Himalayas Nepal Everest memories

1. Bangkok Thailand May 13, 2001 Luis Cabrera (Thailand)
I remember the afternoon when I did arrive to the small town in the mountains back two years ago, it was about 4:00 pm and the bus went into the town right to the foot of the hills, It was like one of those bus stations where there are several buses parked anywhere without fixed location within a big parking land, surrounded by small stalls where people was selling things, from small groceries to the most sophisticated merchandise such as sandals, rubber boots, candles, oil, tools, pots and even rice in bulk I came out of the bus after an eight to ten hrs trip through the mountains, the bus station was also located in the main road, the same road to take you out of the town down the mountains, although there was only one road in the town and all the houses in this town were at both sides of the town, so the shops and eating shops were side by side, and so were the hotels ready to take on the visitors
As I walked along the road on my way to look for a hotel I stop by and looked at the shops displaying Gurka knifes, water containers made of copper and other metals, the designs

2. were unique so my attention was taken by these objects The people in the streets seem quite busy and nobody was really busy, there were just talking to each other, probably telling each other the latest news around town as it looks like even though there were so many people, probably everybody knew about everybody, I was interested in the tools, I ever saw many of these in the museums when I was a child, but there all of them were brand new tools just made and out of the workshops, it was in a way like being a few hundred years back in time
Finally I made it to a small hotel were I got a water container, a couple of candles and a view to the main road while the attendant was busy asking me for the food order as it was going to take about one hr to prepare for the food of all the new guest, so I made my way out to the street and wonder around fascinated by the view of the town were time never pass by, and suddenly it was dark, it was still early about six pm but the total black darkness of the night came in a rush and at the same time the candles lighted up everywhere, it was something full of life, and the people still busy talking to each other and

3. making arrangements to close the shops for the day I was lucky and found a real full size Gurka knife and bought it for a few notes, it was the most precious thing I had with me from that moment on, as I love knifes and this one was of good size and weight with a handler made of wood and the blade sharp enough to open a cow into pieces, then I went back to my hotel just in time for dinner and to observe how food was going to be served in those metal plates from a kind of aluminum and iron mix, to my surprise the food was so good, the lentis soup, the vegetables curry with steam rice and the bread with chilly paste were so delicious, not to mention the milk tea which was going to replace the water for the next weeks on my trip up the mountains through the Himalayas That night I went out to walk on the deserted road, the dogs were also sleeping so the dark sky was calm and silence
In the far distance of the sky there were a great number of shinning and bright lights, so many I have never saw before and the absence of the moon made them more bright in the immensity of the night, it was a night for thoughts it was a day to reflect on the time lived up to then, but nothing came

4. across my mind, so just walked along the road in silence and in the middle of the dark I could see the shadows of the trees and bushes along the road, Slowly I came back to my small hotel and started to prepare to rest and get some sleep, to be ready for the next day, the beginning of a new day in the life, full of unknown adventures and unknown things to see and experience, moment by moment and who knew, but a new inspiration to continue in my journey in this world I couldn’t have imagined or even dream that night that one day not far away I was going to meet you and then as at that time, prepare my self for another day in my journey of life, but perhaps next time we will travel together for a long time and experience our adventures in this world together To be continued……………. July 29, 2001 11:22 am Luis Cabrera (Thailand)
The small town’s name was Jiri located at a height of 1,935 mts North East of Katmandu and the next town where I was going to was the Shivala at about 1,800 mts but in

5. between there were other hills at about 2,400 mts and other slopes as low as 1,300 mts, further on the track was Doorali at 2,705 mts I didn’t have a plan, all I knew was that I have the time of my life to keep going through the mountains and enjoy the scenery, the calm and the inner peace within my soul So I started at about 6 am and just walk for about six hours without stop just walk and without thinking anything at all just making the body work its way through the trail and observing the land, the trees, the sky, at times some water strings and occasionally meet some people also walking the trail, nothing special Finally I reach Shivala and as I enter the town which has also only one road which is the same as the mountain trail there were houses at both sides of the road and chickens and dogs and some times birds and pigs scattered all around, it was a typical village in Nepal, the houses seemed deserted, people were probably eating and resting and talking, there was a lot of talking going on in every small eating place where people get together to have rice with curry and goat milk tea
I was sweating quite a bit but I was not tired and saw children playing everywhere chasing

