Sat, Apr 30 - Continuing south to Jigmi Choling

Bamboo over the  Mangde

At 5:15 we were on the road, birding the roadside above the Mangde Chhu (Mangde River).  This was our last chance to see the White-bellied Heron.  It has been seen here, but is so rare that we didn't' have much hope.  That was fortunate as we sadly didn't see it, but did have lovely views of the valley and river framed by large bamboo as the sun rose.

Lovely Orchids

We turned south and birded along the road until we met our crew and had breakfast.   We continued south through several villages until we again met the crew and had lunch at about 12:30.  In a small village there was a typical tiny general store which amazingly had a freezer with ice cream!   We all piled out and bought various treats.  Bob and I had Belgian Chocolate cups which were delicious!

The Ice Cream Shoppe

It was getting quite hot but we gradually ascended to a pass at Tama La, circled around the chorten, and started down, past some active wild bee hives - with a sign warning to close your car windows.  As we left the Himalayan foothills and proceeded into the flat lands toward India, we entered an agricultural area of simple metal-roofed cinder block houses surrounded by bougainvillea and bananas which appeared to be like any typical tropical village the world over.  As we approach the Indian border, the Indian influence becomes stronger.

Watching the Tourists

We finally turned into an old monastery where our tents were all set up!  Our dining table was placed on the porch and we could heard the caretaker monk singing songs and praying inside.  We sat down for tea and biscuits, or in my case, a large beer.  I was the only one opting for a shower and found myself once again in the blue 4 x 4 tent with dogs playing outside and kids throwing balls while I poured ladles of warm water over myself.  It felt great!!

The Monastery Campsite

We had a good dinner on the porch and compared photos before going off to our tents.  Up at 4:15 AM with the promise of a real hotel tomorrow!!

Front Door of the Monastery

 

Later at 10:30: fierce thunder and lightening and pouring rain!  The tent back window was open for ventilation and water was coming in.  As I needed to use the toilet tent after all my beers.  I sloshed over, found the tent was collapsing and the paper was wet.  I went to close our tent window which required two hands so I ended up back under my quilt rather soaked, but at that hour I didn't care and figured I'd dry soon enough.  Our wonderful camp crew came out to check on our tents as the wind was really blowing - I heard them pounding in a few stakes as I fell asleep.