On Friday after school I had a delightful ride to Thimphu with a P.P. teacher from Wangchu. PP is pre primary or kindergarten. Generally the students go for a half day and they learn English and Dzongkha, reading and writing . . . in two languages.
In Thimphu I met up with Matt and Lucy from Australia and Dave from Canada. In the morning we left Chemgang (Matt and Lucy's) for a walk over the pass to Gaselo. We had heard reports that the travel time would be 5 hours, 8 hours or two days. Five of Matt's students accompanied us to Hilela pass, where there was a chorten built by Drukpa Kinley, the Divine Madman. It was a delightful walk with 2 yaks (zaos actually, which are a yak/cow hybrid as yaks cannot live at this low, 3,000 m elevation). The boys were delightful, fed us local plants, told local stories and were grade 6's and 7's acting as tour guides.
From the top down there is a new mountain bike trail. Apparently there is a way to drive up there to drop cyclists. Pretty muddy and we think we may have walked 20 kilometres down, including 4 on the road. (only 8 km up) We did not make it to Gaselo. From Nahi, the remote village where we came off the trail, it was another 2 hours to Gaselo and we had been going for about 8. We did go up and down the mountain at Nahi looking for the short cut to the bridge which added some time.
Arwen, another BCF teacher, sent a taxi up the 11 km road and we arrived in Bajo on time for a great dinner with 10 BCF teachers. Yum and thanks to Sarah in Punaka for putting 4 of us up at her place. Swam in the Pochu River beside the Punaka Dzong prior to heading back home via Thimphu On Sunday.
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