We start the day ready, and after breakfast, we are able to leave early, already picking up a routine. But the road is even tougher than yesterday, so after 5km, John loses his bag, I almost lose it too, so we spend some time re-strapping the bags on motorcycles.
We keep getting small mechanical problems, broken parts, loose nuts and bolts, because of the road and the vibrations. But the road is incredible, we are at the bottom of a deep, green valley, climbing up towards the mountains. Once again, we sometimes have to wait for incoming traffic to pass, cross water, avoid holes and large rocks, and we are eating dust, we are sliding on mud.
The road got newly renovated right before jomston, where we will eat lunch. So we enjoy a few km of perfectly asphalted road, so time to speed. We are going at 80 kph, the wind cools us down, and the panoramas make it look like a dream. We are now entering the Mustang area, and we have finally crossed the first part of the himalayan range, meaning the landscape instantly transforms, from tropical humid weather to a dry, windy desert surrounded by mountains. Dahl bat for lunch, nepalese cuisine, we also have to get some fuel, and find a welding station, because we have a broken part on one of the bikes. I take a small nap on the laying in the dust waiting. Mission successful ! and back on the road, we get another 10 km of asphalt before entering the desert again, rocks, sand and gravel. Our average speed plummets, John and Chris have 2 small falls, the road is getting very technical, but the views are breathtaking, and we are finally alone, we only meet 2 buses, 1 pick up and a few motorbikes until the end of the day.
Not only have we crossed the himalayan range today, but the culture changes as well, from Hinduism to buddhism, and an increasing influence from Tibetan populations. The village in which we sleep is lost in the mountains, people live from the food they grow, a bit from trade, and houses are century old. We are humbled by the place, Chris goes on a run (he will run the New York marathon in 3 weeks), I call my sister, others nap, take showers. And once again we eat dinner while planning the road for tomorrow.
