Starting the trek

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The taxi is waiting for us at 7 am. We head to Nayapul, an hour away. Once there, time to start the trek. It is first walking downhill, and it’s not too tiring. We walk for about 2:30 hours. We have already passed the station marked in the guidebook for the first day. We decide to continue until Ulleri, which we reach after a hard and steep steps climb. We choose one of the few lodges around. We’re tired and can hardly have a stare at the famous Annapurna Range.

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We pass through some interesting villages where many aspects of rural life are quietly taking their run. We also pass through jungle-like scenery with waterfalls and tall trees. We share stories with our guide who turns out to be from the Everest region. He’s 29 and has an 18 days old daughter called Tina.

We play cards whilst drinking tea, waiting for dinner. We can call ourselves lucky as a big rain puts the whole village upside down. A “Tomato soup” and some pasta with onions of course could make up for all the calories lost along the largest range of steps-in-a-row. We deserve a good night sleep.

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