6. the dogs with stones and also in small groups playing games with stones to catch them in the air and collect the rest from the soil, I stop in front of a shop and drank some water that I had with me and eat one mars chocolate bar and candy, rested for a while and since I didn’t really had a plan, I just continue walking the trail that day for another six or seven hours till I reach the next village Doorali It was dark and the sky as dark as it can be but the trail was still easy to follow and there was the river to be crossed by the hand made bridge that was there for many hundreds of years, the sound of the water made it easy to find out how far I was from the village and finally I could see some lights in some near by houses with candles and some kitchen wood fire
As I approached one house an old man came across and say hello “Namash-teh” this was a familiar word for me, so I knew right away that I could find a place where to have some food and to sleep, he show me a house not far from there and then I just walked in that direction, there were many houses providing lounge and shelter, so it was a matter of deciding where to stay, so I walked till the end of the village and enter a small two storey house with benches at the front and

7. the kitchen across the narrow village road of about 4 mts This was a nice place to spend the night as it was at the top of the hill and with a clear view to the sky, I went in got a place to put my bag and took my night sky binoculars out from the camera bag and started to get ready to enjoy the night sky view, but first I asked for some food as it normally takes an hour to be prepared, it was going to be steamed rice with curry and vegetables, and goat milk tea I changed my wet cloths and put on my dry cloths. I have with me two sets, one set to walk and sweat the whole day and get it dried by the kitchen fire through out the night and another set of cloths to wear in the night and also to sleep with them on, as it was my first days in the mountains I was looking for some hot water to take a bath and clean myself a bit, so all that was arranged and soon I was ready to watch the stars one of my main purpose for this trip to the mountains
I didn’t really think about making the trip all the way to the mount Everest “Khumbu” at 8,850 mts, but rather I was more interested to look at the constellations, the stars, the planets, the moon and the most beautiful views of the himalaya mountains, so that first

8. night was really of joy and happiness’, the sky was clear and dark the best time to watch the stars It was not cold so I didn’t have to wear all the heavy warm cloths that I had with me, then the food it was really something specially, the curry with lentils and spinach and chilly and the milk tea was the best meal in a long time, I was not tired and my stamina was being building up pretty good, I didn’t feel dizzy or with breading problems, my feet was fine and also I didn’t think of anything, anyone or whatever could come to my mind didn’t come, I felt asleep I don’t really remember when but It was a deep sleep and nothing that I could remember that night during my sleep, perhaps only the images from the stars, there is no other place I had ever saw the stars so clear so far for so many years, except when I went to the Anapurna mountain also in the Himalayas in Nepal back in 1983 and managed to go to the submit, but at that time I had only my camera with a telephoto lent, but the views were nothing compared with my special night binoculars
I was satisfied and glad, peacefully glad, I went to sleep just with my cloths on, I didn’t even unpack my sleeping bag, light my candle to read my book or write anything,

9. just went to the floor and lie-down into a deep sleep To be continued……. August 26, 2003 23:04 hrs pm in 1975 this day I sat for my professional oral examination and got my degree in Engineering in Mexico UNAM Luis Cabrera Thailand
I will have to go to see my map from my trip to remember the name of all the villages I went through during my trip to the Everest base camp at about 6,700 mts height, but since it is well packed, I will just skip the names and continue with the story as I can recall it, and I will pick it up somewhere in the mountains
That night while the food was cooking I left the house where I was going to sleep together with so many other people and ventured out in the streets, there was no electricity, so with every house doors closed it was quite dark, a real dark blue and no other candles or any other light, so I just walked feeling the shadows of the night and figuring out any shadow from anything along the way, like a tree or some house or some caw or a dog or anything except people, it seemed as if everyone was ready to go to

