It will be difficult to adequately articulate our experiences in Nepal as the range is so diverse, but also because the sense of spectacular scenery is not easily captured with words or photos (although we will try to do both via the website).

For us Nepal has been something we have anticipated for quite awhile, mainly for two reasons. It will be the first time in about three months that we will be seeing anyone from back home (Blaine and Bethany you don't quite count). Chad, Mike's childhood friend and this website designer, decided somewhat spontaneously to meet us here. So with the friendly face of home coming to us, we were ecstatic to be meeting up with Chad and the treats he promised to bring. The second reason being our plan to hike the Annapurna Circuit. Totted as the BEST hike in the world, it is an anticipated 18 day trek through the Himalayas with the trail meandering through numerous villages of varying cultures, and climbing to a max altitude of 17,769ft.

For all the reasons we were happily anticipating Nepal, there were some obvious grey areas that could make or break our experience. The first being, our last backpacking trip in altitude (read section from Peru) Mike really struggled and at one point our guide was carrying his bag. The second possible pitfall was this was to be Chad's first time hiking/backpacking, and hiking in the Himalayas does not allow for an easy escape plan if you don't like it.

We arrived in Kathmandu on March 23, the same day Chad arrived after having traveled over 24 hours from the United States. It was fun to see Chad's expressions and hear his initial impressions upon arriving in Nepal's capital and landing on one of the craziest tourist sectors that we have yet been to. Nepal in many ways is like a nice India - the people are kinder, being a tourist is easier, the touts are a bit gentler, getting around is straightforward, and many people speak English. However, Nepal is a very poor country with a struggling political situation, which has consequentially hindered development and strained tourism, their main economy. The worst for me was the gangs of young glue sniffing boys on the street corners, it made our cushioned lives feel like a slap in the face. So, it was brave of Chad to leap from the Midwest into this third world country.

Thankfully, at the start we only stayed in Kathmandu long enough to get ourselves organized for our upcoming adventure - 16 days of hiking in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. We will be long indebted to Blaine and Bethany (initially our couch surfing friends but by this point they are definitely considered close friends) as they had spent the week prior to our arrival researching the trek, finding a guide and porter (for them and Chad), and specking out where to buy gear for the trek (we ended up dropping a bit of money on down jackets, water proof jackets, wind pants, and fleeces -as all this wouldn't have fit in our packs during our world travels and proved priceless on the trail). In total we were a group of 7 people - Andrea, Bethany, Blaine, Chad, Mike, a guide and a porter - a group that would get to know each other very well by the end of our collective adventures and personal experiences with the mountains.

Our Adventure:

A bit about the trail: In total we hiked for portions of all 16 days that we had planned. In the beginning the days were long (6-7 hours) and it took a bit to get adjusted to constantly carrying 25-35lbs (Andrea/Mike) on our backs. However, as we climbed altitude the amount of hiking significantly decreased to allow for acclimatization. Each night we stayed in the small mountain villages where we slept in family inns. Each room varied greatly but there were a few constants - no heat, spotty electricity, rooms with 2-4 single beds, and only infrequently was there accessories (connected bathroom, night table in room, drying rack for laundry etc.) Almost all toilets were squatties (which is normal in these parts of the world). The longest we went without showers was 4 days. Truly hot showers were hard to find as the main source of energy was solar power and if a day was cloudy, well the water just didn't get that hot.

Food was eaten at the restaurants at the inn which ranged from barely edible to wonderful (new favorites are Swiss rosti and veggie burgers with an omelet on top). Food was the main cost to the trek as this is how most inns made their money. Being a group of 5 trekkers we were often able get either free rooms or 2 rooms for very cheap (1-2 dollars) if we promised to eat lots. The nice places had dining rooms that were heated by either wood burning stoves (with the occasional yak dung added) or small coal burners placed nearby. There were a few surprises as well - internet is available at 12,000 ft even in the Himalayas (sort of disappointing) as well as a homemade movie theater at 10,000 ft that played DVDs. At times we were really pleasantly surprised about the quality of our accommodation.

