Wow, I'm on holiday!!!!!!

I have to admit, that even though McLeod Ganj has that laid back, hippy/ backpacker mixed with Tibetan & Indian calm......I am still having a bit of a difficult time re-adjusting to all the stimulation around me after 5 beautiful days up in the himalayas! I must remind myself that I am on holiday...here to learn, but also to enjoy....RELAX....and most importantly.....not to schedule, plan, or to look at the clock!!!!!!

The trek was so beautiful. We Trekked in the Dhaula Dhar range , just north of Dharamsala. We stayed in Keiri village the first night......beautiful sunset......beautiful terraced farmlands. We spent the evening with a local family. Learned how to make chapatis from scratch!!! Thank you again to Vijay & his family for welcoming us into your home!

The second day we continued all the way to Keiri Lake (sp?). Much higher altitude, and the weather actually turned cloudy for most of the time that we were here. I didn't mind, though. We stayed at some little shepherd's huts overlooking the lake & the mountain pass on the other side of the valley. The little shiva temple was just stunning & it was only the first of many that we would see along our journey. In fact, every shepherd's station has a temple of some sort! We were unable to complete the climb to the summit of the pass on the third day due to the thick cloud & chilly weather. I was a but disappointed at first, but this quickly subsided & we were treated to an extra night at our base camp. It certainly would have been nice to have seen the expanse of the himalayas at 4200 metres; however, I am also glad in a way that we didn't complete that portion of the trek. The safety standards, as it turns out, are quite lax here in India & we would have been doing about 3 hours of very steep climbing with NO GEAR whatsoever. Our guides were quite skilled & I know we were in good hands - but not something I would have been attempting gear-free back in Canada, that's for sure!
The fourth & fifth days were gruelling & long..........near vertical ascents & descents through beautiful valleys. The shepherds & farmers use these routes for their work & we passed many along the way. This meant that the routes were "stepped" for a portion of the trek........that helped a bit (very little scrambling up & down gravel); however, the angle at which we were hiking was still the most challenging I've experienced to date. I'm so thankful for the little boy we encountered on the second day in the bush. He had a rather scary looking blade in his hand which he used to chop down a tree (sorry, tree!) to make us walking sticks! I still have my stick here in town. It comes in handy when I walk from McLeod up to Dharamkot. The road is inhabited by many monkeys . Hopefully I will not have to use that stick for a weapon!
We camped in a tent on the last night- in a valley with a small Durga temple by a large, flowing river. We ate our last meal in a cave, drank the water straight from the river (the best water I've ever tasted), and slept well. The final day back to McLeod was long but the weather was great & we passed again through several small villages with beautiful painted stone houses & very friendly & curious children!
I am so grateful for my time away in the mountains.......and now that I am back in McLeod Ganj, I managed to get a room in a nice little guest house with a balcony & views of you guessed it, the mountains! I sit out there every morning & watch the sun rise.....listen to the roosters......watch the mules carry produce up & down the hills to the market stalls........hear the enchanting voices of the little children heading off to class up the hill behind me (there is a little elementary school for Tibetan refugees just a few steps up from Sharma's cottage). This morning, I did an ashtanga practice on the rooftop of a building nearby. Was hoping to study with Vijay while I was here (he is apparently THE ashtanga instructor to go to) - but he is teaching overseas at the moment. No worries, it felt GREAT to get back at my practice, regardless of who was teaching. I value the hatha techniques that I've spent the last month studying at Yoga Vidya Gurukul, but I do miss the ashtanga at times as well :)
Well.....I really could go on & on..........but for now, I will try & load some pics onto the blog for you! And I will post again before I head up to the Tushita Centre on Thursday. I will be in retreat there for 10 days (no internet).

love,
sarah