Tag Archives: Mountains

Trekking in Nepal- The Annapurna Circuit

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Kathmandu, Nepal – I almost decided to skip the trekking, and instead cruise around Nepal for a week or so on a motorbike. But I ran into a guy named Zed. He was also staying at the Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Center in Kathmandu. He was young, incredibly intelligent, made money trading money, had traveled the world, been on all the major treks in Nepal at least once, and was weary of life. But he convinced me: you have to walk to Nepal. Kathmandu and the relatively few cities and towns connected by roads are like a different country. Most of Nepal is made up of small villages scattered amongst the valleys, cracks, peaks, and mountainsides of the Himalayas. I explained to Zed that I was put off by the new rules requiring certifications, guides or porters, and set itineraries; and by the continuing presence of the Maoists demanding “taxes” from trekkers (refuse and they beat you with sticks). Plus I was alone. Zed explained to me that I was being ridiculous. You want to see Nepal? You have to walk.

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Zed told me about a place nearby with a bulletin board for trekkers seeking partners. I decided to check it out. Hidden in a twisted vein of Thamel, I found the place. Not a single note on the trekker board. Empty. I sat down in the cafe there and glanced through some mostly outdated trekking log-books. Before long, an Irish woman, some ten years younger than myself, wandered in and started sifting through the logs as well. We sat like this for a few minutes, looking at logs. Then I spoke. “Are you thinking about trekking? Where and when? Are you looking for a trekking partner? Can I go with you?” almost as fast as that. “As long as you’re not an axe murderer… [I guess you'll do],” she said. “Well, I haven’t murdered anyone…yet.” And with that, Nate and Susanna began planning a 16-day trek around the Annapurna circuit in the Himalayas of central Nepal, to begin the following morning. Continue reading →

Ladakh. And on to Manali and Rewalsar.

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Leh, Ladakh - From the dense intense madness of Delhi to the spare and peaceful mountains of Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas, the contrast could hardly be more striking. Ladakh, an area within the state of Jammu & Kashmir, is the least populated region of India and is a home to a large community of Tibetan Buddhists, as well as a minority of Shia Muslims. Ladakh is very dry, hot in the sun, and cold in the shade. The vast expanses of mountains in chromatic shades of grey and brown are broken only by the occasional village and the long strings of brightly colored prayer flags everywhere fluttering and tattering in the wind. Buddhist chortens abound, standing outside homes and businesses and scattered throughout the countryside. These simple tiered white-washed shrines built of mud, rock, and clay house sacred relics or scriptures and are left to decay and crumble in the elements, emphasizing the central Buddhist principle of the impermanence of all things. Buddhist monasteries, or gompas, thrive still and are often set high up on rocky perches, and far back in the mountain valleys. Large colorful prayer wheels stand in the middle of village markets, clanging with bells attached to the top as passers-by give them hardy clockwise spins, sending the prayers written on them round and round. Old wrinkled men spin hand-held prayer wheels and hum quiet mantras and prayers. The motions of wind, water, and human activity are all transformed into acts of prayer, filling the earth and sky with fluttering spinning devotion. Continue reading →

Died and Went to Heaven

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Buenos Aires, Argentina- Argentina is for lovers. They are everywhere, sitting on each other´s laps and making out in parks and cafes. The entire nation is caught up in a dream of romance. The music, the wine, the steak, the chocolate, the style, the poetry, the wide open savannah, the snow-smothered peaks, the parks and trees- it´s the best of Europe spread out over twice the area at half the tempo. The USA has aggressive, mostly vile, graffiti covering it´s bathroom stalls and city walls. Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia are awash in political slogans. In Argentina, the public declarations are of undying love: “Te amo, Amilia, con toda mi vida.” Every village seems to have its own signatory poem, speaking of the passion and pain of it´s history, the deep veins, the roots feeding the fruit-bearing branches of the present. Grapes both sweet and sour, turned to local wine, the complex flavor distilling place and time, telling stories. Argentina is vast. The average bus ride from region to region is some 15-20 hrs. I have 3 1/2 weeks. I need 6 months. Continue reading →

Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca

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Cusco, Peru and Copacabana, Bolivia- According to the Incan creation myth, the creator god Viracocha emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca and created the sun, moon and stars. The sun sent his son, Manco Capac, and the moon sent her daughter, Mamo Ocllo, to the surface of the lake, born from the Sacred Rock of the Isla del Sol, to found the Incan empire in Cusco. The empire spread throughout the Sacred Valley of the Incas and high up into the surrounding mountains. The architectural and astronomical wonder known as Machu Picchu is just one of many stone villages and fortresses found in the sacred valley. At its height in the mid 1500s, before the Spanish arrived, the empire spread from Ecuador to Chile. It’s center was Cusco.

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What was the center of Incan culture is now the gringo capital of Peru. And along with the gringos come droves of poor Peruvians, most of Incan descent, trying anyway they can to make a living from the money we seem to carry in endless supply. From high dollar posh hotels and luxury train tours to dirty shoeshine boys and little girls selling finger puppets for pennies, the visiting gringo is inundated with constant persistent requests to buy something. “No gracias” is the gringo mantra, chanted over and over. Some people just print it on their shirts. Cusco has everything. There are Irish pubs, discos, expensive jewelry and art boutiques, shiatsu parlors, bungee-jumping parks, whatever you want, all literally built upon Incan ruins. After the Spaniards sacked the city and killed the inhabitants, they simply built their colonial mansions right on top of the existing Incan stone foundations (Typical Cusco alley with Incan stone foundation shown right). As a symbol of their triumph, they purposely constructed their (quite amazing) churches over previous Incan temples. It is widely believed that the famous lost treasure of the Incas is buried in tunnels underneath the city. Continue reading →