Annapurna: Supplement to the Cover Picture.

The 'middle' mountain peak coincides with that of the cover. Machhapuchhare is to the left joining the Annapurna Range, for the picture only. Phewa Lake below, Sarangkot Peak across the way and we're in our element. 

One of many peaks in the Annapurna range, the highest reaching over 26,000 feet.

A view of the same range from the town of Begnas, clouds covering the lake, heaven delivering the 'jewels'.

66.05 Nepal: Begnas: An introduction only, yet a life experience.

  We planned a 2-day vacation/trek away from our 'permanent' apartment to visit Begnas Lake which turned into three plus but could easily have been ten. We'll return, we are pretty certain, unless something better catches our interest. However, that's unlikely, for our visit which began hesitantly, took off like a rocket, on the second day. We could have used boosters to lift us to the heights towering over the lakes, though. 

Nevertheless, for the less energetic or may we say lazy, the atmosphere filled with both tranquility and beauty is most fulfilling. In typical Nepali fashion, (continues next complete blog)...we have included a few photographs we believe show us that no matter what we experience, there is always so much more that nature has to offer. (One of our greater understatements.)

A less than stellar arrival in Begnas Lake. Whose idea was this?
We find an apartment for the first night to the left of the buildings ahead. We can 'live' with the view of Annapurna, at the yoga retreat, we think.

We awoke to the whole valley (next apartment), lake and everything else covered in cloud while the Annapurna Range was clearer than we have ever seen. Truth be told, this was a sight that will leave an impression forever.
There are incredible advantages of being a monkey.
Other sights of this incredible range viewed in exceptional circumstances (in our opinion), will follow in later blogs. Truth be told, we are in awe and once again, awfully humbled as well as blessed to have viewed these and many other scenes.
'Like a bridge over troubled water', (it is my fervent hope that) 'I will lay me down' (should I be needed).
We go 'native' temporarily.

Jenni identifies our next hike, Rupakot,...what's new? Top right-hand corner; buildings are part of a luxury resort.
and begins to pay the price, or perhaps, reap the benefits. 

We return to reality after Jen waits while I search for soda water in the downtown area.
Begnas Lake below, Annapurna above and the rest of us in-between, near sunset.
Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey

66.04 Nepal, Pokhara: Sarangkot Peak View-Point, a testing but beautiful experience.

Jen reaches the destination...part of the the fabulous Annapurna Range and Machhapuchhare Mountain as background.
A more complete perspective.
A view from Shanti Stupa, across the lake and on a mountain, focusing on Sarangkot Peak with the big mountains behind it. You can see the highpoint, Sarangkot Tower, on the mountain top in the foreground (slightly right and much below Fishtail.)
  One of the ways of capturing the flavor of local hikes or treks, in our opinion, is to take oneself down to Pokhara, Nepal, and find some outstanding opportunities. They are available but not necessarily advertised as such. Besides the hiking, which in our opinion is the essence of what we do, the rest is important, vital really, but nevertheless, supplementary to our main purpose. However, life's situations create opportunities for experiences which often, if not always, provide exposure with which to relate to different cultures, environments as well as understand and deal with ourselves, our foibles, weaknesses, desires and everything in-between. 

  Back to a hike that we consider strenuous, challenging and enormously satisfying. (Nearly 2,900 feet altitude gain, 6.7 miles, plus some rough footing.) To provide the reader with some background, we'll walk you along the trail which should, hopefully, be illuminating although a little dark in parts of the forest. We commence by closing our front door and heading downstairs, walking quickly through the neighborhood toward the main road where we expect to hop on a municipal bus. We greet a few people we know, wave to others, while the busy morning atmosphere sets the tone reminding us to keep our eyes open for all forms of traffic. Ears-alert is important too and a sixth, even seventh sense is very useful as well. We could walk to the trail, which we often pass when doing other local hikes but not when we are going to be undertaking one of this magnitude. In earlier days, we would hail a taxi and be there within ten minutes. Nowadays, it's a bus. It goes to the heart of the concept of enjoying the experience. One captures part of the essence of the culture when immersing oneself in situations on a bus, for instance. 

  Cannot be too strenuous with a smile like that. Jen about to enter the jungle, much drier than we have experienced before.
  We just missed a bus by about 30 seconds so we will have to wait. 

  "I told you to get out of bed earlier, Jeffrey," my lovely companion mentioned. 

  "The next one will arrive within a minute," I retorted. 

  On time, a bus hurtled toward us as we stood on the sidewalk, in a fashion. Note that 'the where' we stood, and the definition of sidewalk (pavement) are of course subject to interpretation, as this is Nepal. The beauty of the system is that while busses follow a fixed (mostly) route, the driver guided by the conductor will allow passengers to board or disembark anywhere. It's a terrific system. Also, as mentioned previously, the conductor will spring on-and-off the bus when soliciting customers. At times it can be entertaining. One thing I know is that the conductor will not hop back upon the bus unless it's in motion. It could be a macho issue but what do I know. 

