TRAPPED IN THE MOUNTAIN
My left leg’s Achilles was making a strange noise when I was moving it. Actually, the fact that it was making a sound was strange on its own. When I touched it, I felt like there was some friction inside, a squeaky sensation, so I simply couldn’t risk continuing in this condition. In the case of an Achilles rupture, I was going to be faced with some serious problems considering my location – the Himalayas. After getting up I ate breakfast and sat at the table in the yard of the house. The weather was really pleasant and it was promising a sunny and joyful day. I had a bandage so I wrapped my ankle tightly. I took my e-book and dove into the story – “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. My plan was to spend the entire day like this.
I started picturing being presented on TV, in a close frame to my waist, sitting in a sunny green yard, book at hand, enjoying a cup of herbal tea – one could really grow envious of my situation.
Then I imagined the camera zooming out and my bandaged leg popped up into the frame. I just went from someone envied to someone pitied. I started thinking about the confusing effect the different pictures had on a viewer’s mind and do we ever really see the whole picture. You have to agree with me, not really. I had the feeling that what was happening to my ankle wasn’t a random act of misfortune. I was convinced that kind of act simply didn’t exist. What was the future hiding from me?
The yard was in front of the house, so I could observe all the people passing by. Rarely were there people walking by, obviously most of the tourists were starting their climb from Lukla. I was completely sinking into my book when I felt someone sit next to me. It was the Japanese guy from Sete. He didn’t speak much English, but that didn’t keep him from realizing what had happened to me. We greeted after which he opened his huge backpack and took out a small tube of ointment. He rubbed some of it on my ankle and then wrapped it with an elastic bandage. Right after that he put all his belongings back into his bag and left. This lasted only about seven or eight minutes. I remained with my mouth open. I looked up to the sky and said ‘thanks’; I was already feeling a lot calmer. It wasn’t because of the ointment but because of my encounter with the Japanese guy. My “guide” obviously knew about my injury and had just sent me a doctor.
In the evening a group of youngsters from Europe arrived. We had a wonderful time at dinner; a small party was forming that the host could barely manage to bring out all our orders. It was a lovely evening. Once again I was reminded that in order to meet intelligent and interesting people, one had the biggest chance to do so in the mountain. In the morning I could feel my ankle was getting better, but decided not to rush it. I spent the entire day in the garden with the book and in the late afternoon, I figured I should move around a bit and went for a short walk. I was a lot more confident in the steps I was taking so I decided to continue on my path the next day.
I got up at 5, had breakfast, quickly paid my dues, and left. It was amazing to be back in the game. I didn’t know much about the hike ahead of me, the only thing I knew was my destination – Bubsa. Till noon everything went according to plan, in the afternoon, however, again I was forced to take it down a nodge and make the breaks more frequent. My ankle was starting to remind me of its injury. After all, I was able to reach the village on time.
I was pleasantly surprised that in the house where I stayed, I could even use the internet. It had been a week since my last connection with the world so I took advantage to write to friends and relatives and assure them I was well. The house hosts were young people – brother and sister, not more than 30 years old. She was an actress starring in a local TV serial and her brother was an outstanding cook who prepared the best meal I had had recently. There was an Australian group in the house also, which filled the evening with stories of alligators and large snakes. That night, when I took a shower, the water was lukewarm but to my body, it felt like sent from a holly place.
The first thing I saw in the morning was a huge spider right above my head. After greeting him with “Good morning” I asked whether he was local or he had crawled out of one of my new Australian friends’ bags. He didn’t respond so I quickly concluded he was a local spider-Buddhist, who had taken a vow of silence. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to stay and get to know each other because I had to continue on my way.
This whole time I had been finding my way around without using a map, simply to make it more fun for myself. That meant that every time I learned about the route ahead my destination was at breakfast. Today I had to reach Sukre. I ate, grabbed my bag, and started on my way. By afternoon the pain in my ankle had become unbearable so I scarcely made it to the village. The evening I spent with the Australian group again and as I was making myself comfortable in bed, I wished to see the large spider in my room once again. Sadly, there was no trace of him.
My leg needed rest so I decided to stay a day at my current location which seemed like the most logical. The house in Sukre was the most beautiful of all the ones I had stayed at so far. The hosts were a young family with a small child, about 5 years old. The property had a nice yard with a few tables – the perfect spot for my book and me. In the evening a tall man in his thirties walked through the gate and my eyes immediately caught the martenitsa (traditional bracelet worn only in Bulgaria and some neighboring regions) on his wrist.
There was no way for me to be sure that he was Bulgarian, and I didn’t feel the need to know but as I was walking back to my room in the evening I overheard him speaking on the phone in his room. He was speaking Bulgarian and I could clearly hear him because there was only a wall between our rooms. He kept complaining that he had an upset stomach and during the entire half-hour call continued whining about everything and anything. This filled the air around me with negative vibes. I was happy I didn’t approach him earlier. I definitely didn’t need anyone sucking out my energy, even if he were from my hometown.