Cybercasts

Friends, family & loved ones,

This morning was special – we woke up early and drove to Diskit Gompa, an incredible 15th century monastery overlooking the river valley.

We wandered up the stairs through the monastery complex and arrived just in time for the morning prayer ceremony.

We were the only visitors in the large prayer hall and were served butter tea by two young monks as we sat watching the older monks perform their puja.

After that, we started our drive back to Leh over the Khardung La, stopping along the way for my personal favorite local breakfast dish, aloo paratha (basically, grilled bread stuffed with a seasoned potato mixture).

Once back in Leh, we did some more eating and then had time to shop and explore the town before dinner. No one lost weight on this trip.

We’ve got an early flight back to Delhi tomorrow and then will continue on our way back home to you.

One more random photo from our excursion to see the Bactrian camels yesterday in Hunder:

Thanks for following us!

Carole Tejas

Friends, family & loved ones,

We’re back on the grid! We’ve seen and done so much this past week. It’s been an adventure- where to begin? First and most importantly, the Team is healthy and doing very well. We were blessed with mostly good weather and crushed it on the trek and crossing the pass. The first couple days of trekking were relatively mellow. We took it slow and easy and acclimatized well. We navigated many stream crossings, which were made more sporty because of high water levels from the rains of the previous week. We had time to soak up the scenery on the trail and at camp. Big views and stark beauty. We saw very few other trekking parties on the trail but we did see lots of wildlife- yaks and dzos, blue sheep, a wolf, many marmots and pikas, almost 40 species of birds (according to Konrad the official team ornithologist) but alas no snow leopard, The most exciting day was crossing the Lasermo pass into the Nubra Valley. What is normally a relatively straightforward climb and descent of a small glacier turned into an interesting logistical challenge for our pack horses, who could not have safely descended the soft, deep snow on the north side of the pass. We had anticipated this and arranged for reinforcements (4 cheerful young guys who served as porters for our gear) so that the horses could descend with no loads to carry. This operation took some time, but we ended up at a lovely stream side camp, feeling tired but happy with our accomplishment. Continuing down valley for two more days, we walked alongside the braided river and admired the beautiful wildflowers. We passed grazing yaks and herds of goats and checked out some isolated shepherds’ settlements and the village of Upper Hunder Dok along the way.

Tomorrow we will make our way back to Leh.

Thanks for following,

Carole Tejas

Friends, family & loved ones,

Today was an immersion in Buddhist culture and Ladakhi history and it’s fair to say that it was a fabulous and fascinating day.

We spent most of the morning at Hemis monastery. It’s the largest in the area with over 100 monks, numerous buildings and an unmatched collection of Buddhist art.

After a delicious Indian buffet lunch, we headed to Thikse monastery, which houses many active monks and looks like a smaller version of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. We were wowed by the 15 meter tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha (- the “future Buddha”) and also got to sample some butter tea — an acquired taste for some but good to try!

Last stop was Shey Gompa. We all loved the giant statue of Guru Rinpoche and the great view of the surrounding area from the top.

Starting tomorrow, we will be completely off the grid for about one week and won’t have access to internet or phone. So don’t expect updates from us but know that we will check back with you as soon as wifi permits!

The Team is doing very well and feeling excited to begin our trek to the Nubra Valley.

Thanks for following!
Carole Tejas

Friends, family & loved ones,

Greetings from Leh! We overcame yesterday’s weather snarls and were able to get a morning flight here, via Srinagar in Kashmir. Leh sits at 11,500 feet — a big jump in altitude from Delhi — so we got right to work acclimatizing, which consisted of hydrating, resting and hydrating some more before a light walk around Leh town before dinner.

The view of Leh Palace above town was impressive.

After the weather and travel uncertainties of yesterday, we’re really happy to be here!

Thanks for following,

Carole Tejas

Friends, family & loved ones,

Another day of smooth world travel: we woke up before dawn to go to the airport for our early morning flight to Leh. We all got to experience the efficiencies of the Delhi check-in process and security check (- if you know you know). We then proceeded to the gate, where we waited as our flight was repeatedly delayed and ultimately cancelled mid-day. Little we could do about the weather!

Waiting

We had an opportunity to further exercise our patience and flexibility as we tried to get new flights for tomorrow.

More Waiting

We ultimately were able to get re-booked and so checked into a hotel near Delhi airport for an early flight tomorrow morning.

We made the most of the situation by having a delicious Punjabi feast for dinner— just what we needed to fortify ourselves for tomorrow’s journey.

Fingers are crossed for good flying weather tomorrow!

Carole Tejas