Before we get into todays walk, lets discuss hygiene, shall we?

1. Showers are scarce, and expensive, so rarely applied! Washy washy (a bowl of warm water) in the morning is surprisingly effective, and refreshing

2. Toilets, as previously discussed, tend to the squat variety as we get higher up, so to see a western dunny is greeted with giddy excitement. Regardless of style, odours can be a little fruity, and flushing is by means of a large bucket of water and a jug for dispensing! “Shit tickets” are placed in a bin beside toilet, thus adding to the sensory overload!
3. Hand basins are a novelty, thus hand sanitizer is liberally used.

4. Laundry is an option extra, we washed a few things by the river one day which proved adequate. Merino wool clothing is surprisingly odour free we believe, in fact I wore the same base layer T-shirt for 7 days before washing it (might have been stretching the friendship there!)

Ok, walking time and we are back on the track at about 8.45 from our cosy lodge in Dzongla to Lobuche, after a sleep in till 7.30, and leisurely breakfast.

We only have a short 3.5 hour walk following the valley, the scenery along the way was magical, as always!

Everywhere you look you are greeted by surprise after surprise, truly awesome in its scale and grandeur.

We reach the meeting point of the main EBC route, before joining it and wandering in to Lobuche which consists of a few lodges, and a cafe who’s claim to fame is being the coffee shop at the highest altitude in the world, and luckily the coffee was good!

We went for a short walk to check out the glacier we’ll tackle tomorrow, before heading for the dining room for the rest of the afternoon/evening, to read, people watch, or just take in the heady aroma of kerosene and yak dung, as attempt after attempt to get the pot bell to fire up failed.

Eventually success, and a reduction in that very special scent which permeates the walls of lodge dining rooms throughout Nepal.