Breathless!

We are staying tonight and tomorrow in Namche Bazaar (You can see pictures by doing a Google on "Namche Bazaar Nepal" and choosing other's journals.) A village that cannot possibly exist without rappelling ropes and super glue! Altitude is 11,000, which means that it takes 2-3 breaths to get one lung-full of oxygen! Last night John and I had a personal visit with the regions' lama (the priest, not the beast of burden) arranged by our sidhar (lead guide) What a fascinating conversation! At the end, he pronounced a blessing upon us, told us we were clearly very holy people for taking this trek and providing income for so many porters, cooks, etc. He then allowed us to pronounce a Christian blessing on him (The traditional "The Lord bless you and keep you..."). Afterwards, he seemed very eager to pose for pictures with John and me--three great holy men in one snapshot!!
Today, while hiking, I taught "Jesus Loves Me" to our sidhar; he taught me a couple of chants. Until, that is, the trail turned uphill.