Cycle Tour 6th June - 8th June France

 

Above are screen shots from our Strava of the first three days cycling. Jeff carries the navigation system and I the Strava data app. Working really well. Day 4 tomorrow is a "short day" only 80km? This is because the following day is a climb of 1900m over 122km. Madness I hear you say and you are probably correct! 

Countryside thus far seens basically empty, even the small villages, although granted it is a Bank holiday weekend. DDay celebrations in Ouistreham were a big deal. We crossed a bridge called the Pegasus that three allied gliders landed on in the dead of night with 179 soldiers from the 5th parachute brigade on board. They were able the secure the bridge to then allows the allies to counter attack the Nazis and advance into France in 1944.

Accomodation perfect so far with communal meals with the other cyclists in the group. This year we are not the only Kiwis in a group of Brits. Several Canadians, couple Aussies.

All nice folks. Ratio of men to women 14:4.

Stopped to look at caves and steps to nowhere.

Loire -the longest river in France

Quite a few empty Chateaux but probably used in July/August the French holiday period.

Negioate our way around thses small villages.

This is our hotel in Loches. The van is one of the two the follow us. One with smokos, lunches and breakdown gear. The other with baggage, miscel.laneous. A guide follows us on a cycle as tail end charlie and gather in lost cyclists.

Paris 2nd June - 5th

We met in Paris after my 23hr flight from NZ and Jeff in from Kathmandu at 7pm Monday. There is a Cafe/Bar at the bottom of the street in an area called Belleville where we have the same apartment as last year. Was a relief to see each other given the logistics. Nice to be in a familiar area again with all the idiosyncrasies of French living.

Next day a long walk required so set off to walk down to the Seine River.

There is always plenty to see with tourist boat traffic and sellers of art and books along the river. Were very happy just to sit in the sun on benches and let it swirl around us.  Always amazed how much the French can talk rapidly including hand gestures, we are positively mute by comparison.

Delighted to come across the Belleville market on the way down the hill. Must be at least a mile long with an abundance of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. Some household items think mini hardware store - need a plug?

Did not fancy the sheeps head.

Headed up to Montmarte as there was an art installation to be seen, a man walking through a wall.

All the time passing classic Parisian actvities and sights which helped brain fog from long flights to be pushed into the background.

These were shop assistants enjoying the sun in front of their shop, not much in the way of haute couture sales today.

Graffiti everywhere in Paris, some better than others but not on the scale we saw in Spain last year.

Next day, after a good nights sleep, set forth on our "lets look for this". Metro is €2.50 and one can get a reasonable distance on that as long as you do not exit just keep changing metro lines.

This is the Tuileries gardens between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. This installation reminded us of something we saw at the Guggenheim museum in Bilboa, Spain. What is it doing in the middle of gardens created in the 1600's?

This is by the Petit Palace, size and weight not an issue.

La Samaritaine was an old department store built 1870 that someone had done a number on, not a hint of history left, all glass and steel, very high end. Crossed the Alexandre 111 bridge with its cast iron lamps and come across two New Zealanders bike packing their way through various areas of France. They were staying in what is known as Formule One accommodation. For €50 per night at 9sqm ( tiny) they and their bikes stay in. Have to admire their budgeting efforts. The joke was the chap had exactly the same NZ made cycle jackets as us, Ground Effect, hence us spotting them.

Advertisement for Ground Effect jackets.

Walked on to what is known as the Passage Panoramas, oldest covered passageway in Paris from 1799. Astounding array of artisan and unusual shops. Lots of dining also. Came across a walking stick shop with every conceivable stick type. The owner was reducing the height of one for a chap. 

Had thought about going to the Bouillon for lunch (classic French workingman's lunch at good price) but eating a baguette sandwich sitting on a bench people watching was the mood.

The Musee Carnavalet is of Paris history contained in two adjoining properties , the Hotel Carnavalet and Hotel le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. Cleverly done with from 11th century in the cellar then climbed upstairs through following centuries. Well worth a visit.

Final day in Paris we thought another visit to Versailles a worthy endeavour. We had previously visited the gardens but as the entry queue to the palace was 1 1/2 hours long did not get into the palace. This time we booked a 1pm slot for the palace. The enormity of palace and gardens are impressive to say the least. Louis X1V had a grand vision and over his 70+ year reign, other than continually fight wars, he created a statement as to the beauty and superiority of France.

