Celebrate On!

I originally wrote this day as a nondescript trekking day. We hiked along he river on a rolling trail. Yadda yadda. It was beautiful. We rolled into Langtang just as a cold breeze blew in storm clouds. It was 4:00 PM when I wrote he original draft. I was laying in my sleeping bag somewhere between asleep and hungry. Kevin was reading Anna Karenina. Needless to say, it was a lackluster Friday the 13th. Then it happened.

Kevin said he was hungry so we devised a plan: get soup, hang out, eat dinner. We went to the dining hall and encountered a large climbing party. It consisted of six or seven Czech climbers and about fifteen porters and Sherpa. The Czech I was delighted! mountain guide offered us sliced salami and got everyone's attention. His speech made it obvious that they had failed at summiting, but he expressed how much the climbers appreciated everyone's help and effort. No one can be blamed for poor weather and bad conditions. The leader from the Sherpa side also said his thanks and apologized profusely for the unfortunate weather. Then he got the Nepali guys singing. This was the beginning of a group sing along by nationality. The Czech guide apologized to Kevin and me for the ruckus. They got high up on Naya Kanga before getting into waist deep snow, so they turned back. After tonight many Sherpa would return home. It was time to celebrate and show thanks to each other. "Celebrate on!" Kevin insisted. I nodded agreeably, why not celebrate?

Our new Czech buddy came back with homemade Czech gin. "Drink this," he poured us large shots, "it is delicious. Not at first but afterward." We did and it was damn strong, then delicious. The singing continued and people got up and were dancing to the beat of others drumming on table tops. This group was getting lively! Our newest best friend continued pouring us rum and coke (more like rum with a hint of coke) while we ate and chatted.

You never know what to expect here. One hour I was content in my sleeping bag; the next I was part of a rowdy party. Nepal never ceases to amaze me. We left the gathering to find an almost full moon and star filled skies. Seemed the storm had passed and the next day would be another gorgeous one.