No matter early in the morning when you're chasing a dream. Today I woke up in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. Are the six o'clock. Within four hours I get on a plane to Lhasa, across the highest mountain range on earth, Himalaya. Once there, We will make the same route, In the opposite direction, But by road, saving ports of more than 5.000 meters through the "Friendship Highway", the Friendship Highway, 1.120 kilometers raffling the most beautiful mountains in the world.
And an incentive above any other, almost an obsession: Reach the Everest base camp in Rongbuk and contemplate the top of the mountain between mountains; see with my own eyes, even from distance, The place where George Mallory disappeared forever a June morning 1924, and, No less important, Preser MIS RESTS AL Qosolangma ("Mother of the Universe" in Tibetan). There is no other sanctuary like this for a mountain lover. Blessed Madrugón.
We are housed in the Royal Singi, In the Thamel area, The most tourist in the city. Yesterday we took the opportunity to buy warm clothes. North Face Anoraks imitations are thrown price (for only 30 dollars can be found quite ahead) And it is not worth loading with them from Spain. At eight o'clock we are already at the airport, where they blame us to satiety (men and women separated by a screen to not see more than necessary) Before moving on to the modest boarding room. To get out of the country you have to pay 1.700 rupees per person (about 25 U.S. dollars), The typical robbery that usually perpetrates in airports from poor countries to tourists to whom, It is presumed, They have money left over. Between the passage there are abound backpackers and mountaineers with a common denominator: All are provided with water bottles to stay hydrated and scare away the dreaded evil height.
Between the passage there are abound backpackers and mountaineers with a common denominator: All are provided with water bottles to stay hydrated and scare away the dreaded evil height
After filling out a form (To those who will follow three others on the plane) and submit to the nth blanket on the ladder of the plane, an unexpected surprise awaits us. There, trail, The suitcases of all passengers sealed with plastic tape are scattered. Now it's time to find yours and load it in a car for an operator to move it to the aircraft winery. The luggage young men, that do not seem very willing to honor their position, They contemplate the scene as if the thing was not with them. Yes, It is convenient to make sure that the suitcase is not placed in the wrong car, A mistake that can end the luggage towards Chengdu, and not to Lhasa.
We take off with 15 minutes late. All passengers, some camera in hand, They prepare for the first encounter with the Everest giant from the heights. To my misfortune, The wing of the plane is very limited to the vision of the mythical mountain range. While the desired moment arrives, A housing passes a metal detector through the trunk. They only need to undress us all. Soon, EVrest's mole appears challenging and procaz between the clouds. It is a majestic show, fascinating. It is his southern face, The Nepalí, The one offered by the magic mountain, that little by little it would flow from the mists who oppress him. Beside, the Lhotse, a 8.000 naked, It looks like a complex despite the fact that its summit also oozes beauty. If I am not lucky to see Everest's top in Rongbuk, In the Tibetan slope, At least I have already seen the mountain to face discovered, No doubt a privilege.
Soon, EVrest's mole appears challenging and procaz between the clouds. It is a majestic show, fascinating
After an hour we fly over the immense Tibetan plateau, now completely sunny. You have to advance two hours and 15 minutes the clock. I remember my friend Bijay's advice before saying goodbye in Kathmandú. "If you constantly think about the evil tall, then surely you will suffer ". But how do you take it from your head when you are going to walk your body more than 5.000 meters for several days? I'll try. In the airport parking, Tenzing awaits us, a young Tibetan who will be our guide throughout the route. As soon as we see us, he greets us with the characteristic Tashi Dele! (Hello in Tibetan) And we put a kata around the neck (White Welcome Bufanda). They still separate us 95 kilometers from Lhasa, an hour and a quarter for a good road that first borders, And then cross, The Flowing Tsangpo River. Inside the modern Land Cruisser sounds Chinese music.
We entered the old forbidden city, In the capital of Tibet, And only the vision of the Potalan, Magnificent and majestic, A white colossus that looks like a petrified tibetan deity, I redeem me from the disappointment of the wide avenue of flanked asphalt of identical shops sculpted in concrete premises (In the purest Chinese communist style). The city is full of flags of the Asian giant to celebrate the anniversary of Lhasa's "liberation", Although Tibetans do not seem to be for the work of celebrating the beginning of the exile of Dalai Lama. For most, Alleged release is nothing other than domination, without. The progress that, certainly, has arrived in Lhasa, It is not accompanied in this case by the gratitude of the Tibetans. China should ask why.
