Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch
April 22, 2010 – From Lukla to Phakding
Our whole team crossing the first bridge
Leila Silveira reporting from Phakding. Today we were at the airport as planned at 5:30 a.m. and by 6:15 a.m. we were boarding the plane to Lukla. We arrived in Lukla at 7:00 a.m. and went inside the lodge to eat breakfast since most of us didn't eat at 4 a.m. in Kathmandu. We are really happy to be here and the weather couldn't be better.
Our hike to Phakding was really beautiful with clear skies and just a bit of a chill in the air. We hiked for a couple of hours and stopped for a full sit-down lunch. We took our time because today is a short hiking day and we wanted to enjoy the scenery and take it all in.
Despite our leisurely pace, we arrived at our lodge in Phakding quite early. We had the entire afternoon to relax, read and catch up on international gossip!
Jeremy and Ljerka are Canadians who currently live in Geneva, Switzerland. We really enjoyed hearing about their life there, their daily routines being quite different from what they were in North America and New York where they were last posted.
Kerri enjoying her birthday party
Today is Kerri's birthday. I had a surprise birthday party planned for her and I had to spend the whole day playing it cool so that she wouldn't have a clue. It wasn't easy!
Finally, at four in the afternoon, when the team entered the dining room for our afternoon tea, Kerri and everyone else was surprised to see that the room was decorated with birthday party signs, table cloths, hats and everything else you'd expect at a birthday celebration, including a birthday gift from the Berg Adventures team. We had wonderful tea with lots of popcorn, one of our favorite snacks on this trek.
To top it all off, right after our dinner was served, Bal, our Berg Adventures cook for many years now, brought out a birthday cake which we all enjoyed.
Well, now it's time to go to bed and rest up for tomorrow when we'll set off on our hike to Namche.
Our plane is the famous Canadian bush plane, the Twin Otter, made to land on short runways.
Early morning on the bus headed to the airstrip in Kathmandu.
Jeremy boarding the plane
Maya getting excited for the flight to Lukla
It's always nice to witness our bags being loaded on the plane, just to be sure.
At 9 a.m., we're ready to hit the trail to Phakding, our first stop.
A house along the trail being held up by bamboo---don't worry, this is not our lodge!
Left: Mani stones from Lukla to Phakding; Right: Nepalese kids know how to party
The lodge decked out in birthday decorations