10. sleep and probably it was not later than 8:00 pm but never mind the time, it was not important at all and suddenly I felt the calm and serenity of the night, but also I felt I was going too far from the house so I turned back and as I arrived there I just lie down on a stone, kind of table and look at the sky and look for some stars, naked eyes, it was relaxing and quiet Suddenly I saw what I thought it was a satellite because it was moving relatively fast at a constant speed and not really high like a planet but much lower, so I took my binoculars and watch it gone across the sky in just a few minutes, then I just enjoy watching the sky full of stars with the help of the night binoculars and just admiring the constellations, so many of them and so beautiful in their arrangement, some times I did looked at them naked eye and lost them completely, I mean I just couldn’t see anything, but just shadows or faint lights, so I went back to my binoculars and whoa what a show Later that night I just went back inside the house and the food was just about to be ready, I had a quiet dinner, around the fire and watch other people just talk and talk and talk, nothing serious just talk

11. I went back to my little room to sleep with all my cloths on, my jacket and inside my sleeping bag, except without boots and with my sleeping heavy woolen long socks, so I really slept warm The next day I just wake up, had some milk tea and some Tibetan bread with marmalade and cheese and continue my walk all the way for another six hrs before stop to have some drink or some chocolate bar mars, but normally the morning walk was not so interesting, just walk, hot, really hot and going up and down the mountains, you never know when you are reaching the top, before you think about it you have to go down again for a few hrs and then up again even higher, so the real time to feel something was in the late afternoon, so anxious to find a village and stop the day’s walk, also it is in the late evening that suddenly the weather change and it is no longer hot but rather fresh and the way seems not to end, but I didn’t feel tired or exhausted just eager to reach the village Some times there was a river to cross before reaching the village and that was always up the hill, so a final climb up before start looking for a place to sleep which was rather easy, as there are all the houses in the village to sleep

12. Getting there was fun. Then asking for some hot water and then take a kind of small hot shower with a hand container and a buck of hot water, after that you really feel so good and fresh and yes quite strong by then There is a point where people take different routes to go different places, and since I didn’t have a plan I just went anywhere I thought was interesting, and so I reach a place at 4,500 mts and the interesting thing about it was that the forest was below that village and that the scenery was completely different, just stones and more stones and mountains without trees or any other vegetation or plants or insects, or ants, or flies, or mosquitoes or really any butterfly or other insects easily found in the forest
Anyway we all had to stop for at least two days and see if everyone felt just fine or really bad, with headache, with difficulty breathing or some kind of unusual heart problem or what ever strange feeling in the body, this would have meant that that was the end of the trip and then you would have to go back as soon as you could because the mountain was just not for you, and so, there were some people with this kind of problems, people with different ages, some quite strong and tall and young, and some a bit older, but

13. I was just fine, I knew that because I did start my trip at a very low altitude and worked my way up within two weeks to that height So there I was, and I learnt of a place called the Gokio Lakes at a height of 7,000 mts so I started my trip as soon as I was ready to continue, and I must say that was one of the most interesting places I have ever been in this planet earth, to start I went quite high up the mountains to almost 5,500 mts in a short time and rested in a village where there was nothing but a flat plateau of solid sand and rocks like the ones you find in the concrete mix used to build bridges I remember the village and so many houses each with their potato’s farms and their land limit stone walls mark, something new and the people was also completely different, more like the Tibetan people features and costumes, and yes dinner was just potatoes cooked in the fire, potato soup, and potato omelet without eggs and lots of chilli, milk tea and Tibetan bread
The best dinner I ever had in years, and probably till today. The night became just too cold to be able to sleep or do anything, I was just next to the oven eating potatoes like eating popcorn in the cinema, just eat and