  One proviso for us is that we cannot read the language (funnily enough) and so some busses we board may travel to the 'wrong' destination. No problem. We disembark and try the next one. Most of the experiences work out fine. At times, we try to explain where we are heading to the conductor, but that can be complicated, particularly when we don't know ourselves. The locals presume we are off to tourist attractions, so they are inclined to make up their minds as to where to direct us. That never works. 

  "That's a blue bus," Jen exclaimed. By the way, Jen is pretty good with colors. The reason for her statement is that most of the busses are green with some in the other colors, on occasion. Without a clue as to the meaning of the signage (destination), we decided to skip the blue bus much to one of us disagreeing with that decision. The next bus followed a couple of minutes later and lo and behold, it was not green either. Another blue one. I grabbed Jenni's hand, and we boarded it. We told the conductor where we were headed as it was a well- known attraction, the cable car station, which made sense to him. He gave us a slight nod. I nodded back, trying out my Clint Eastwood approach. Fortunately, I'm a little younger than him so I'm probably quite intimidating. The rest of the journey was short, sweet and safe. Had it been a green bus, we would have played it nonchalantly. Sort of be even more cool, maybe cold. 

  The stages are so steep that after a relatively short distance, we had already gained incredible elevation. Two photographs below, one can gain perspective of the building relative to the cable. (The 3rd photo from the top, shows the building below.)
We commenced the hike from the bus terminus, feeling great even though we knew what was in store for us. Jen had been a little ill at the commencement of the trip and suffered a serious bump on the head in the strangest of circumstances. Heck, the kid lives dangerously at times. Therefore, we waited a little longer to undertake this amazing hike to enable both of us to strengthen. We did many hikes in the meantime, though. The day before, we both felt the excitement begin to build. As mentioned, while it's a tough undertaking, it's superb in every way, even what feels like a vertical climb for 3 hours. We actually reached the peak in 2 hours, twenty minutes, without rushing...big deals! 

  We'll take you through the phases of the hike together with brief explanations of the locals and land, some pictures for those having difficulty visualizing Nepal. We promise the weather will be dry so don't worry about raincoats; you might want to bring a snack along as it's likely to be the highlight of the following minutes. 

  "Okay, let's get going...Jen's becoming impatient."  

Water, mountains, trails, villages and villagers and more amazing mountains.

  Off the bus we jumped and for the next 22 minutes, which included talking with kids, trying to convince dogs not to trail us, and the odd, (not really odd in that sense), bored adult, we trudged up the first incline along an internal road passing homes, an hotel, cable station, small holdings and stores. We find it to be one of the steeper parts of the trail and we had yet to reach the jungle, the formal climb. Left turn and we head into the jungle for another hour or so. This time the growth was stunted so it was much more comfortable than on previous occasions. Being the dry season, we had to forgo mud, puddles and extremely slippery sections. Well, you can't have everything. Nevertheless, it was a treat. 

  We did not come across another soul, local resident or hiker. Much of the time was spent under the cableway, yet another of man's miraculous inventions and construction projects. The trail then cut away from the overhead cables and we moved toward the first home on the outskirts of the jungle, not before passing under a guard tower perched up above us. As is custom, we exchanged greetings rather than bullets. By the way, Jen has all these directions and what to expect enroute, stored in her head. She walks by rote—it's all very boring for her. 

 Did Jen wonder whether the cable car was a better option? Never!
Upon leaving the jungle proper, we head up through a village during which we come across cattle, goats and their kids, then kids as in children, residents, beggars, before reaching a road at which there is an overlook with benches. We met a group of hikers coming down—usually ride up, walk down. Nice place for a rest or breakfast. From there we cross over a main road and climb rough paths, stone steps and other hurdles at which time we reach a pre-school. A brief return to semi-jungle follows, then we continue to pass homes before entering residential/farming communities (within a very rural context). 

  It's a time of talking to people, answering questions such as where we're from, dealing with kids seeking money or sweets. That's become a little problematical and does not augur well for the future. We realize the errors of our ways when in our earlier visits, we loved to hand-out candy to children. Now we try to obtain the permission of parents first. We have actually been accosted on occasion...in the one picture shown below, one of the kids became very aggressive. Thank goodness Jen has never forgotten her judo techniques. Ten days before when on the way to Methlang, we had to deal with 2 youngsters, ages between 7 and ten who were quite objectionable. Nevertheless, the kids (small) are very cute, sweet and enjoyable. 

The Overlook of Phewa Lake and surround referred to above.
'Hi, Guys. Did you miss us, or could it be something else?'
"Hey Mae? Come up and see us some time, love."
Our next section includes hotels, guesthouses and residences followed by stores, all of a rural nature. Thereafter, we continue to climb stairs which seem to be heading for heaven. We try to avoid solicitations from store-hands as we begin to close in on the tower, the viewpoint, next to a new religious icon under construction. The cableway is below and to the west of our target. By this time, we are breathing heavily, our muscles aching and we might add, whining quietly. Decorum is important. Of course, we are having fun. Hang-on a second, let me check that with Jen. 'Hey, Jen...' 

