Some Himalayan Trekking and "How to Heat Your House with Yak Shit"

"Your plane is delayed!"

"My plane was canceled for 4 days!"

"Board now!"

"Get off the bus and go back to the airport!"

"Now, you! go and board now! (again)"

ok, so before our Everest Base Camp trek even started we heard or experienced all of the above quotes. Our plane was delayed 6 hours and apparently that made us the lucky ones. Flying to Lukla airport where the Everest region trek begins is one of the most difficult in the world to find open weather windows to land in.

Perched on a hillside with an upward sloping very short runway (read that again - the runway isn't flat! its on a fuckin hill with an upslope of 20 degrees) at about 9,000 feet. The weather opens and closes landing windows very quickly leading to some of the absurd quotes from above as flights are routinely delayed, canceled, and even turned around right before landing.



So as some background our trek was guided by a local 27 year old Nepali, two assistant guides, and several porters.


Overall the trek was 15 days, covered something like 125 miles, and gained and (then lost) about 9,300 feet in elevation (not counting the up and then down, and then up again type trails). Our trekking mates included, a young couple from Canada, another from Boston, and a retired British Airways Englishman.



So we eventually got to Lukla and enjoyed a late lunch and started a relatively easy 3.5 hour first day walk. Unfortunately, because we landed so late in the day, the 2nd half of the trek was in the dark utilizing our newly purchased headlamps (btw Kathmandu is the KING of knockoff outdoor gear - every single store merchant, taxi driver, etc wears "North Face" clothes for example- We bought 2 pairs of knockoff trekking poles, two fake North Face pants, a quick dry towel, two headlamps, and socks in one of the numerous outdoors stores.

After the first day's walk to Phakding, we traveled uphill approximately 1300 meters the next day to the trading center of Namche Bazar. We enjoyed an acclimatization day the next day in Namche and then continued again our routine of hiking about 3-4 hours after breakfast, and several after to the next village, or to a stop at a Buddhist monasteries where we were staying. Incidentally, Nepal is actually a majority Hindi country, but the Khumbu region by Everest is 98% Buddhist.

As much as you all love reading my rambling, I'll avoid detailing the first 7 or so days of the trek and share some of the amazing scenery we encountered which began with much greenery almost like a much steeper and larger Yosemite and gradually increased to massive 20,000+ mountains with Buddhist sites scattered along the trail:
















....Ok now onto the important business. How to heat your house with yak shit. The sherpas are an incredibly resourceful bunch and have refined over hundreds of years an entirely cheap, odorless, and easy (if you aren't the preparer) way to heat your house with yak dung.

Step 1. Locate a yak. Easy. Yaks are everywhere. They walk throughout towns and paths like the own the joint. Yaks poo throughout the day like all animals, but chasing one around waiting for it to crap seems hardly efficient. However, almost like clockwork Yaks take a crap during the night. They space themselves out maybe 10 feet from each other to go to sleep and in the morning nearly each one has relieved himself.


Step 2. Gather the dung. I think this task was typically given to a child in the family. So easy enough then, you send your kids out to collect the dung in the morning.


Step 3. Place the gathered dung on the roof of your house to dry. (see neatly pressed dung here on the right hand side on this woman's roof).



Step 4. Once dry, gather dung and stack next to house like typical firewood.

Step 5. Put dung in stove and place feet up and relax in your new heat. Its literally odorless, slowburning, 100% reusable green, and a fun party topic.

Another Catch-Up.

(BTW, if you are having issues with the blog, its b/c you are using Internet Explorer. It works in Firefox better)

The last few weeks have probably been the most fast paced days of the whole trip so far. October has involved 5 flights, 4 countries, and countless hotel rooms. We've seen a lot of good friends, some new ones, and been in the presence of the most amazing scenery we've both ever seen.

Matt's last post was about Mount Olympus, which was almost a month ago and seems like forever ago in travel-time. After leaving Litochoro, we spent about a week living in Athens in an apartment. Given we had a lot of time in the city, we managed to see some movies, visit a few museums, hang out with our friends Stratos and Niki, as well as visit the Acropolis, twice. We ate some amazing food, as well as were able to cook good Greek breakfasts and master an authentic tzatziki recipe.

Matt with the acropolis in the background
Parthenon
my homemade tzatziki
Matt's favorite Greek dish: Mousaka
Nighttime in Athens

Our next stop was Dubai, which we reached after flying through Amman, Jordan for a few hours. We both wished we had had time to stop and spend time in Jordan, but being able to stop in the airport was definitely still a treat. We somehow still managed to things at the Duty Free shop even though only passing through.

