white silk katas tied

white silk katas tied

to once-green branches – offerings

to Annapurna

Annapurna means "full of food," and the people of the Himalayas have good reason to propitiate the mountains for the food they grow at such high altitudes. This massif, framed by once-green branches tied with once-white katas, is Annapurna South.

mountain of pink clouds

mountain of pink clouds

higher than the highest peaks

hiding them from view

Rain in the mountains, so we stop early on our first day trekking in the Annapurna region. I go for a walk in the “jungle” with Yuba and Lama. “I have a guide on both sides,” I say. Yuba responds with a Nepali saying: “Bitter on either side, sweet in the middle.” He has been showing me native edible fruits, nuts and berries. His father taught him to write with ink made from one of these berries mixed with soot. He climbs a pepal tree to pick a white orchid for me, which I tuck behind my ear. We turn back when it starts raining, mixed with small hail. A gorgeous sunset highlights the mountains. One huge cumulus cloud, twice as high as the highest peak, obscures the range to the west.

trekking to Dhumpas

trekking to Dhumpas –

tray of red chilies

drying in the warm spring sun

Nepalis love chilies and they grow them everywhere they can. This beautiful tray, its blue border complementing the shiny red of the peppers, is just sitting on a bamboo bench by the side of the trail on our way to Dhumpas in the Annapurna range.

down from Birethanti

down from Birethanti

along the Modi Khola –

blue bowl with brown eggs 

On the last day of our trek we walk down from the Annapurna mountains to Birethanti, along the beautiful Modi Khola. While we wait for our taxi, we sit in the shade of a little tea house. On the table, this blue bowl with brown eggs. Annapurna means “full of food.” This bowl of eggs says it all, the blue sky over the mountains, the brown faces of the children we passed on the trail, the ubiquitous meals of dahl bhat and the mountains themselves, food for the soul.

Machhapuchhre peak

Machhapuchhre peak

through a gap – fish tail glowing

rosy in the dawn

Last night at Sauryribazar we heard a dog barking for hours. Later Yuba tells us that it was a big mountain dog from Tibet because it had a deep bark. It is the first disturbance since we began our trek. As Lama says, “no bus, no truck, no motorcycle, no yak.” I rise at 5 and walk down to the thatch tea house to wait for the sun’s rays to strike Machhapuchhre, which I can see through a gap in the Annapurna range. We are on the wrong side of the mountain for the sun to fully illuminate the entire peak, but the fish tail clearly reflects the rosy light of dawn. I sit and meditate until I get too cold.