  We feast our eyes with-, our souls from- a view of the Annapurna Range together with Machhapuchhare (Fishtail) in the foreground; we are amazed as usual. The views below are staggering, too. The period of the year allows for visibility that's consistently attractive. Most other times, one could walk past and not realize 26,000 feet giants occupy the space ahead.  

Approaching the tower, with the icon under construction adjacent to it.
We found different viewpoints aside from the formal one at the peak. Impressive.

  No carried breakfast for us on these occasions. We head off to a 'restaurant'/guesthouse with spectacular views again and prepare to sit, relax, eat and partake in hot beverages. The sights are marvelous—not the food, the views below. 

  Truth be told, what really makes them so much more memorable is the fact that we struggle and sweat to reach the top. That is our philosophy; we believe it works as it manifests itself in many benefits, just one being a feeling of sheer joy. While a ride up-and-down is an amazing concept, the views will be fantastic, the experience enjoyable, but in our experience and with our mindsets, it would be incomplete. 

  We feel privileged to have the health, the determination and desire to sweat the journey. We believe the hike, mostly on foot, sometimes on all fours, occasionally with ropes, chains or ladders, is what makes it an adventure, what completes the journey. Heck, it takes all types. We suppose the ultimate in all aspects of life is to accomplish what one sets out to do or at least, give it all you have. That, we believe, is success. 

  "You forgot about the return journey, Jeffrey, we're not sleeping up here tonight, are we? Maybe you're not as young as you think." 

There is a route down. Love the island like edges.
Our first mountain sighting after nearly 2 hours. 

  Probably a favorite which is away from the more popular viewpoints.
Together at last.
Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey 

What a tiring day, somewhere outside of the 'city'. They were lost, looking for a restaurant. What a highlight for us. We were able to guide locals to their destination. That's a first!

A view of the tower from Methlang.

65.04 South Africa: Cape Town and nearby: Recalling the past series (2017).

Should there ever have been a country that freed itself from the shackles of its oppressors, becoming potentially fully-liberated, South Africa would have been a prime nominee. Its infrastructure as well as many cities of the country compared favorably with that of first-world countries. It was also highly supported by world sympathy. What potential! 

  However, following the passing of Nelson Mandela and the rise of numerous self-interested persons seeking power and wealth, the country chose a path of 'disaster' filled with corruption, danger, insecurity, et al, while deciding to ignore the majority of citizens. What a tragedy. (An opinion). 

  While we have made many hiking trips to South Africa, including the Cape Province as well as in Cape Town itself, this comprises a small selection from a trip in 2017 only. 

As we descend a rocky trail on Table Mountain, a Cape Town icon presents itself.
Heading toward peak of Table Mountain via the 12 Apostles route.
Jen heading to 3-Sisters Peak in Kleinmond.
As the kids say, sometimes a person just hangs-out or is it a hangover?
Not surprising the French are famous vintners: The farm below in Franschoek viewed from on high with a telephoto.
A park near Hermanus, a wonderful place to live...in the ordinary course of life.
Take a look at another vineyard somewhere else.
"Yikes! We still have further to rise?"
Apparently. The route up Table Mountain via Indian Venster. (Window to India.)
A little late in the day to mention this to Jen...me, too. As our son, Gavin, is wont to retort, "So what you gonna do?"
Looking at Lion's Head from somewhere on Indian Venster, Table Mountain.
'Miss Cool' and the deep, wide blue ocean close to where the Indian and Atlantic meet. Talking of great historic meeting places.
'Okay, point made...sit down already! On second thoughts, maybe it's not a good idea.'
Now there's a brave and modest girl...okay, okay, woman.
Back to Table Mountain...one can't help it. Being so 'flat', it's an 'easy' walk, so they told us.
So how did you end up on Devil's Peak then? (Lion's Head at rear.) Dumb question...one step at a time.
'Oh! I see twinkle-toes joined you. You should travel more...get away from it (him) all."
'Might not be so easy to leave him on his own...looks quite needy'.
Outside of the city but not too far. (A way of covering for memory lapses. Oops! Perdekop.)
From Devil's Peak a view of the City, Greenpoint Stadium and Robben Island.
Jen developed a fondness for 'The Table' but eventually, even she had to quit walking and eating about it.
Medical opinion states that when one is tired, one should rest. Whether it's a literal suggestion is beyond our medical knowledge; thus we select our own interpretation. It seems to work generally, although prescribing a pillow would be nice.
Jen is close to peak but glances at the wonderful coastline. It must have been cold, for after a sweat, one would expect unbundling. 

A peak with a view.
Taking the gap in color.
'The fairest Cape of them all...we could live with that.

Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey

"Where is Waldo?" After some tough climbing, Jen considers riding the cableway down with her school-friends.