We hiked over Mo La, the 5050-meter high point that separates the Panzang Valley from the Chharka Valley, where we will be spending our final days in Dolpo.
From the pass, we could see to the far end of the valley, where we will cross the mountains that separate us from our destination, the Kali Gandaki Valley and Jomsom. A little below the pass, we could get great views of Dhauligiri II (7751) and several other summits to the south, since a large river valley leads south from Chharka past the base of these mountains back to Dunai.
The Chharka Valley is different from others we have visited. It has more vegetation, and snow-covered peaks look over it from the south. One could fit several Yosemite Valleys into it.The long descent into Chharka passed over the hills to the north until the river came up to meet us. Marcia was feeling a lot of pain from her bruised leg and was exhausted when we got to town. She was happy to learn that because of yak logistics we were going to have to spend a rest day here tomorrow, even though it means another day on the trip.
We were also happy to have another two nights indoors away from life in a tent. This time we have a kind of private bedroom upstairs above a general store that is trying to cater to the trekkers who come through. Going upstairs requires a traditional dugout ladder, which might be challenging if we need to go to the toilet in the night. The room itself is just an empty storeroom, with patterned fabric hanging from the walls. There is a solar light but no obvious way to plug it in, since its wire is serving as a smoking rack for yak meat. But it's relatively comfortable and private, and we call it Home Sweet Home.
Around 5:30, we were invited to join a wedding party in its third day. It was a different wedding than the one in Dho Tarap, with the timing synchronized by propitious dates. There were about 50 townspeople there, most of them participating in traditional circle dancing. The local brew chang had been flowing freely, so the dancing and singing were very relaxed.
Someone told Kinna they would get the local school coordinator, who could explain the songs to us. When he arrived, we learned that he was the bridegroom. After a few obligatory sips of chang, he invited us for tea to his new wife's family's house, where he would now be living.
To get into the house, we had to step over about 30 goats half asleep in the courtyard. These appeared to have some connection with the wedding, perhaps a dowry or present. The house itself was like others we visited, with the main room on the second floor up a carved-out ladder. Dolpo houses often have storerooms and other minor rooms on the outside so that the main room is well protected from the cold. Most of the action goes on in that central room, with a stove in the middle and benches serving as beds around the edge.
We sat and talked and drank butter tea for about a half hour until Kinna said that our dinner was waiting and we needed to go. Marcia and I gave a kata (ceremonial scarf) and a small monetary gift to the bride and groom, as well as the wife's parents.
