Return of the Jedi (11.10.26)

Getting up (7.00 am)

After a long long time, the day did NOT dawn bright and clear. There was a threat of rain yesterday, as we were returning from our lunch outside, and the threat continued this morning. The sky was gray, the river did not have the usual sparkle, there was a slight wind, and the mercury had dropped to 5°C. Perhaps the weather was mourning our departure. 

We were leaving this beautiful place later in the morning. After a leisurely indoor breakfast of eggs and toast, we packed our bags slowly. There was not much outdoor activity to be done today. Even Panna was forced to admit that the water might be a 'wee bit cold'. The Tirthan was as lovely as ever, but our energy was not enough to brave the thermal gradient outside. 

Leaving for Walnut House (11.30 am)

I think I mentioned earlier that we did have a four-day slot running empty, but frankly we could not find another homestay that offered as much value for money as Walnut House did, so we decided to return there. We had requested the same Tullu bhai to drop us back, and he reported promptly. We huffed and puffed up the slope with 4-5 kilos extra in our hands (the h&p not evident in the pic).

Abhishek, poor soul, had to lug our luggage up half a kilometer to the parking area, and we bid him fond farewell, massaging his back muscles. He had really served us well. Meanwhile, the temperature had laboriously climbed to 14°C, and we could afford to ride in the car with the windows down. 

Lunch with Amarbhai (2.00 pm)

We greeted each other like we were army veterans returning home on leave after an year of war duty. 

Our old room was waiting for us, and no other guest was in sight. As we sat on our verandah and sipped black coffee, we realised that this part of the valley had become distinctly chillier than when we left. We had to dig out our woolen caps and mufflers. 

Incidentally, we had been noticing unknown species of birds aplenty during the trip. We noticed a particularly beautiful one now, actually three of them, chasing each other amongst the trees in front. Google told us these were yellow-billed blue magpies. Very pretty birds. 

As we sat down at our open-air dining area and started serving ourselves rice, daal and palak, 'plop' fell the first drop of rain. Damn, couldn't Varundev hold it in for 15 mins more? We picked up our plates and made a beeline for our covered veranda. The daal should not get diluted too much, right?

The slight drizzle against the slate sky looked quite beautiful, though of a different flavour entirely. Post lunch, we promptly snuggled into the bedclothes, but it still felt cold. I realised that the buildings here were concrete, whereas the ones at the Nirvana AirBnB had wood panelling, which provides insulation worth 3-4°C, at least.

A cold evening (5.00 pm)

We were back to 9°C, causing us to think twice about our evening walk. Given that we had done a stiffish uphill climb in the morning, I think we had done our daily quota of calorie burn. But dip in degrees did give us a chance of unpacking our cold weather jackets, and bravely sitting outside for our evening tea. For once, Panna and I had switched metabolisms - she was feeling very cold, while I was feeling ok ok cold. Usually I'm the one who behaves like a camel in Greenland.

Although Nirvana had a prettier and more approachable river, we still felt much more at home at the Walnut House. We were at a point where we had nothing new to do here, not anything new to prove. We were just happy to sit on our verandah and gaze at the sights in front of us. Something which Osho has been trying to tell me for the last few days - Be a witness, dude! Finally one has to learn through life, right? 

Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day once again. Not that we are complaining...