Staggering opulence any wonder the populous revolted in 1789.

The gardens are dotted with gilded fountains on ponds and the lakes.

Recognise these two colonialists? We are in front of the orangey where large shrubs/ trees are grown in wooden crates and moved about as necessary for occassions and to winter over under cover. A fitting end to our stay in Paris.

Nepal 23rd May - 1st June

 I had the privilege to be the traveling companion for a dear friend who initially introduced us to Nepal in 2017. He and his late wife first visited Nepal in 1984 and had since undertaken many philanthropic projects in the village of Jubing in the Solukhumbu region. He had yet to see the results of his last project, a toilet block for the school, hence the reason for the visit.

We flew from Kathmandu into Lukla, the airport with a history of being terrifyingly difficult to fly in to. Fortunately the day was fine and landing went without a hitch.

From Lukla we helicoptered to the highest point we would achieve on our journey, Everest View at 3880m with Dhana our guide, his son Golden portering and daughter Onee acting as trainee guide. The fine day allowed a clear view of Everest in the distance and closer peaks before we began our days descent to Namche Bazar.

So many activities are manual such as turning rocks into gravel by containing a rock in a clamp and breaking it with a hand mallet, to portering goods. Typically porters are paid 100 Nepali rupees per kg of weight carried. Distance and difficulty of terrain also have a bearing on the price paid.

First village we walked into was Khum Jung, the village where Sir Edmund Hillary set up a school and hospital. We arrived in time for morning assembly where the children line up in their classes and do morning exercises, sing and listen to two selected students speak on what the school means to them. Everyone is immaculately turned out in uniform but for the pre schoolers who are still allowed mufti.

We were a couple of days in advance of Winston Peters, New Zealand's deputy Prime Ministers visit, the first by a member of the NZ government in 25 years. We continue the descent into Namche Bazar. We encounter mule trains at various points on the track including the swing bridges.

From Namche Bazar the route takes us past religious Mani inscriptions carved into massive rocks and onto Monjo where we overnight, having intended to helicopter to our guides village but cloud had stopped all flights out of Lukla where the helicopter was based.

The day dawns fine but we have to wait for the helicopter as it has been diverted to Base Camp for an emergency evacuation. Finally in the village of Jubing we settle in and then pay a visit to the school and the Community Centre where we meet locals and chat about village life with our guide interpreting. The older folks still wear traditional clothing and nose adornments.

The 29th May is Democracy Day, a National holiday celebrating the overthrow of the Royalty and also happens to be the day of the official opening of the school toilet block. Paul is rightly pleased with the result as it is well constructed and should serve to provide quality sanitation for the school community for many generations to come. Paul was treated like royalty, being adorned with Kharta, the traditional gift of a scarf offering thanks and safe passage in the future. Speeches and traditional dancing added to the celebrations.

There is heavy rain overnight which clears for morning. Our driver arrives for the next leg of our journey which is to take us over the Taksindu Pass to Salleri. This is a new road as previously there was only a walking track. The road is still under construction and the rain overnight made the going very slow. Came across a truck which was stuck, lots of guys giving instruction but only one with a shovel, sound familiar ? Finally the truck made it out of the mud and allowed our driver to get through while we walked.

The road surface is being created with stone, hand split and individually placed, has to been seen to be believed.

The following day is going to be along one, Salleri to Kathmandu and it takes us 12 hours door to door. Our taxi is a Mahindra Scorpio SUV and we certainly need the road clearance. The devastation to the roads from the previous years monsoonal rains is incredible. There are bridges and houses lying in the river bed. Huge slips are still over the roads forcing traffic to find new routes into the river bed to get around them.

The traffic in Kathmandu is manic, lots of motor bikes but it all seems to work and traffic is well behaved.

The following day we come across a festival, Machindranath, where a huge tower is constructed on a cart with huge wooden wheels. This is pulled by a large  number of men at the end of the day, something we didn't get to witness, but the people were out in their finery and there were street sellers hawking all manner of goods.

All to soon the day has arrived for me to fly to Paris to meet Sandra. Ten days has flown by and my exposure to Nepal, the countryside and it's people has once again left me humbled by their attitude to life, in awe at what they achieve living in a country that can be cruel but yet spectacular. Namaste.