Greetings from Namche Bazaar

Well, this is a surprise post! Namche looks the same as when I was here 10 years ago except that the lodges are nicer (our room has a private bath), warmer (I recall rooms with slits between the wooden planks where the cold air would seep in back then), and there are plenty of internet cafes!

We arrived in Namche yesterday after about a 2.5 hour (2 hr 15 min?) uphill walk from Mojo. The altitude here is about 11,400 feet. Seems everyone is doing okay. The flight from Lukla the day before went as planned. It was great to run into Val Pitkethly, my guide from Peru in 2002. I keep running into her because she and the nine trekkers she is guiding are on a similar schedule.

While rooming with Monica the doctor was great (we switched yesterday), catching her cold has not been all that great. So now I've already had two bouts of sickness. The strange thing about this cold is I feel better while walking and doing something than lying around. A couple of other people are also sick. It's really part of the deal here and while I'm a bit uncomfortable, I'm not too concerned (I know that probably shocks my family because I have been so paranoid about getting sick before leaving but this cold feels like a "real" cold and not something related to my inflamed esophagus from reflux - that is, thankfully, under control!).

And despite my cold, I still drink a beer a day.

The weather is spectacular - seems we are hitting a hot spell because prior to our arrival we heard it was pretty cold.

Which brings me to our arrival in Namche. When I reached the Alpine Lodge where we are staying, I went to take photos and Lance Fox said for me to wait so he could put his shirt back on. I jokingly encouraged him to keep it off, and then suggested maybe some of the other guys remove their shirts as well. Didn't have to pull too many legs for that one. Next thing I knew we had 6 guys lined up for a photo as I shouted "1-2-3- Flex!" I can't load it up here but if you go to Gilad's website (see the link to other blogs at right), you may find a shot I took with his camera. I'm pretty sure Lance has a shot loaded since he's on the internet daily. His website is http://www.foxeverest.com/. It was hilarious.

Enjoy!

Next post probably from base camp unless we see some more internet cafes like the one I'm sitting in now! This afternoon we are walking to Kumjung to stay in Phurba Tashi's lodge.

PS - The real time and date right now is 10:25 am on April 2.