14. eat and eat, and listening the stories that the people were telling, this time there were no people just talking and talking, but the stories were just fascinating, some people had been traveling for over a year in the mountains, avoiding cities or major towns and just living from village to village and drawing whatever they fancy, I saw some drawings from a Japanese man, and I was just to silence to say anything, but that was a deep expression of whatever was in the mind of that man There was another man who walked from China through the Himalayas and he started his trip somewhere on the Indian side of the Himalayas Mountains. Both men were fast walkers and I was not in any competition with them so over the next days I only met them at night and not every night, but I saw them so fascinated with mountain shadows and glaciers
Anyway I managed to go 6,500 mts height and saw a whole family of goats and other high mountain deer and I was just taken by their beauty, a whole family climbing a steep wall, some times the mountain in front is just like a wall and it doesn’t seem to be possible to go up, but it is and not so difficult, just don’t look down and just keep going up until it is all over and you are on the top just to see

15. another higher wall mountain toped with a glacier, what a scenery, and then suddenly the huge himalaya mountains are in front of you, so grandiose and so beautiful, nothing is comparable to this view The time is just about 4:00 pm and there is still plenty of time to continue going, but in that direction there is no other village after that one, so that is the end for the day and so I took a slow walk to the very small tree houses village at the foot of the GIOKO LAKES………to be continued…………. August 28, 2003 11:13 pm Luis Cabrera (Thailand)
Last night planet Mars was the closest to our planet Earth, and at about 7:00 pm I looked at the sky from the south east to the south west with my night binoculars and I saw just a few stars but not the planet, but then as I left the factory I looked again to the sky and I saw mars shining so bright in the dark sky where there was no sign of the moon at all, and to my surprise no clouds and rain, so as I arrived home I went out again to the highest roof and watch again mars with my binoculars, well it was really beautiful, so in the morning I got into the internet and copy all the latest images from the Hubble telescope and got two really nice pictures

16. taken a few hrs before the nearest encounter and another one taken just after the encounter, I was just happy about it, so this time I left early from the factory and went back to Bangkok and unpack my telescope and assemble it and went out again to look for mars, and well it is a different thing to watch it with your naked eyes, with the help of night binoculars and with the telescope, because when I used the most powerful lenses then I got quite a degree of difficulty fine tuning and finally catching the planet, but then it is in motion, and in the back ground far away some other star quite more like a brilliant opaque shadow, but mars is moving at a considerable speed, it is a unique view and the planet does not shine anymore, it is just amazing, I just watch and watch till my eyes got so tired, so full of happiness went back to pack the telescope and here I am writing again about my trip to Everest mountain When I reached the village at the Gokio lakes the first thing that impressed me was a big bird, beige color the size of a swan flying just over one meter over the ground and quite fast, passing near me, as I watched it I did realize that I had never seen such kind of bird, so I just sat on a stone and all over the area it was white as the snow was just raining silently and at day time

17. I thought just a few things like about my two bags, one with just one set of dry cloths which I use in the night after I stop walking, dry my sweated cloths and use them again for my daily walk, both sets were not washed for many days and I couldn’t smell the probably very bad smell, I just got used to it, and then my other bag, full of warm cloths which I use in the night to sleep and to keep warm while I am having dinner, and then pack them back again every morning
I war two pair of jeans everyday for my walking and only one pair in the night to sleep but a different pair, This way I keep warm during my walk and if I fall I don’t scratch my legs because two ledgers are thick enough to protect me, well and yes my leather hand globes which I use all the time, they protect my hands from the rocks abrasion and also if I fell down, normally I use my hands to help my self and stand up again, my boots which they also smell bad by now but so far so good, my black hat and sun glasses, my wood stick which help me so much to keep going a bit faster than otherwise, my water bottle, my binoculars, my harmonica to keep me company with some sound and my camera with lots of films which by the way I have not developed since

