TRAVERSE 90
otherwise pleasant ride.
It was Ken’ s turn to open his wallet and pay up for damage to a taxi that had impeded his narrow path between it and a bus. After a brief stop at Kushma for photos and a leg stretch, we were back on the bikes for the off-road run to our overnight stop at Kalopani.
“ Kalopani” literally means“ black water” in Nepali, and it’ s here the relatively calm Kali Gandaki River narrows, darkens, and roars south with its much-revered rapids.
A magnificent sunrise over Annapurna I greeted us the next morning. We were at the start of the trekker’ s circuit and soon understood why breakfast had been so big. Trekkers are a breed of their own, unkempt, undernourished, burdened by oversized packs and hiking poles, and speaking a language only they understand.
Before long, the Mahindra’ s were gone, the rock-based road narrowed, and we climbed 500 metres through thick bulldust, testing Don, new to off-road riding, and Harro, nursing a suspect shoulder. The smell of clutches and overheated engines filled the air, so our stop at the stonepaved village of Marpha, famous for its apple products, was welcomed. So too was the absence of the leprosy for which Marpha was once known, long eradicated, locals say, by the power of religious rituals at a specially built Buddhist shrine.
By noon we’ d reached Kagbeni, gateway to the Upper Mustang District. From the well-maintained
Buddhist school opposite the village, it was clear the monks were revered and well supported. It was also clear the Royal Enfield’ s were suffering. Clutches overheated, oil leaks appeared, and the bikes began misfiring, thanks to either dodgy fuel, altitude, or both. And it wasn’ t even lunchtime.
With 100 kilometres still to cover, equivalent to 400 kilometres on open plains, cracks started to appear in the corner-man system. Soon Christo called out,“ Anyone seen Plineo since he took off at the last stop?”
“ Last I saw, he was heading towards Tibet like a madman,” said Charcoal.
But hunger took priority, and a lunch of chicken curry, rice, cucumber, chilli, vegetables, and
TRAVERSE 90