Day 141 - 3211 Metres Elevation. Ghorepani to Pokhara

Ghorepani is the highest town on Poon Hill. The peak of Poon Hill, another 450 metres up, has panoramic views of the Annapurnas and other 8000+ metre peaks. It is reputed to be one of the best view in all of Nepal. The best time to see said views is sunrise, as later in the day fog lifting up from the valley floor shrouds the peaks.

It was foggy and cloudy.

The clouds did part a little for about 5 minutes, allowing Cz to snap a few quick pictures before the mountains disapeared entirely. Flights in and out of Nepal are frequently canceled as large clouds generally have large rocks behind them. Today was a case in point.

Luckily we were walking, not flying, and after breakfast began our slow 1800 metre descent of the mountain. Today's hike was the reverse of yesterday's. We went up one side of the mountain on stone yesterday, and today we climbed down the other side on yet more stone steps. It was hard on the knees, but did land us in Naypul by mid-afternoon. There were enough of us that we were able to haggle on a shared taxi (The fee is the same whether there are four people in the car or 2, so the more people you can cram in the cheaper the cab).

Our criteria for hotel in Pokhara was simple. 1. Hot Shower. That's it. We had each showered about 4-5 times over the more than two weeks of the trek, and we smelled....goat-like. Having been in Pokhara before, we knew just where to go, and settled our friends in Chhetri Sisters, the rare all-female owned establishment, and settled ourselves in a guesthouse ran by the best friend of the owner of the one we had stayed in before.

After hot showers - which literally involved scraping off a grey-ish layer of filth - we convened at the Pokhara Steakhouse. We figured we had earned a hearty dinner. On this trip I am eating whatever is locally good. Pokhara Steakhouse is known for its meat. Less than 5US buys a steak platter consisting of not one, but two, thick steaks (Buffalo, as killing cows is illegal in Nepal), vegetables, and potaoes. I finished one steak, and managed a few bites of the next before ploping it over onto Cz's plate. He managed to polish off both of his AND mine, for a grand total of THREE large steaks in one sitting.

Then we went to bed. There's not much else one CAN do after consuming that volume of food.