Day 3: Chamje to Dharapani

Day 3 was a turning point in a couple of ways. First, I met a group of trekkers from New Zealand the night before who, unbeknownst to me at the time, would accompany me for the rest of my trek. They were four teachers who had been joined by one American student (he hired the same trekking company), so we had plenty to talk about, and ended up sharing plenty of laughs (and medicine and stories and card games) along the way. Second, we were moving into higher elevations, which meant that the architecture of houses and temples was changing to reflect more of a Buddhist mindset. The day started at Dharapani, a key town on the old route from Tibet where travelers once observed lines of yaks descending from the high Himalaya. It's more deserted now, but still welcoming to trekkers. We then traveled to Bagarchap, home of the first gompa (Buddhist monastery) on the trek. Undulating trail took us finally to Chame, somewhat of a dive which was overcome by the good nature of my new company.

The guesthouse in Dharapani

Bagarchap Gompa. I had to find the monk to open the monastery for me, and then gave the customary donation for letting me in.

This is a large prayer wheel further down the road. If you spin it fast enough, it will strike the bell you can see hanging near the top. Tradition is to walk around it three times as you spin it. When the bell strikes three, out you go.

A mani wall with a view.

Stupas come in older and newer varieties. The stone stupa peeking out from behind this prayer stone is definitely one of the older ones. Newer ones will show up later in the trek.

"Namaste" (meaning hello, goodbye, and blessings) was perhaps the most common word we used on the trek. Here, this little girl in Tal responds.

Waylen, a student at Davidson, joins me under the gate marking the entrance to a village, more common in the Buddhist areas.

The Maoist flag is no longer a sign of opposition, as the guerilla forces have mostly laid down their arms and become cooperative members of the government. The Maoist party was elected en masse at the last elections, but signs of past violence still exist. Kathmandu, Nepal's capitol, has seen its population swell to unsustainable numbers since so many were chased from their villages during the fighting of the last decade. If I had done this trek five or ten years ago, there's little doubt that my guide would have been paying "taxes" to Maoist rebels along the way, ensuring our safe passage.

The Buddhist houses are made more of stones than brick and wood. Ponies wander down after dropping off some heavy loads.

Despite the widespread use of ponies, it is still quite common to see people carrying impossibly large loads, mostly using strength from their forehead, neck and back. This woman loads up on firewood for the coming winter.

I could hardly believe this. Notice the strap across his forehead balancing the whole load.

Taking a peek at passing trekkers

Dante, a Canadian teacher living in New Zealand, spins the prayer wheels as he walks by a wall of them. These became increasingly common over the trek. Each prayer wheel is inscribed with the common Buddhist mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum," which invokes compassion and safety. There is no easy translation of the phrase, but this website gives a pretty good explanation:

www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm

And here's a the mantra being chanted:

As I walked along the trek, I often found myself reciting this calming mantra. The meditative effect can be powerful, and provides a thread connecting the disparate landscapes that we walked through.