Saturday, May 15, 2004

The Extreme Pain Will Only Last a Few Minutes

If you find youself with bad blisters and many days left to walk, and have only a tube of super glue with you, consider this treatment: Puncture the blister with a needle, drain the fluid and then insert a small amount of super glue under the skin. The glue should hold the skin in place, and the extreme pain will only last a few minutes.
-- exert from Blair's "Wilderness Survival Handbook"

Now where is that tube of super glue when you need it?!



My blog has finally earnt its name. Walking down the Kali Kandaki Valley, which is the deepest in the world, each step is like treading on nails. No combination of bandaging, limping nad pussy footing seems to help. As the valley gets deeper and the terrain greener, the only thing keeping me going is the thought of the hot springs which lie a little further ahead in Tatopani (Nepalese for 'hot water').

My imagination gets carried away dreaming of these springs, until in my mind they are an impossibly scenic steamy heaven surrounded by tall green cliffs. But when we finally arrive, they are all that I had hoped for: Two large inviting pools of hot or devilishly hot water; a few metres away the fast flowing mountain river for a cold dunk; and the now lush green sides of the steep ravine rising sheer on each side.



We stay at the rustic but very cool guest house a few minutes away. Two days were scarcely enough...

Posted by Andrew Wallace @ 8:23 AM