Up just after the sun. My room has an entrance with a porch and the garden. So I finally do a little earthing. It takes my tired night right away. The the porch – exactly the length of the yoga mat! So I spread it out. Start with my stretches, then head & neck stretches, sun salutation, back twist, and closures. It’s lovely . My hostess comes by, and asks to take pictures – so I may end up on some Facebook page or website for the lodge.
Breakfast – not so good as dinner – though the tea is excellent (yet again with a pot and the most delicate bone china cup & saucer and with local honey again.)
The hospital is a quick trip. The doctor says my eye looks great – 1 more day of drops. These would be 3 day / 5 day / or 7 day drops for antibiotics and he feels 3 will be fine. I of course feel relieved.
Off to see the two famous temples of Bumthang. The first is one of 3 of the oldest temples in Bhutan. The paintings in these old temples, even though restored multiple times, are still 100+ years old. I do enjoy them. The second temple is old but also has a newer part. There are numerous school children here – part of the festival. One little boy really wants to have some on my necklace – the chunky one from Florence. His mom and I have to be quick to stop beads flying.
It is interesting to see school children in a country with an actual country wide religion, and how this practice and faith permeates everything, and these children so young just a part of their education.
Off to the festival for a bit. These dancers are similar to Punakha, but are beating drums with a curved stick. (Parking and access really bad!) It’s crowded and I do wish I had brought my mask. Jamyang meets up with some colleagues and I later have a conversation with a man who is well known in Bhutan for his knowledge of the plants & trees of Bhutan. Getting out of the traffic when we leave the festival is crazy. Cars parked both sides of the already narrow road. Cars coming up as we are going down. At one point it takes 20 minutes to maneuver through upcoming traffic, with guidance from others. The large SUV from National Geographic finally just parks, as it becomes apparent they’ll get up no further. and this let’s us head on down.
Lunch at a farm house after quite a drive on the worst farm roads thus far. Very rutted, muddy, rocky, uphill. It’s good the lunch is good – Bhutanese food with a lovely wild strawberry wine after. Wish I’d ask for a full glass!
Now we are going to a river about 30 minutes from Jakar – and a holy place on this river. The hostess at the lodge says it would be a wonderful place to scatter ashes – Nebar Tsho Tang. It’s a lovely drive through pine forest. Looking at the very straight rows of trees in places I think some areas have been logged and then replanted. It’s a lovely walk to the river. At this point there is a small shrine with offerings. We are cautioned to be careful as they have had fatal accidents with people sliding off the rocks into the river, which is fast moving, and with rocks. There is a small bridge over the river and many prayer flags fluttering in the quick breeze.
I decide to scatter some of the ashes from the middle of the bridge, so that they will drop into the river. Jamyang is helpful, and says a quiet chant. This time I drop a few ashes into my hand and blow them off to be sure they fly. It’s a great place to send them. All rivers in Bhutan flow into rivers in India, and these into the Indian Ocean. Both Chuck & Mom I think would like this, and the river beginning of this journey. I chant Ohm to send them along. The walk back uphill, but very easy really. Jamyang shows me that if you pick a group of scotch pine needles at the base there are always 5 needles. I decorate my straw hat. This has been good.
Again, a lovely drive back to Jakar to our lodge. The Red Panda beer tours are closed. My laundry is done – tough later I wash out a few more things that I’ll hang outside tomorrow to dry. (I have to keep up with the laundry when I have access, as I do not at times.)
Read the rest of the latest Birder Mysteries. A good dinner at the lodge. Journal. Organize my fishing gear for tomorrow. To bed about 10. I’ll only need to wake once for the last of the eye drops. A good sleep.