Samagaun
September 5
Today is mostly a rest day but we’re planning a few activities around Samagaun. The first is an important blessing from the high Lama at the local monastery. Mountaineers tend to be a little superstitious and especially when climbing in the Himalayas we like to follow local traditions. The monastery sits on a small hill above the village.
A fifteen-minute walk brings us to the monastery and it’s clear when we arrive that something big is going on here. Talking with a Sherpa that I know from a different team, we find out that today is a very special ceremony for which many monks have traveled from India and the high Lama came from Bhutan. It’s a beautiful building and only a couple of years old. Other buildings and the adjacent Stupa are still under construction.
We can hear chanting from the courtyard and one of the Sherpa guides with us is finding out whether we can go inside or not. He says there are monks filling the interior so it will be a tight fit for our group. Ultimately, we are allowed in and take our seats on the floor next to the praying monks. It is really something to witness such a ceremony and I’m sure we were inside for close to an hour by the time it was done. I didn’t take any photos during the ceremony out of respect but did afterwards during our blessings.
After our blessings, the group of friends I gathered for this adventure showed off our katas.
After getting back to the hotel and eating some lunch, a small group of us traveled down the valley to see the school. This is actually a boarding school that serves both Samagaun and the next village down valley. We find out by speaking to the staff through one of our Sherpa guides that the school is funded half by the Nepalese government and half by private donations. They currently have 56 students with grades from kindergarten to 5th. After 5th grade, many of the children will go to Kathmandu to finish their education and the rest will stay in their village to work.
On the way back from the school, we get a view of Samagaun. The old village is the part closest to us. It is very much traditional with old houses adjacent to each other and no real facilities for visitors. The newer part of the village has been developed over the past 10 years or so and is dominated by teahouse hotels for trekkers. It’s clear from this view and our walks through both villages that tourism is on the rise and the local residents are working hard to accommodate it.
As we enter the old village, one of our guides asks a resident if it would be possible for us to visit them inside their house. That person refused but her neighbor was willing and happy to. This was really a treat to see how a traditional mountain Sherpa lives. She welcomed us inside the courtyard and then into her house. The doorway was very low and of course I cracked my head on it while entering. Our host laid out some rugs on the ancient wood floor for us to sit on and there was just enough room for our group of 10 to fit. She had some boiled potatoes in a pot and offered them to us with the hospitality of someone accustomed to visitors. We asked many questions about the items in her house, many of which are for cooking, eating, making alcohol, and storing food. It was quite fascinating. She had no idea about the age of the house or who built it but said that it was very old. That could mean 50 years or 300 years by the feel of this place. Our guest allowed photos but asked that we not post her face on social media. She was a bit shy and maybe embarrassed for her simple life.
This was truly a day full of amazing experiences!
September 6th
Today is the day we’re moving to Manaslu base camp, but our
team has lots of GI problems. Some,
including me, started yesterday late afternoon and others during the
night. By breakfast, the count was 6 or
7 of us who were in various stages of malfunction. By the time it was all sorted out, 5 of us
decided to stay here in Samagaun for another day. The body can recover from illness much easier
at below 12,000 ft than above 15,000 ft.
It’s a calculated decision and each person made theirs individually. Since I know that we have lots of time and
that success on the mountain is based on patience, my decision to stay here was
easy.
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