Today we hiked from Bagarchap to Chame.  We are at 2710 meters, slightly above Evergreen now, with the Himalayas rising sharply around us towering about the steep river valley we are trekking through.    As we pass villages, people wander out of their homes, then often laughing and bring out their children to greet and smile.  Greg is having a distinctly different experience trekking with us and says his group was virtually unnoticed walking by before.  So, we ARE special! A trekker we had never seen before told us he had heard of us.  The kids thought this was funny..I declined to ask what he had heard. I am not sure I wish to know. Today, a goat traffic jam occurred as the herdsman moved their flock from one valley to the next. At the end of the traffic jam were the smallest goat kids, one being carried by a herdsman. The kids love all the animals on the trail but are less fond of dodging the animal scat left behind.

 Enroute to Chame, walking through Koto and rounding the junction of the Nar-Phu Valley, suddenly Annapurna 2 became visible... stunning.  The trail led straight towards Annapurna 2 through the chorten for Chame. Passing into Chame, a large mani wall stood with many prayer wheels. You walk left of the mani wall, spinning the prayer wheels which are inscribed with a Buddhist mantra. As you spin, you repeat “om mani Padmea Hum”. This sounds a lot like “o mama take me hooome” (emphasis and draw out the home).

Trekking season is winding down and fewer people are on the trail as the nights are getting colder. We all have sleeping bags rated to negative 25 degrees. We fill our water bottles with hot water every night and tuck the bottles in at our feet.Nights are toasty warm!  Tonight, the tea house owners brought a perforated metal drum into the tea house filled with embers set on a stone for heating the main lodge.  Our fellow lodgers, two Frenchman, were cold enough to brave sitting by us to warm up. There was a late season surge of trekkers in the Annapurna region as trekkers destined for Mt Everest region were diverted by bad weather. When Greg trekked through it was monsoon season and while currently we are enjoying bright blue skies and crystal clear nights, he recalls huddling with trekkers in tea houses to take break from the rain.  The monsoon season was officially called to an end by the Kumari Devi…one of Nepal’s living goddesses.  The Royal Kumara is felt to be a reincarnation of the goddess Durga and is chosen from a particular caste of gold and silver smiths. She is generally 4-12 years old with an appropriate horoscope and meets 32 strict physical requirements including color of her eyes, shape of her teeth and sound of her voice. She passes a final test of being in a frightening room of buffalo heads and men in masks. Obviously a real goddess would not be frightened by these things.  Once chosen, the living goddess and her family live in the Kumari Bahal and only leave the temple about 6 times a year for ceremonies. In September, at the Indra Jatra festival, our current living goddess pronounced the end to the monsoon season. Thus, we are back to Greg and his fellow trekkers huddled in the tea houses to avoid the rain. Simply a slight error in weather forecasting ability by the goddess Durga!   Job turnover for the Royal Kumari occurs at first menses or if she loses blood through any injury.  Our living goddess then reverts to being mortal and is bequeathed with a substantial dowry.