Flowers and a Flood

And now back to India, where we'd just reported on camp wars with the hooray Henries.

Now the good thing about being on a no frills tour was that we could get off a lot quicker in the morning: after all we had no showering and shaving to do and no cafetieres of coffee to linger over, (although we always had a perfectly fine breakfast). Probably the most important thing was that we had no hangovers to nurse!

We left camp feeling bright and chipper, unlike the hoorays, and looking forward to the day's walk. It was only to be a short walk as we were climbing up to the highest point on the trek and we needed to acclimatise.

It was nice to have the time to linger to look at the flowers ...

... talk to the locals ...

... and take lots of time to admire the views ...

As we climbed, we found ourselves occasionally above the clouds; it was a very long way down. The walking was very much Gio style i.e. plod, plod, plod which is the perfect way to walk. Part way through the morning we were overtaken by the hoorays, charging along at top speed and making quite a racket. We completely disapproved - what was the point of their trek!

The high point of Sandakhphu at 3,636 m was reached before lunchtime. There was very little there apart from a few tea houses. We borrowed one to brew a cup of tea. Sandakhpu is at the end of the jeep track, so it where most Indian tourists finish their trip, as they're not walking. Things were about to get a lot quieter.

As we left the settlement we were now on a walking path rather than a driving path (not that we'd have driven the driving path!) We walked for another 30 minutes or so then got to our campsite. As it was a wild camp we had it all to ourselves. The tents were up and waiting for us, so we grabbed one in the front row, dumped our gear then went to the dining tent for lunch.

While we were having lunch it rained hard. In fact it rained all afternoon, so we were all holed up in our tents, snuggled in our sleeping bags. We emerged from time to time for a quick sprint over to the dining tent for such delights as tea and the most delicious pakoras. The tent entrances got quite flooded and we had a damp floor. Our spirits remained high though and we enjoyed reading our booksand watching t.v. programmes on our iPads. 

We were early to bed in view of the weather and so as to to be ready for the call to 'mountain view' at 5.00 a.m. the next morning. We'd been promised a good one. 

Lots of love, George, Yorkie and Gio xxx

A Pig in Clover

We were very proud of our friend Pigs, the Piggybank, when he took a starring role in the final nativity tableau at our local church yesterday.

Pigs was there to represent the gold, given as a gift to the Baby Jesus by the Wise Men. Now, you need to know that Pigs is almost full of lovely shiny £1 and £2 coins which he looks after for us and  pays out to us (in modest quantities) when we go racing and need some coins for betting.

During the service Pigs was brought up and added to the crib scene along with the frankincense and myrrh. Can you see him at the front of our picture, looking a real natural?

Santa Bear climbed onto the roof of the stable for a real good look at this timeless scene and to be reminded of where the tradition of giving presents, that he works so hard to support, originates.

Having completed his present delivery work until next year, Santa Bear took some time off to relax with Mary and Joseph, practise his donkey riding and to marvel at how big the Baby Jesus had grown in just over a week.

 
We won't see much of Mary and Joseph now until next Christmas, but we know they won't be resting on their laurels, as they'll be very busy and attentive parents.

Lots of love

All at Beard Unlimited xxx