Day 11 - Namche - " Coffee at 3,500 metres" !

With the sun still to fully rise we took off in chilly morning conditions for a 4 hour steep climb to Namache gaining over 800 metres in altitude !

It was a pleasant enough start but the trail  soon resembled the Sth Eastern Freeway as we reached bottlenecks on the steep, narrow and precipitous path !

Climbing up we had to work our way around slow moving porters some apparently carrying enough supplies to open their own warehouse (bound for Namche) - we also shared the minimal available space with the occasional yak herd as well as with horses and descending trekkers some rudely taking up the limited space by waving their poles around !

The days highlight was crossing a suspension bridge perched a good 100+ feet over a river as well as another suspension bridge - the Nepali version of Spaghetti Junction in the UK ;

The increasing altitude brought about a slowing of pace something I think we'll become accustomed to over the coming days as we climb higher.

Finally around lunch time we entered the amazing village of Namche situated in a bowl in the hills flanked by a 7,000 ft snow capped mountain

As you entered town you became aware of its normalcy -  a couple Bakeries, an Irish Pub, some pizza joints an ATM, coffee shops etc - you had to remind yourself though that everything you saw here had to be carried along the same precipitous and narrow paths we'd just been on - how they moved the slate based pool table I saw is beyond comprehension !

Afternoon included a walk around town, a coffee watching  a great film that showed the role of Sherpa's in climbing Everest & how much westerners have relied on them and exploited them at the same time !

With the descending mist and cold it was back to our Hotel to plan our acclimatization day in Namche tomorrow and finally after 7 days update the blog and catch up with the outside world !

Michael -

I thought I was hallucinating - a village at 3500 metres with pubs and bakeries - its bizarre when the only way in is by a narrow path or by chopper !

Having an afternoon Capuchino was almost civilized !

Monika -

A ridiculously crowded path did not set the day well it was hard enough climbing without having to avoid everyone coming down and the pointy horned yaks !

Namche reminded me a little of Thredbo on entering. I'm glad it was only a half days walk !