First problem: No one actually knew how to get there and it was, of course, still dark. Fortunately, Brick had a map in his room which he was able to get so at least we had something.
Second Problem: Although I'm obviously the fittest person in the world I'm still getting pretty out of breath even on normal walks so at times I felt like an 80 year old asthmatic with a 40 a day habit.
Third Problem: It soon became obvious that, as pretty as the map was, it was not a highly detailed chart with a passage plan attached.
Fourth Problem: I hadn't had breakfast. I may not be a hobbit but breakfast is still quite important to me and a little smackerel wouldn't have gone amiss.
So things didn't quite go to plan and I was feeling slightly worried about my lungs and my ability to complete the tasks coming up after the hike (shopping - no, not frivolous shopping, stuff to live in Gasa shopping) and the map was coming out again. For anyone who has read 'Three Men in a Boat' - if you haven't your life is not complete - I was getting flashbacks of the Hampton Court Maze bit and was trusting the map we had about as much as Harris' map. Perhaps if we had actually known where we were and knew exactly where to go I might have soldiered on a bit more but my love of oxygen got the better of me so I apologised profusely and decided to head back to the hotel.
Now this is where I should write an account of how I got horribly lost on my way back by myself and ended up hitching a ride with a yak herder who spoke no English but, mom will be glad to hear this, I'm afraid I didn't actually get lost at all. I still didn't trust my sense of direction so I double checked a couple of times by asking some friendly joggers, but I was on the right path.
At one point, just before sunrise, I did meet some locals who I suppose were worried about my safety because they insisted on giving me an escort. They were all tail-wags and very sweet but I decided not to pet them as I've heard too much about the lovely fleas in this country and I didn't want to encourage them to stray too far from their home. Soon after sunrise they must have decided I was fine as they left me to fend for myself.
I'm now back in bed waiting for it to be breakfast time and I have no idea if the rest of the party has returned or is still wandering in search of Buddha. I'm sure we can send out a search party if they're not back by the end of breakfast. Maybe we'll save them something.
So all's well that ends well, and hopefully it will end well for the rest of the party too, and hopefully I will get to the Buddha but perhaps with a guide and in daylight.
Hugs and I'll leave you with some pictures of what I saw on my way back
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