By the end of our long weekend on the Arabian Peninsula, we both were really sad about leaving. Though super modern and sterile in certain places, Dubai was full of surprises. The city has both the uber-modern parts and old Arabian parts which gave us a deeper feel for what the UAE is really about. Dubai, as an Emirate, is very focused on being cutting edge and at the forefront of business, which is extremely apparent when visiting The Palm Jumeriah and The Burj Kalifa. But, just across the river/highway, Dubai is full of forts, souqs, sand dunes, and old world minarets.

We were also lucky enough to spend some time with a few more friends. We met our fellow traveling Brooklynites, Kim and Alex, for a day at the mall and the beach. Yes yes, we went to the mall. But it wasnt just any mall - the Emirates Mall has an indoor ski resort, like 9 food courts, as well as alot of couture clothing that travelers cant afford. We also we able to spend some time with Matt's coworker from Merrill Lynch, Greg, and his wife Jo. We drove around Dubai's sandy landscape as well as riding into the Kingdom of Oman to see some very grand and intimidating Arabian mountains.

The Burj Kalifa

Matt and Greg ATVing on the sand dunes

The Mountains of Oman

sand dunes as far as the eye could see

indoor snowboarding: so tempting.
Dubai Spice Souq

After our quick jaunt in the middle east, we boarded a plane (Fly Dubai - the JetBlue of the middle east) to Kathmandu to begin the Asian portion of our journey. Coming from a city like Dubai, arriving in Kathmandu was a bit overwhelming. From the land of skyscrapers, cleanliness, and restraint, we arrived in a town where cows are the king of the roads, there are no traffic rules, and the smog will turn your lungs into garbage bags. We only had a brief time in Kathmandu before our trek to Everest Base Camp started, but we did get a chance to get out into the city and see some important places like Durbar Square and its numerous Hindu temples, Swayambhunath Stoupa (aka the Monkey Temple), and Buddha Stoupa. All three places were so unique alive, and intriguing. We also purchased enough faux North Face outdoor gear (for the trek) to put the real company out of business.

Buddha Stoupa

prayer flags at the monkey temple


monkeys at the monkey temple
marigold garlands at Durbar Square

Durbar Square

bright colored powders

I won't write about the trek here, as it deserves its own post/posts, but I will say that it was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. After hiking around in the thin air, we've decided hanging out by a lake and viewing the Annapurna Himalayas( from a distance) while we drink Everest beer/sip tea/practice yoga was the right move post-trek. We'll be here in Pokhara until our knees and sinuses have decided to forgive us.

More to come.

Dont fret, We are still here

We're in the mountains of Nepal. Internet is obviously a rare commodity, we'll update when we can and hope everyone is doing great!

You may have won this battle Zeus, but the war isn't over.

After spending time with family in the Greek Islands, we flew from Crete to Macedonia area of Greece, up north, and spent 3 nights in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki, which unbeknownst to me, is actually the 2nd largest city in Greece. We spent a few days walking around the city, seeing the random ruins you stumble into everywhere throughout Greece, shopping, and *enjoying* the tons of bars and restaurants. There is a great scene here with a few areas that are completely lined with bars and restaurants with outside seating until close to the sunrise.

what a smile...

So logically after a weekend of heavy drinking we next went to Litochoro to attempt to climb the near mythical Mt. Olympus. Figuring out any public transportation in Greece (outside of the islands) has been a big challenge. I never would have thought south america would have been easier, but we received via the internet, and through broken language conversations so much conflicting information on how we get to Litochoro its a wonder we somehow got on a bus from Thessaloniki that deposited us in the main square of Litochoro 90 mins later.

So i'm no mountain climber, but the guide books describe that its a difficult and steep but very doable hike up Mt. Olympus. From the start of the national park behind Litochoro. Its a total of 20 kilometers to the top. Most people who do the climb, get a ride that skips that first 9 kilometers and do the final 11 and then back down in two days with a night spent at a mountain lodge.

So we arrive in town and the sky has darkened to a shade of ugly ugly gray and it proceeds to begin raining hard. It's about 63 degrees in town, but the internet informs us its about 27 on the top of the mountain. Holy sh8t! We naively never considered snow and freezing temps. After spending time reading on the beach, packing snowpants was the furthest thing from my mind. So after reviewing the weather forecast (NON STOP rain for 3 days), we make the decision that unfortunately climbing Mt. Olympus would be a stupid and perilous affair. We check in early to the fancy hotel in town I had booked as a treat to enjoy after we completed the hike and spend the night.

The next morning we wake to see even more fog and feeling a bit lazy after lounging in a room we would enjoyed on a more traditional honeymoon, we decide do the first 9-10 kilometers of the mountain hike to at least get out and see some of the area and mountain.

So off we went, walking about a kilometer to the start. So over the next 5 hours we went and down and up and down and up again a valley that rose into the mountain. Officially it was a 2500 foot elevation gain, but i'd be shocked if we didn't two times that because you spend 25% going down the valley you just went up.

