I sleep in this morning until 6:30am and feel like I must’ve gotten a few hours of restful sleep. My new sleeping bag is so comfy and warm I don’t want to get out of bed but it’s time to get sorted for the day of hiking and pack up our tent. Breakfast is delicious with rice porridge, eggs, fruit, fresh bread and berry compote.
The kitchen is in a separate building with an open fire for cooking and a bit of storage. Safar’s young son is very shy and sits on the step watching everyone silently. I gave him a balloon yesterday and he watches me from under his thick eyelashes.
My muscles are tired and sore from the previous day’s hike but today is even further so I need to rally. Asamat, Safar and Usnedeen are coming with us along with the donkeys to carry our gear but we set off ahead of them, slowly tackling a 45 minute climb with rewarding panoramic views at the top. Now it’s a decent into Death Valley and Ismat warns us of the possibility of snakes. Oh super. My favourite.
We walk through several villages and the locals are very friendly and even invite us for tea, but unfortunately Ismat is already way ahead of us and doesn’t seem inclined. As we near another village, Melissa suddenly cries out “Where’s my phone?!” There’s a hole in her pocket and she thinks she lost it nearby as she took a photo of the village, so Rosa and I backtrack to help her look for it. One of the villagers motions towards the mountain we just descended and I see the donkeymans. Melissa nears Usnedeen and I see him hand her a phone. Oh thank goodness. The phone’s been found! A stressful couple of moments which I can totally understand as our phones are our lifelines while travelling.
The heavy weight of my camera bag is taking its toll and I’m not sure how much longer I can hike despite the slow pace. It’s more just a struggle being upright at the moment as I suddenly feel so tired.
We have lunch by a shady brook and then set off again. I’m feeling exhausted and the extreme heat is taking its toll. Ismat is clearly suffering and stops whenever there’s a shady area. We can’t afford to lose our guide and we offer to carry some of the items in his pack to lighten the load. We trudge onwards hoping to reach camp soon. We’re hot, tired and ready for the hike to be finished after a long 7 hours on our feet. We finally reach a sheep herders pasture and he allows us to set up camp. Unfortunately, there’s no water nearby so Ismat has to purchase drinking water and we use wet wipes to clean ourselves up. I am absolutely finished. My feet are sore (but at least no blisters), and my legs are worn out. I’m so tired that the thought of hiking tomorrow makes me want to fake an injury so I can ride a donkey instead.
I spend the time before dinner laying in our tent and updating my blog entries. I can’t move. I can feel my muscles seizing up and remind myself to stretch or there’ll be no getting up in the morning. Ismat appears to have recovered and is offering everyone “white tea” which is code for vodka. Honestly, all I want at this point is dinner so I can go to bed. I have to remind myself that this is the holiday I signed up for and to remain positive.
I clean myself up as best I can with wet wipes and put on a shirt that isn’t covered in sweat stains before going to the kitchen tent that the donkeymans have erected where we’ll eat dinner. Ismat has outdone himself with the meal. We have salads to start and then the yummiest lentil and potato soup. Just what I needed after a long day. I wolf down dinner and head directly to my sleeping bag. I am done.
