We got a heavy thunderstorm lasting five hours that night of the 24th, with heavy rain and lots of lightning. I was counting seconds to estimate the distance; too close and I would have had to abandon that freestanding tent with its metal poles. It was a good tent but at one point I had 5cm of water standing in it, which looked around, saw the sleeping bag, and decided that’s where it wants to stay until morning. Didn’t sleep much. Part of the adventure I guess.
The next morning the little pools where I had been swimming yesterday had turned into a roaring river. Had to wade through, which was hard because it was quite deep and moving fast.
The last leg of our trek was over a hill and than down to the valley on a narrow steep path. Wonderful views. At many places on this trek there were steps made from big rocks, one per step usually. Who got them all placed? People here are young, tough, and used to hard labor.
And then there was a much wider river that had to be forded in three sections, one quite long. A local women with a child on her back made it look easy. It wasn’t, even with my longer legs.