The trek itself was absolutely incredible, stellar, amazing, stunning, well almost any positive adjective would apply. We simply loved our time in the mountains. The Himalayas are so majestic and hiking along and among them is breath taking (and not just because at those altitudes there is less air). The scenery was so variable throughout each day - panoramas of a string of peaks over 20,000ft, hiking along the river with frequent white water rapids, blooming rhododendron forest, snow covered pine forests, valleys with fields and orchards displaying the beginning of spring, mountain villages reminiscent of rural American life 100 years ago, and wildlife ranging from monkeys to yaks to long trains of decorated donkeys laden with transported goods for the villages. Each day was unique but a few stand out among the rest:

• A 7 hour day hike up to Ice lake with a starting and ending elevation of 12,000 with an accent up to 16,000ft in the middle.
• Trekking in the mornings through freshly fallen snow
• Starting at 5:30 am and achieving our max altitude of 17,769ft (the pass called Thorung La) by 10am after hours of trekking through feet of snow, next to woolly yaks carrying tired or old trekkers, past heavenly white scenery and towering snowy mountain peaks
• Last day of the adventure, our trek up to Poon hill which gifted us with a memorable sunrise looking out over the panorama of mountains, while surrounded by a blooming rhododendron forest

Although the scenery was often the highlight of our daily endeavors a few other experiences helped give character to our adventure:

• Chad discovering his preference for hiking a couple hours and returning home at night (I know many of you can relate)
• Torturing each other with the gassy effects of yak cheese
• Attempting to get all 5 people hiking in the morning
• Getting out of warm sleeping bags into freezing temperatures
• Trying yak jerky
• The porter sliding down a snow covered mountain slope into the river bank 20ft below
• Mike being the ONLY one in the group to successfully carry all his own gear without injury over the pass and throughout the duration of the hike
• Nearly getting ran off the mountain cliff by an angry mother cow
• Blaine and Andrea both struggling with overuse injuries
• Hours spent daily hand pumping 16 liters of water to purify for drinking
• Eating way too many snickers
• Sadly discovering that large portions of the trek are in the process of being developed into a dirt road
• Getting passed by a delegation of 15 men carrying two polling boxes on the day of the Nepali elections.

Of course these were just the highlights, even after days of hiking we never fully got over the awe of being within the mountains and the experiences that coincide with it. This experience allowed us to mutually discover a love of backpacking (although staying in inns at night and having meals made for us is a very! posh backpacking trip). It was a depressing day when we had to return to civilization and the touristy city of Pokhara.

For the sake of brevity I did not go into the whole 16 day trekking details of which villages we hiked to, the daily altitudes, or a day by day account of the scenery - however the following sight does an excellent job of providing more info with pictures to parallel, while not going into the tedium of too much detail. All the places mentioned in the website we passed through giving a great account of what we saw. You should definitely check it out - http://www.molon.de/galleries/Nepal/Annapurna/.

Once back in Kathmandu, we caught up on internet, enjoyed cheap food again, and visited some of the recommended tourist sights. The sights we visited are as follows:

• Bodhnath - One of the largest stupas in the world and a significant holy spot for Buddhist Nepalis. Interesting to observe the traditional dress of Nepalis people visiting this site and observe their religious ritual which includes walking around the stupa in a clockwise fashion.
• Pashupatinath - Covered with monkeys this Hindu temple complex is spread out over a couple structures, most of which we weren't allowed inside. Fascinating points was viewing the area of cremation at the edge of the Bagmati river, walking past Hindu temples while Monkeys stole the food offerings, and seeing the crazy looking holy men.
• Patan's Durbar Square - More preciously it is an area within Kathmandu that remains has historical significance from the Patan era which houses the residence of the Malla rulers as well as numerous temples (all within varying states of preservation). The day we were there was a National holiday so it was packed with Nepalis hanging out and sadly we couldn't escape the groups of glue sniffing kids "enlightening" themselves under awnings of Buddhist temples.

It was a surreal experience leaving Nepal as it marked for us the entry into our final stage of our world travels - our last stop, China. By this point we definitely are missing family and friends and can only hope that our anticipation for heading home doesn't taint our time in China.

July 31st
Welcome to Peru!

August 2nd
Hello Pisco!

August 3rd
Islas de Ballestas

August 5th
Arequipa

August 6th - 8th
Cayon del Colca

August 10th
Puno

August 11th
Lake Titicaca

August 21st - 24th
Cusco and Pisac

August 25th - 30th
Hiking to Machu Picchu

Summary of Peru and Bolivia