Lukla

From Joy Crook (wonderful lady): We left Kathmandu and boarded a small plane to Lukla. The plane was bigger than I expected and the flight was great. We got our first glimpses of the Himalaya, including Mount Everest. The pilot wiped the inside of the cockpit windshield with toilet paper, but we dropped out of the clouds and descended quite quickly to land in the Lukla airport. Our trek began with a ceremony to ward off evil spirits for a recently burned home. The hike took us down into the valley along the Dudh Kosi River, where it was great! I enjoyed meeting everyone on the trek. The first day gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other, because I wasn't huffing and puffing.