Wednesday April 22nd, 1987
Unfortunately, it rained all day, which kept us confined to our tents. I joined Matthew and Corrie for breakfast, and we spent a dismal morning listening to music, chatting or reading. The porters lounged about in the cook tent or, when it stopped raining, played a Nepalese version of boules.
After a dismal lunch, we passed a dreary afternoon moaning about the weather, how bored we were and what we'd have to eat if we were back in the UK! The lentil curries were starting to wear thin!
It wasn't until the evening that things began to liven up. The clouds melted away, and in the distance we could see the distinctive peak of Machhapuchhare. We were also able to see the Annapurna massif shining in the evening sunlight.
After dinner, we all mucked about and behaved like fools. I suppose the boredom of the day was getting to us! In the village, a huge quarrel had broken out with men shouting and women screaming. We hadn't a clue as to what had happened to cause the commotion! It went on for most of the evening, with even physical assaults at one point.
Ninja then produced a lump of wood, which he managed to fashion into a penis... and there I was thinking he was an innocent! Matthew, making things even worse, took out one of his condoms and fitted it over the wood, provoking howls of laughter from all the porters! Hmmm!
After this, several of the porters disappeared to the village to buy rum and to try to find out what had caused all the earlier commotion. It was pitch black by now, so we placed the lamp by the fire and sat around chatting. The light of the lamp attracted huge moths and flies, which fluttered around us.
In the distance, between the two mountains by the river, I could see flashes of lightning that lit up the whole sky. It was a little unnerving sitting by the fire, as the porters had disappeared to the village and we could hear strange rustlings in the bushes, making my imagination go into overdrive!
The porters returned and made us hot coffee with rum. At around 9:00pm (late for us), I went to sit in Matthew and Corrie's tent to chat a little while longer. I then said goodnight and tried to get back into my own tent, but the little devils had turned the top cover around, so the zip was at the back, and I was unable to get in!
I stormed over to the mess tent, where all the porters were huddled up pretending to be asleep! I finally managed to drag Ninja and Lakba out and shouted at them until they put the tent cover on the right way. It was hilarious and typical of their childish sense of humour!
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