Chamje (1430m)

After our arrival at the guest house in Chamje, Yen took great care of me, hand-washing my sick clothes in the communal tap while our guides got a bucket of boiled water from the kitchen for me to clean myself up a bit. After my “shower” I was quickly unconscious while the rest of the group socialised and relaxed after a difficult day. I woke up to join the group for dinner and promptly made a dramatic exit to clear out whatever was left in my belly – not much at this point.

I managed to stay awake until most people were done eating and then once again hit the hay. Actually, this wasn’t so unusual since as soon as daylight fades most people tend to retire to their rooms and get right into bed.

When morning came, I thought I was doing a bit better and asked for the most bland item they had – a big plate of boiled potatoes. Our guides also gave me a package of rehydration salts to mix with a litre of water. The package says it’s recommended by the WHO especially for aiding victims of cholera. Awesome. My best description of how it tastes is kind of like salty milk water. In any case, I filled up my Nalgene bottle, purified it and dissolved the salts in it. I took a few swigs to wash down the potatoes and shoved it in my pack before hitting the trail again.

I was feeling good and was carrying my own pack again. Unfortunately, my body didn’t agree with the first big climb. As soon as I reached the top, I ran for the cliff to get rid of my potatoes. I guess I was a bit too eager – my lunge for the edge launched my water bottle, cholera cure and all down into the abyss. On the bright side, I felt much better. On the not so bright side, our lead guide seemed to have an endless supply of these rehydration salt packages so I wasn’t off the hook. Sigh.

While I was feeling a bit better, we were about to tackle a part of the trail labelled “Long Hot Climb” on the map. So what we’d done to this point was just a stroll in the park? Tough day ahead. In all honesty, perhaps it was because my fever was coming down, I actually felt that the climb the day before was a bit more gruelling than the “Long Hot Climb.” Anyway, I remember very little of this climb, other than the fact that at the start we passed another landmark labelled on the map – “Fields of Marijuana.” For real. One of the guys in our group ran down and filled his pack. He later, however, informed us that it wasn’t worth the hassle.
Today may have been the day where we stopped briefly outside a few shacks so we could catch our breath and drink a bit. Being the sicko I was at the time, it was also good timing for me and my loose intestines to make a pit stop. I asked where the toilet was and was directed into the stables. Sure enough, walking past the goats and cows there was a small door. On the other side, was a tiny room that my width barely enabled me to breathe in and a hole in the dirt floor. With me pressed up against the walls on all four sides I’m going to have to say this was my worst bathroom experience ever. Besides the claustrophobia of the room itself, upon exit I had to nudge a cow out of the way with the door in order to get it open. Fun stuff.