Comforts of Namche

So we haven't left for our trek. Yesterday we did a practice hike to the village of Thame. We visited one of the oldest monasteries in the Khumbu area and watched the monks say their prayers. They were surrounded by very old Tibetan manuscripts which they were all reading and chanting out loud. It was a holy time and the readings would continue for 16 days. Tibetan books are rectangular shaped with no binding. The stack of papers have a leather cover and backing then they are wrapped in cloth. The walls of the room had little rectangular cubbies which stored each book. They are ancient books which are treated reverently.
I have tried not to make the blog all about the food but I feel I should mention it because it is superb. On the day of our arrival we were survived fresh tomato soup. Creamy and delicious with a wonderful smell of garlic and ginger. It was divine. The rice and lentils which can be ordinary never is. There are carrots and spinach, cilantro and green beans mixed with potatoes. A fresh meat delivery came up with us and we had beef momos with the wonderful chili sauce. In the morning we have eggs and toast, hash browns and oatmeal. The variety and the preparation is perfect. Today for lunch we had mutton curry, rice, a pumpkin sauce and sushi rolls. Rebecca brought the seaweed wrappers and they made vegetable sushie with soy sauce. Everyone enjoyed rolling the sushi. The kids love the nori snacks that we brought. There are not too many trekkers here this week but next week the schedule board is full. Utten, Pemba and Tenzing's daughter has a cousin here the same age and they are having fun, fun, fun. This is family time before the busy season. I'm so glad we are here.