One thing has not changed since the first time I arrived in Nepal, in January 2008, and that is the dramatic and over-loud power horns attached to buses and trucks. 18 years ago, I was at first accommodated quite close to the highway, and the passing traffic certainly made itself known. And now I am…
Category: Out and About
list of trekking adventures in Spain
Nepal Notes: day hike to Namobuddha
I have done this walk many times, but this time I noted some of the gradients. After passing through Dhulikhel, there is the steady ascent on ‘the thousand steps’ to the Kali temple, then the path goes down quite a way to the main highway that goes to the Terai, then gradually rising and winding…
Nepal Notes: Animal Welfare
On animal welfare, Madhu told me that his cow was due to give birth a few days ago, but that the birth was a little late. He explained that the calf often has to be taught how to suckle, an anxiety shared by mother, calf, and human attendants right at the start. Today he stated…
Nepal Notes: a wondrous sound
A visit to the Sanskrit School Madhu suggested a stroll up towards the well known viewpoint above the house, where there is a tower that you can climb up, to see the hills. Today was a particularly misty day, with all the usual pollutants, but I think the mistiness was due to higher humidity, so…
Nepal Notes: Christmas
I am mildly curious if I will find some way to celebrate Christmas this year. Probably hotels will put on a Christmas meal for those interested. When working at the school, I recall a couple of Christmas Days when I would work as usual and not take the day off, but a doctor from the…
Nepal Notes: Cultural Changes and Traditional Leanings
On Sunday I went for a short walk with Ram. The mountains were clear, though the smog haze can be seen here. I asked him about the erosion of arranged marriage by caste in Kathmandu. Seven years ago I had a conversation with some young Nepalis when going up to Tilicho Lake in the Annapurna…
Autumn Leaves at the Birks o’ Aberfeldy
Scotland: a while since I’d been here, some sixteen years. Aberfeldy was familiar territory from the first eighteen years of life spent in Perth, and thus a remembered spot, associated with youthful ascents of Ben Lawyers and Schiehallion. How damp it felt after the much drier air of Andalucia. ‘You must go up the Birks,’…
Autumn Walks in Andalucia
Once a year, the local hill-walking club in Archidona climbs the mountain known as La Maroma, the highest in the province of Málaga at 2069m; I am keeping up this tradition as well, as it’s a way to test stamina with each year over the age of 70. It is a majestic creature, and can…
A short September walk above Lanjarón
It was the first outing of the Senderistas after a break in August. Thirty people turned out to go on a walk along the water channels above Lanjarón, a village of some 3200 souls, which is now famous for its brand of mineral water. Lanjarón is a town of hotels and it looked as if…