18. the trip, every thing is packed just the way it was when I came back from that trip
I had a book with me, the adventures of tom sawyer and I had also my small note book where I kept a record of all my thought during my trip, and it is also packed together with everything that I had from the trip in the same two bags
Well one thing that was hard for me was to go through the mountains because there were so many stones and big chunks of soil to kind of climb them so often and that get your feet so tired, but there are so many things along the way that make you stop and take a break, for example from 1,200 mts to almost 3,000 mts you can always encounter caravans of donkeys with head dress so colorful and beautifully put on their heads, they walk in long lines of up to 50 donkeys, after 3,000 to at least at more than 4,500 mts and probably up to 6,000 mts the yaks caravans are also so interesting, because besides their long hair and big body, their horns and face are beautiful and their bells hanging around their necks makes them unique, as well as the donkeys with their neck bells, then there are also the human caravans, lines of more than 30 people carrying in their back loads of goods, food, cooking oil and whatever can be sold, that is

19. the supply chain in the Himalayas, a very sophisticated system that preserves the existence of so many people along the way, the caravans buy the things they carry with them, sell them along the way in the villages, and on their way back they buy some other things which they can sell in the small towns, and for that matter you can find coca cola even and mars chocolate bars in the fares village in the Himalayas mountains
It was interesting for me because I thought of a couple of ways to improve their supply chain system and improve their delivery system, by organizing depots along the way and specializing some products per villages at certain heights to create purchase power and reduce cost and increase availability, and of course to create some jobs in the villages and some other ideas, but as I also did mentioned this ideas to a girl from Holland, she very quickly told me that I should stop thinking that way because people like me change a country for ever and that Nepal would not be the same if some kind of progress were introduced, and I though about it and felt sorry for her, she was just not to my level of understanding about the improvement in the quality of life of the people in general, so I just kept my thought to my self, but this kind of thoughts I always have in any country where I find interest on my own curiosity, so

20. it did happen the same when I was at the villages, I saw their homes, the way they were build and how they organize their life and their sanitation, their health, their schools, their police and security systems, their social meeting places, their temples and their religion and most of all I was so interested to see their character as persons, as simple persons, and believe me Nepal has everything you ever dream of, but at the same time I felt sorry for all the foreigners that do take everything from Nepal and leave nothing good just their rubbish and their image In the mountains I thought about the people and their way of life, so simple and yet so organized and also so powerful as their spirit is so strong, their believes are a kind of a mix between Buddhism from Tibet and Hinduism from India and the Himalayas Mountains, the mountains are some thing special, their presence is so powerful, it gives you the energy to keep your life simple and yet spiritual, with a minimum of complications in the mind and in the social, unfortunately in the political sense, the country is very undeveloped and so is their education system
Well not all the times I was thinking about these things, I also thought about all the foreigners and their nationalities and their

21. typical character and so many things about them, and actually I never thought about my self, I was just an observer all the time with my eyes quite open and just trying to see as much as I could, and yes always looking for a slice of cake It is incredible the best cakes I have ever eat are found in the small villages and coffee shops in Katmandu, as well as in the small towns, I miss the cakes and all the time I was ready to eat them, but now I was far away at about 6,500 mts height, snowing and still daylight and many people arriving to this place Before I made it here I passed by many stone monuments made by people who travel this part of the mountains, also in the memory of those who didn’t make it due to high sickness and died of sudden dead Suddenly I am in a plateau where the valley is not really flat but rocky, and the kinds of rocks are different, from what ever I have seen so far, also the snow make it a bit difficult to see what are you stepping on, but basically it is basalt stones
Well after a small break I started my way to the village and find somewhere to spend the day and night before I make a plan to

22. continue with the trip, which by the way so far I couldn’t bother much about a plan, but I thought it is about time I make a plan, so I took my two bags and move slowly through the rocks, suddenly as I turned through I saw a lake so beautiful in aquamarine blue color, and the water was just steady without movements, not even from the light air wind or the fall of the thin drops of snow, I just couldn’t close my mouth, the lake is just big and surrounded by a wall mountain probably as high as 500 mts To be continued…….Luis Cabrera (Thailand)