Yesterday we started off on our trek of the three passes. We have a porter with us carrying our bags, a sherpa helper (not to be confused with the last name Sherpa that most monks had at the monastery...that is their family name, but our sherpa is a helper for the kids, although I noticed he spent most of the trek with me at the back), and our guide. When we left the monastery everyone came out to say goodbye and the head teacher, Lopan La presented all four of us with a kata, a silk scarf, with woven images of eight lucky Buddhist symbols. He told us it was to wish us luck on our travels. We then had a 5 hour trek up to Namche Bazaar. It is really interesting to be on the EBC (Everest Base Camp) "highway" with loads of tourists and constant traffic jams with the yaks! It really is important to stay on the mountain side when these guys come past! It's hilarious to see all the trekkers decked out in top notch gear, hiking boots and poles, all slowly heading up and then right beside them are porters carrying huge loads (about 100-150 lbs) in their flip flops! The porters are built out of something else entirely. We crossed several suspension bridges and one was very high up over the raging mountain river below. With the high winds I kept telling myself not to look down meanwhile the boys in front of me were yelling and jumping and laughing. Ahh! When we got here we went to our first guest lodge. What an improvement from the monastery! A bathroom inside! We splurged a bit and went to the bakery to try its famous goods. We had 2 pizzas ( with yak cheese), macaroons, cinnamon roll, and Alex had cheesecake (Yak cheese). Then for dinner, Alex couldn't resist and had more pizza. Well, I shared a room with him last night and let me tell you, perhaps too much yak cheese caused his stomach to "yak" all night!!! Today Zach and Mark went for an acclimatization hike while Alex and I recovered from our interrupted sleep. All seems well now and tomorrow we hike off to Thame and in a few days will go over our first pass - Renjo La. We've been told we will have spectacular views of Everest and the surrounding range! Until then...
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