Wednesday 1st November
We made it to Gokyo today. From Machermo we walked over the ridge down the gentle slope to Panka. The path leads to where the high moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier meets rock walls. Beyond Panka there is a rocky road that leads to a wooden bridge over an icy stream. The stream, the source of the Dudh Kosi river, is milky in appearance. There were hundreds of rock cairns that we used to guide us between the streams. At the end of the rocky area, at the edge of the glacier, the path levels off as it passes through an ablation valley.
Soon we arrived at the first of several small lakes. The water is a sparkling blue, and the only lakes I have seen the same colour were in Tongariro National Park in New Zealand. We walked down the path that followed the small stream. The views got better and better. At the third lake (sometimes called Dudh Pokhari) Gokyo could be seen in the distance.
Gokyo is on the eastern shores of the third lake. Among the motley collection of huts are six trekkers’ lodges. Jill and Marcia had gone on ahead of us and discovered that it cost 300 rupees to stay at the excellent Gokyo Resort for the night. That is extravagant round here. We chose the Himalayan Guest Lodge and went in for lunch.
Some of us ordered dal bhat with vegetables and I ordered the usual pot of tea. When my tea arrived it was extremely weak and tasted like hot water. I complained and was given another tea bag to put in the pot. The dal bhat was a long time coming. It was mediocre and did not contain any vegetables. The meal was expensive compared with other places we had eaten at, and we were not happy.
Anyway, while I went to the loo good old Marcia complained to the proprietor. She told him that if meals listed on the menu could not be provided then he should tell us. While all this was happening, a rotund British woman tut-tutted and said we should be grateful to get a meal. Peter piped in and asked if she had carried a backpack all the way to Gokyo. She replied in the negative saying that a porter carried her luggage. Peter pointed out that we had and were tired and hungry after our exertions. Hence we expected a reasonable meal, not something different to what we had ordered. That shut the stupid woman up.
By now there was a bit of an atmosphere so we decided to look for alternative accommodation. Fortunately there was room for us at the neighbouring lodge so we got our bags and headed over there. But as Jill and Marcia were leaving, the proprietor and several of his mates blocked the doorway and asked where they thought they were going. Jill said she didn’t want to stay somewhere where we were not welcome and that she was going elsewhere. The owner didn’t like this and grabbed Jill by the throat. Jill, cool as a cucumber, immediately held up her walking stick in defence and asked him to kindly get his hands off. His mates held him back and he knew he had lost. Marcia was spitting with rage but there was not a lot we could do because we weren’t there when it happened.
All of us moved over to the Namasté Lodge and cooled off upstairs in the glass roofed veranda. Outside, I bumped into Glenna again and a Swiss couple I had met earlier on at the start of the trek. After washing my hair the remainder of the afternoon was spent playing cards with Jill, Marcia and Peter.
Two Australian brothers and a Danish guy joined us for the evening. They are staying at the Gokyo Resort but dinner service is slower there due to its popularity. A dormitory bed there costs 50 rupees a night not 300 rupees as we had first thought; the 300 rupees was for a room. Ah well, we are happy enough where we are. I had a tasty vegetable pizza that was very filling. The Nepalese tend to give generous helpings of garlic with your meals. Apparently garlic aids the acclimatisation process! Tomorrow I have decided to go to the Sixth Lake.