescue. We proceeded with the evening rituals of camp life when about 7:30 pm our leaders called us together. Daphne was in the garage with gear box problems. At this time on a Saturday night it was unlikely we would find a mechanic. So things looked very grim. We had several options: (1) Dan would leave asap with Suzette and drive to Old Tingri, last stop before Everest, with his group, then come back for us, but this was controlled by his ability to drive there and back then there again between 9 pm and 7 am because of the road closures; (2) Daphne would be fixed and we could leave at 9 pm the following night and drive through the night; or (3) we could find local transport to take us some or all of the way; and a myriad of options of each of the options. After much discussion, plan 1 was chosen. So, we would eat dinner and the other group would pack up as quickly as possible and be on their way as soon as possible. Everyone pitched in, tents came down, dishes were washed, cook tent tidied, and Suzette loaded. Then we waved good bye. Four of our group volunteered to go with them so when they left, the 13 of us remaining huddled together and listened again to all our options all of which had to cope with altitude, getting to Everest, Truck, accommodation, and alternative transport. Then we toasted marshmallows around the fire and went to bed. The night was not peaceful and I slept little. Twice locals arrived at the camp site to speak to Tamar. One time she was told that we had to be ready in 15 mins for a ride! The centre pole of the cook tent collapsed on top of Tamar who was sleeping in it - freezing - because her sleeping bag ended upon the other truck; and Tamar heard some animals sniffing around the tent during the night obviously intent on the food inside. This is the fun part of overlanding - dealing with the unexpected!