The trekking Part 2 (The beginning)

October 4 2006 will be the day bookmarked in my soul as the start of some beautifull friendships. The friendship between the mountains and me, between me and me, between The A-team and me and already the first steps to one of the most beautifull friendships in my life: between Tenzin and me!

We left Pokhara by taxi-bus for Naya Pull, where we started the trekking. I did not know what was in front of me but I felt excited and strong. We started walking, and the first meters went very slow, because everything we saw, was so beautifull, that we wanted to take a picture of it. That first day we went to Tirkedunga (it took me a week before I could remember that name), and everyone was feeling in good shape. The road was going up and down, but just easy. Later it would seem that this was just a warming up. We walked in between the rice fields, already saw like 1263 waterfalls and nature exposed itself, being so big, to us. I couldn't keep my eyes of of all that beauty. The colours, the trees, the rice, the water being so powerfull. I felt like a city-bird, seeing my first tree. I already saw a lot of nature in my life, but this was something else. This was like nature-heaven to me. It made me feel calm and excited in one emotion. An experience I can't explain, but I hope everyone gets to experience it. The whole day, I felt so happy that I could be part of this. This nature wasn't part of my life, I understood that I was part of it's life. It made me loose a lot of weight on my back. The weight of carrying the problems of the whole world.

A little more about the A-team. When I talk about them, I'm talking about our two guides and our two porters. There was the chief-guide, Bhim. A small, dark man, who opened himself during the trip as being a spontaneous, friendly and funny man. He made up the plans and laughed as I have never seen anyone laughing before. Ok, sometimes, he could tell a dirty joke and than he was the one laughing hardest.

Than there was Purna. Could you have a more suitable name being guide in the Annapurna region? First I thought it was a nickname, but later it seemed to be his real name. He is a shy, but very helpfull man. Almost every day he stayed with us, untill the afternoon. Than he went to second gear and left us, to go and arrange the lodge for that evening. Once I went with him, and believe me, this guy goes fast. He's strong and really seems to dance on the rocks. It's beautifull to see, how he manages to work with the rough stones and slippery paths. His English wasn't that good, but day after day, we got to talk more and more. It was a matter of trust I think. We made eachother feel at ease.

The two porters were Bhesh and Pritibi. Bhesh was the tallest of the fab-4 and Pritibi the smallest. In the beginning they were both silent and at a little distance. It was nice to see how we managed to get better and better friends every day. The language also being a problem here, Bhesh even tried to teach me some Nepali. Sometimes we were walking and I was repeating Nepali sentences for like half an hour, but it worked. I think I knew like 10 sentences after a while and ofcourse those were the sentences I said to every Nepali we crossed. But they appreciated and it made contact really easy. (and funny) With Pritibi I have been racing from time to time. Make notice that he was carrying half of our luggage and I only carried my day-pack. I still don't believe how much effort it took to get him behind me. He even made me a Bamboo Flute, with some bamboo he found in the forrest. He picked it up, and a few hours later the flute was finished. Really amazing! Coincidence or not: Pritibi is Nepali for ART!!!

Now I realise that I have taken some big risks running in an area completely strange to me, but I managed to do it without fear and therefor without getting an accident. I think fear is the biggest enemy of me, but there I didn't know any fear. I was so happy and free from obstacles inside myself.

(end of Trekking: The beginning)

The trekking Part 1 (Pokhara)

Ok, here we go. On october 3 we took an early bus to Pokhara, where our trekking would begin. The bus trip was only 200km, so in Belgium that is a good 2hours driving. Not in Nepal. It was a 7 hours taking trip, but it was nice. As we came closer to Pokhara every minute, you could see the landscape changing into a miracle of nature. Rice, trees, fields, hills, are just a few of the beautifull eye-catchers I saw.

In Pokhara we were lucky to experience our first tropical rain. In no time the streets were filled with water. It gave me a chance to talk a little more with the beautifull woman from the money exchange counter, as a cow came to change some money.

It was a quiet evening, and we were looking forward to the trekking. In the evening we also had our first real conversation with Bhim, our guide, during dinner. Yes, I was talking during dinner, but only when my mouth was empty. We saw our first Nepali dance act and went to bed early, as we wanted to be ready for the coming 13 days.

At this point I did not know what was going to happen to me in the next two weeks, but I already felt wonderfull. I experienced a calmness inside me that I had never felt before, or at least I couldn't remember. People might say that there is so much chaos over there and that they go crazy being there, but for me it was the other way around. The chaos had been in my head, and being in a busy place like Kathmandu and Pokhara made me get structure in my head. In no time I felt at ease and so powerfull that I could take anything that came to me. I was really looking forward to the trekking. Being scared of everything in Belgium, in Nepal I felt strong and with self confidence. Strange how that can be, but I love it. In that little time my life was already changed, into something that I had been looking for, for so long. Peace at heart and mind! It was like at once I started to see much more colours as before. There used to be green, yellow, blue, brown,... but suddenly all those colours came in so many tints. There was a light and a dark version of every coulour, and there was the light-dark version, and... (got it?)

I think this has all to do with perception. All those colours were there, before I saw them, but getting structure in my mind and heart, made it possible to see more, to use my brains for noticing what was around me, and where I was part of. It's so beautifull, and yet only the beginning!