The hike was eerily beautiful filled with foggy, misty canyons

which eventually led to Avatar-esque mountain streams filled with the cleanest, blue-est rushing water, while passing tons of odd black and orange salamanders.

Along the way we passed a church built into a small cave, and a small prayer box further along, and towering granite faces.

Breaking Bad S3 opening scene style random Greek shrine

In the final kilometer (of course), i realized my left knee hurt and somehow I had twisted it at the very end. Annie had to carry me down the mountain. (just kidding, i walked fine albeit with a minor limp)

So after reaching the end of the 10 or so kilometers we were supposed to see a town on the mountain. Well let me tell you, the "town" was literally one restaurant (which was closed), a bathroom, a national park information booth (which was abandoned), and a few horses tied up. Short of walking back down 10 kilometers of trail, walking 17 kilometers down a road in the dark, we were stuck between a mountain and more mountain.

A Dutch couple who completed the hike up the mountain (who painfully informed us that once you got above a certain point you were actually above the clouds, there was no rain, and it was quite pleasant), were also stranded in this random non existent mid mountain town without a ride back. After trying to bribe a non english speaking Greek tour bus driver, a younger German tourist drove by and and Annie, I, and the two Dutchies found our way back to town.

Although the monasteries perched on the hills of Meteora were our original next destination, I decided to call an audible and head straight down to Athens a day early as the last thing my knee needs for a few days is climbing the rainy steps of Greece to view a monastery.

Matt. out.

Tavernas. And More Tavernas... and then maybe another one for good measure.

Yeah I know, Its been a little while since we've posted a blog - its been due to a combination of some of the most laughable excuses for internet connections and the fact that we were lucky enough meet some of our family in Greece. After 2 quick days in Mykonos, we met Melanie and Paul(Matt's sister and brother in law) for a week in Santorini and Milos, and then traveled around Crete with my parents.

Instead of rattling on about the beaches and history and hiking shenanigans, attention must be paid to what we all ate. I've eaten "Greek" food many times before - a greek salad made with lettuce, some dry souvlaki, tzatziki, etc. I always thought of it as ok, but apparently this is because I havent had Greek food in Greece. Made with fresh Greek ingredients.

The typical style of eating here is done at a Taverna, which is a casual style restaurant that serves up small plates and entrees on a table covered in paper. You can order fancy drinks, but most people stick with liters of house wine, bottles of ice cold water, and giant beers. Most tavernas have pages and pages of dishes available, but always include the staples: grilled meats, fish, squids, and octopi, casseroles of vegetables and meats and cheeses, small plates of grilled vegetables, fried dumplings (both veggie and meat), cheeses, potatoes, and fresh salads.

Here is some foodporn. Because I had to.

Platter of thinly sliced and fried eggplant, zucchini, onions, and red peppers. (random town, Crete)

Meal made entirely of small plates: cheese pies, local cheese, eggplant salad, tzatziki, potato salad, and sliced cucumbers. (Milos)

Tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, and cucumber. and some awesome. (Therissa, Santorini)

Chicken Souvaki with boiled poatoes with herbs, and saffron rice (Therissa, Santorini)

Octopus, caught and then grilled right by the beach (Therissa, Santorini)

Baklava (Oia, Santorini)
Wilted greens with garlic and lemon (Amoudi Bay, Santorini)

Fried whole little fishies (Amoudi Bay, Santorini)

So, one would think that since theres so much to choose from, you could go weeks before eating this fresh and delicious food gets old. Incorrect. After about a week of tavernas day and night, it gets a little tiresome, so you have to search out alternatives. Italian and Middle Eastern food is easy to find in most places and some of these restaurants equally good if not better than some of the best Greek tavernas weve been to. Since Greece is close to Italy, eating black truffles is easier and far cheaper than in the US. Thus, I believe almost all the non-Greek meals I've eaten contained truffles in some form or another.

More foodporn.

Taglietelle with mushrooms and black truffles (Oia, Santorini) This particular one was Melanie's.


Grilled mango and local proscuitto (Chania, Crete)
And then theres breakfast. In Milos and Santorini, we made our own breakfast, which was mainly made of our favorites - yogurt with fruit and honey, eggs, coffee, OJ, and a little something I like to call TOAST.

Santorini balcony breakfast.

In conclusion, Greek food is awesome. Greek food is fresh. But I could totally go for some tacos for dinner before heading back to the tavernas tomorrow, if you know what i mean

Thanks for coming to meet us family!



OH - and in case you were wondering what "hiking shenanigans" are, here is a visual aide. This is my mom, who after walking 10 km into a trek in Crete's Samaria gorge, fell, hurt her knee, and was saved by a donkey, who walked her back to civilization. :)