Chame

Another day. We continue to wind our way up the valley. The haze has started to lift and we have good views of snow covered mountains obscured by clouds.

We have lunch on a restaurant roof top overlooking the village of Tanchok with beautiful blossoming trees and a backdrop of hills and mountains.



We continue on to the small village of Chame. I visit an internet cafe and share my love and joy and worries with those who care. I am worried that I am coming down with a cold.

I sleep fitfully with coughing and spluttering. In the morning I have a cold and I expect the next day to be difficult.

But after a light breakfast and a pot of tea I start the walk in good spirits. My symptoms are ignored as the morning walk captures my attention.

And here is where our journey starts to change as the mountains begin to appear. The air is fresh. Snow and ice are clear white on the mountain tops.

In the back of my mind there is something counterintuitive - to have climbed so high and still be at the base of huge mountains. It invokes wonder, it is spiritual, it is magical.

This is the land at the top of the beanstalk. The land of the magic faraway tree. Where the clouds have coalesced to create a firmament. Where the winds are driven by ancient spirits that whip through prayer flags.

People speak of conquering the mountains. We do not conquer such places. We conquer our own spirits as we strive to climb higher than our own limitations. The feeling of elation doesn't come from mastering our environment. It comes from being overwhelmed by the grandeur.

Some people feel insignificant when they encounter such magnitude. I think this comes from either feeling disconected or threatened. Its different if you feel you are part of it, accepted by it, contributing to a universal synergy. Does a child feel insignificant when they encounter their parents love?

It is sublime to visit such a place, to be small on the edge of a great expanse, to walk on the roof of the world.

This is where we now journey.