THE HIKES CONTINUE
After the breakfast at 5:30, around 6 I was more than ready to continue on my way. The Swiss guys, who were doing this hike for the eighth time said that the incline continued till noon but that was not what I was worried about. I had frozen the night before and simply couldn’t wait to break a sweat. Somewhere along the way, I met two love birds from Taiwan and we continued together. They hadn’t heard anything about Bulgaria nor had I heard anything about Taiwan, so the day went by quickly in stories and interesting conversations interrupted solely by the impressive views offered to us by the generous mountain.
It was a challenging hike. We had to climb up to 3000 meters so we started getting really tired and it became more and more difficult to catch our breath. In the afternoon we reached the peak of the day so we started walking downhill. I was still feeling quite comfortable in my running shoes which were with me from the beginning of my journey along with the trekking poles given to me by Dipak which had already saved my life at least five times. I kept on increasing my speed when I was going downhill. In the late afternoon, amid a heated conversation about the conflict between China and Taiwan, it started raining heavily. We took shelter under a cliff so we were able to remain dry. The rain stopped shortly after and only thirty more minutes downhill took us to Jumbesi – a large village in the beautiful valley.
Again we went for the first guesthouse that we saw in our path, but it wasn’t to our liking. Besides the village offered a variety of options so my Taiwanese friends and I went on a search for another guesthouse. Closer to the center of the village we came to a big, beautiful house, went in to check it out, and didn’t leave. We checked into one room and while we were selecting our dinner, the Swiss guys from the night before arrived. Once again it turned out to be a fun evening.
When I woke up in the morning the couple had already left; I guess they were early birds. I ate breakfast and left too. Sadly, I missed my turn, but the “wrong one” took me to a Buddhist monastery. I had never seen anything like this before so I was really impressed. The monastery was small, colorful, and looked like the temples in my homeland, except instead of saint icons there were huge statues of Buddha everywhere. There was a water spring in the yard of the monastery where I filled my bottle, looked around in the hopes of seeing someone, and left.
I had to walk back to get back to the correct path. I had to climb uphill again so I took a few deep breaths and headed up. Unfortunately, I realized I was still feeling slight pain in my left leg. The day before, shortly before arriving in Junbesi, my ankle had started hurting, but back then I thought that a full night’s sleep would solve the issue. Now, however, I still had pain and it hurt more and more with each step I took. I tried not paying too much attention to it but I had to take breaks more often to give some rest to my leg.
Around noon I reached a small village, from where I could see the snowcapped hills of the mountain in the distance. I ordered tea and took a seat at a table outside from where I was able to enjoy the view. The climb wasn’t over yet so I decided not to waste any more time. I finished my tea quickly and left. The view around me was becoming more and more beautiful each day. I crossed forests and meadows, I crossed many rivers over metal bridges, and each time I lifted my gaze I could see white mountain peaks in the distance.
This place was absolutely inaccessible for vehicles which meant fewer and fewer people. The energy of Mother Earth could be sensed so vividly, like never before. Shortly before reaching the top, I caught up with a mule herd; they were carrying large containers filled with petrol. I knew I was about to catch up with them considering that in the past half hour, I had been trying to avoid their feces spread all over the path which took me great focus to do. As we walked up side by side, a few times I had to grab onto a tree a few times holding on for my dear life, since all these creatures were concerned about was their own survival. I almost got pushed over to the abbeys several times. I wasn’t mad at them, I would probably be doing the same if I were in their place.
Two more hours and a short break at the top later I started my descent. I had to reach Manidigma. My leg had started hurting terribly which was making me feel really worried. I was feeling sharp pain every time I twisted my ankle, and that was something I couldn’t ignore considering the terrain around here.
After more than 4 hours, visibly limping I reached the village. I entered one of the houses and rented a room for two nights. In my condition, it would have been crazy to continue on the next day.