Annapurna circuit part 5 - at last the walking starts

23rd March   -  Trekking Day Begins

up at 6am for a quick wash then fill our trekking bags for Nara our Porter to sort out (how the hell he carries that lot I do not know), then 6:30 for  breakfast and fill up our water bottles etc..  By 7:30 we was finally off on the Annapurna circuit and within 10 minutes we had our first river crossing, this one on a scarry looking wooden structure (more solid than it looked) but found it fun either way. 

first river crossing

not as bad as it looks

Passed many farms and little villages plus children doing thier long walks to school.

after a bit we began to notice I was getting lots of stares and some little kids would pat my belly as they passed, I guess they don't see fellows as big as me around the trrekking route (either that or they was wondering if I was a living fat buddha).

The journey had many highs and lows, both physical and mental but in general we were enjoying ourselfs and as we got to know our Guide Ratna and Porter Nara we found we had to great guys to share this journey with.

Nara (porter) and Ratna (guide)

For lunch we stopped at the top of a hill with fantastic views of the area and got to have a quick wash and sit down for a cold drink and something to eat. 

nice to cool down and clean up

Soup with a view

This is where we met another Trekker that we would meet on and off for the rest of the tripm even at the end in Pokhara.  The comadre you get with most trekkers we would meet was great, encouraging each other swopping information and stories.
Arrived at our lodge at about 4:30pm and instally the rucksacks and boots came off (cool feet what bliss),  my thighs knew they hadn't worked like that before, I knew I had done some hills and distance.

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying our meal and having a laugh with Ratna and Nara, then off to bed early as we was quite tired (well buggered) plus we had to be up early in the morning.