With thanks to our guest blogger and photo credits Micheal Testori.
This section covers the experience from the group who traversed the Renjola Pass and made their way to Namche Bazzar.
We awoke at 5am to witness the sun barely touching the top of the Renjola Pass that we aimed to traverse later that day.
As we started to cross Gokyo Lake at 7:30am, crossing the ice-scattered path, we started our ascent to the top of the pass standing at 5420m.
We never lost view of the deep turquoise Gokyo lake as we ascended, only to be greeted by another stunning view of Everest and its surrounding peaks. The path to the top was a combination of dirt, rock and ice. Yet, by 11am we had reached the top, admiring what can only be described as one of the most breathtaking views of our journey, breathtaking in every sense of the word.
After a quick snack, we began our descent to Thame at 3800m. Unbeknownst to us, there were two sides to Thame and of course or lodge was at the further side. Yet, the sun setting on the mountain peaks towering over the valley leading to Thame made it all worth while. We arrived to our lodge in Thame at 5:30pm, only to be greeted by a foreign phenomenon, TV. Many of us at this moment realized how long we had been away from what we know as civilization.
Over dinner, we happened to be discussing the pictures of the Buddhist high priests mounted on the wall and learnt that one of them lived in a monastery 45 minutes away in the mountains. So, in the morning, we began our unexpected side trip to visit the monastery to visit the high priest to receive a blessing. Did I forget to mention he was 6 years old??!! As we arrived, he greeted us, blessed us individually, wrapped our necks with a shawl and tapped our heads with a piece of wood used traditionally to give blessings. We were then given a tour of the monastery which sat on the side of a mountain with a glorious panoramic view of the valley Thame sat within.
After our tour, we began our descent to Namche, which was “Nepali Flat” where we met up with our fellow Turtle Trekkers. The descent included picturesque views of roaring sky blue river, local wildlife and the towering mountains leading us to Namche. It was the perfect way to finish the loop of the journey back to Namche.
Cayman Turtle Trekkers 