If there's doubt about the fitness of the locals then consider the upcoming EBC - Namche marathon, what had taken us 2& 1/2 days to descend is usually completed in 4 hours by a local of course!
From Phakding it was a breeze to Lukla despite some testing uphill segments - those red blood cells were finally kicking in or just maybe it was the thought of finally having a hot shower after 7-8 days of using baby wipes !
We finally entered the memorial arch at Lukla with Monika running up the last 10 steps as you do !
Our accommodation on the airport provided for its usual great views. There was little left to do but have an evenings celebration with Birbal and Tilak over a few Sherpa beers recounting some of the trails and tribulations of our 17 day trek- and there were many believe me !
Celebration was limited though (so was the sleep) as we limped out of bed the following morning at 5.00a.m. for a 6.00a.M. assembly at the airport all of a 20 metre walk away !
With Lukla's position next to some pretty unmovable mountains - flights are commonly delayed because of weather the most recent record being for 9 days when the town not only run out of beds but also food because of the backlog of irate trekkers
For us it was an initial delay of an hour when we went to board our aircraft before being immediately pulled off because this time the weather in Kathmandu was up the creek !
Roll forward another 2 hours and we were finally under way undertaking that thrilling Lukla takeoff where the runway disappears into a cavernous hole ! We then progressively dodged extensive cloud build ups arriving in Kathmandu 50 minutes later after what is normally a 30 min flight
We traversed the wet streets of Kathmandu arriving at our hotel saying goodbye to Birbal (till tomorrow) and making a b line for the showers to scrape off 2 weeks accumulated dirt before arranging laundry to and rescue our walking clothes !
After some catch up sleep in our AC room we wandered into the Thamel where I caught up with a barber / masseuse / healer who proceeded to turn me back into a normal human being or least looking like one !
As so happens I caught up with Mark and Katrina successful EBCers who'd returned a day earlier and we arranged for an evening Raddison buffet style to make up for a week's worth of soup & rice !
While successful their story sounded like hard work enduring AS, fever, dirrorhea, cold and the Khumbu cough to somehow make it to EBC - or at least they think they made it as their photos showed - they can't remember as they were in a daze !
With much reminiscing I think we both agreed that the trek was a lot harder than what it looks on the surface although my biafran looking body is a bit of a give away clue !
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