Day 10

Na to Beding - 4180 meters to 3740 meters

That's about 13,713 to 12,270 feet!

Wow, it seems easy to sleep here at 13,000 feet! We were up early as usual and were on the trail by around 8:00. This was a quick trip to Beding. The last 15 minutes or so was in the rain.

We planned on heading to the festival at about 10:45, but the lamas were taking a break. So, after lunch, we head to the festival. For a long time, we kind of waited for things to get started with the rest of the community of the Rolwaling Valley. The festival is outdoors on the porch area of the monastery. Big tarps have been set up to shelter us from the rain. However, it's fun to watch as pockets of water collect and the townspeople try to hit the tarp with sticks so the tarps don't collapse. Eventually, Chhiring has some of the sherpas string more rope to hold the water back. While waiting, we also have lama tea which is a mixture of tea, milk, butter, and salt. It's a bit strong as compared with the sweeter tea we've had before at the monastery. After the tea, Chhiring gives us each a piece of what looks like dung, but is really a lump of brownish clay. We are instructed to press our fingertips into this clay and give it back to Chhiring. He takes it and puts it with all the other brown lumps in the middle of the ceremony area. This clay is supposed to symbolized all of our "bad stuff" and the lama will get rid of it for us.

Finally, the dancing begins. Chhiring motioned for me to come up in the room next to the kitchen and sit by the windows to get a good view of the dancing. I squeeze in there with a couple of other elderly women who sit cross legged and still for hours! I'm also sharing space with the boys of the monastery school. Meanwhile, I can barely sit because my legs are cramping up. How do they do it?

The dancing continues and then stops. All of a sudden I feel a change around me and the boys are up and moving tables. All the lamas are coming into the room I'm in and eating Sherpa stew. I am not sure I should be there, but they seem to tolerate me there and even encourage me to try some stew. Wave after wave of men and boys come and eat and I finally try some stew. It's a mixture of potatoes, onions, and noodles in a thick broth and is very tasty. Many of the men try to strike up and conversation, but I'm really at a loss of what they are saying to me.

Back to dancing and then all of a sudden, everyone is leaving and heading quickly to the river. Amazingly, the rain stops. The dancing resumes at the river and a fire is built. Much of the brown "bad stuff" is thrown into the river or into the fire. An elaborate dance begins with a bow and arrow and a slingshot. After this dance is over, everyone runs quickly to the monastery to run away from all the "bad stuff" and it begins raining again. Another fire is built on the porch and the tarp is moved so it won't burn. It's raining so hard, that one of the men holds an umbrella up under the fire. The fire is under a large pot with oil or grease in it. It finally catches fire and created a huge long burning fire. This is about the end of our time at the dances. We were there for about 5 hours.

We came back for dinner and then to bed. We are supposed to take a hike tomorrow up to a yak camp.

The sherpas and the locals all headed back to the monastery for more dancing. It's rumored they were there until about 1:00 in the morning!!