Day 20 - The Fox In the Orchard

Old Marpha

Yet another grey and rainy day. Forget about hiking up towards the Dhaulagiri basecamp. And forget about continuing on the trekking itinerary. I want to enjoy the views!
So, after enjoying a slice of delicious cake and a coffee at Sassi's place, I'm going to head off to Old Marpha. Some 150m higher up, overlooking the valley, Old Marpha is where the people used to live until fairly recently. Currently there are maybe 4 families living there permanently and guarding the orchards. You see, people moved down to the valley, they built new houses and a nice town, but the orchards have stayed up there. I've been told that the orchards I see along the trail on the trek are negligible in comparison to the ones in Old Marpha, but I have to see that.

I have been plagued by some "nasty" thoughts over the past couple of days. Pipi has been hanging around without doing anything. He could sit for hours and not talk to people or have the curiosity to go out for a walk. Neither would he want to come with me on my hikes/exploratory tours. I think he is lazy. But maybe he is not. He's doing his job but lacks any interest in gompas or anything of that kind. He's not even trying to improve his English.
I would say that he is a very good porter, but in terms of guiding I am quite disappointed. So far, I had all initiatives and I had to convince him each time about going one way or another. He lacks initiative and interests. But then I'm thinking that maybe all or most of us are so dull in our jobs - beware! Can I blame him then? It's just a job for him. Get the bloody tourist from Besisahar to Pokhara. Why bother with other stuff ?

Today I'm telling Pipi that I am not quite happy and that I might let him go. He's not happy either to hear that and, when I tell him after breakfast about my intent to go to old Marpha, he suddenly wants to come, too.

Therefore, after the mandatory stop at Sassi's place - where Pipi is probably the only guide to have enjoyed the goodies - we head up the hill.
Almost all the way up you neither see nor guess what is to follow: a plateau high above the brown valley that clearly stands out with its fresh green of the thriving trees.

The orchards are themselves terraced and delimited by pine forest at their high end. There are a few houses left, most of which are clearly uninhabited. The grass is high and wet, the trails leading amongst the trees are narrow and slippery. There are several varieties of apples: Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonagold and a few more I don't know the names of. Some trees are so loaded with fruit that their branches are reaching the ground on the verge of breaking. Only a few trees have been provided with some support for their branches.

Following up the trail we reach a house where a family still lives. A man is there and Pipi has finally someone to talk to. I leave the men talking and start wandering among the trees. At first I follow up the trail past the house, over a rockwall and through tall grass, but later I just wander around. It is extremely beautiful. Advancing from one terrace to the next one up is not always easy, as it is steep and slippery, but I manage.
When I almost reach the end of the orchard a sudden noise makes me turn and I see a fox running away towards the forest. I must have scared it.
It seems that I keep bumping unintentionally into animals and scare them. I guess the reason for that is that I venture alone in their areas and I do so quietly. Yes, I do not sing all the time. If I sang all animals would hide away in distress.
Yesterday a big vulture, today a fox. Not bad!

I wander around freely picking up apples that have fallen down. I am looking for a particular type of apples that I longed for yesterday in Dhumpha and, indeed, I spot some in the adjacent compound. It is just a matter of getting over the waist-high stonewall. Eventually, I find a spot and jump over the wall. This orchard has lots of Jonathan apples. The trees seem to be bigger and the grass has been mowed and is drying in the sun. Well, the sun does come out for a while while I'm there and I'm feeling optimistic. Maybe tomorrow it's going to clear up.
I collect a few apples from under the trees. I eat yet another apple and I take some pictures. When I feel the first raindrops I stash the camera and apples in my pack and look for a return way. I am lucky to find another spot where I can jump back over the wall and then I slowly walk back to where Pipi and the man are still chatting.
I ask the man a lot of questions about the apples and the life up here. Harvesting time is about November, after the apples down in Marpha have been harvested. And the grass? In October it will be mowed again and dried. The man proudly leads me to his little barn full of hay. Lovely!
Before leaving I get a few more apples from him, and I give him some biscuits in return. Juicy apples and biscuits. Delicious!

The drizzle picks up and turns into proper rain on the way down. I have rainjacket and cover for my pack, but Pipi has nothing so I tell him to go ahead faster if he wants to. Therefore, I'm left alone again and I walk carefully down on the slippery trail. I'm again just wearing sandals and no socks. That's efficiency!
I reach the village around lunch time and stop right away at Sassi's place for lunch. While waiting for my daalbhat I read from "Life of Pi". The book is delightful.
After lunch I still hang around reading and soon I'm the only customer left. That works out well for us: Sassi and I get to chat about the life here, the education system and the education of her little daughter, about their plans and dreams to go work elsewhere and eventually emigrate.

It is late afternoon by the time I leave the cozy place and return to my guest house. After washing my dirty feet I slip into my sleeping bag and enjoy my book for the rest of the afternoon. It's grey, windy and rainy outside, what better thing to do.

Tomorrow I'm thinking of continuing our way to Tukche regardless of the weather. I want a change of scenery. I don't want to miss the views on this section of the trail, but I'd like to explore the area some more. Tukche is only 1.5 hours away and is supposed to be very nice, too.