Days 4-6...we leave the Old Road campsite for Medro Gunkar and the yak pasture :)

Another helper photo for you :)


We awoke to a beautiful, sunny morning in our trough of a campsite...yup, that's A in the tent again :)



Just as we had found the campsite the evening before A had hit a sharp rock and got a puncture on her rear tire - it was a big hole. I had patched it and she could get up to the campsite, but it was a big hole in the casing of the tire and we would have to be careful with it to get it back to Lhasa in one piece. In the morning I pulled the tire and put a tube patch on the casing to give it some support and I put a nice piece of duct tape in there, too, just for luck :) Then we swapped the front and rear tires - the rear was taking most of the load so we thought we should have the strongest tire at the back.


Before we headed out I wanted to ride the old road back the other way...just to see what it was like - it was rocky :) A was having a momentary bout of dodgy stomach so she wasn't up for the ride, but it went as soon as it came, and we were on our way in a couple of hours.




While we were waiting for A's stomach to settle we were sitting in the shade (the sun is fierce!) and we noticed this strange effect around the sun - we could see it with our eyes and one photo is with A's camera and one is from mine - it is not a trick!!!! Cool, eh? :)



Then it was time we packed up and got the heck out of dodge :)


We continued north on the dirt road...thinking it was only 2kms to Medro Gunkar...doh! It was about 20 :) We saw this great rock formation that looked to be part of the old road....it also looked like a gaping maw, something out of Lord of the Rings :)


We continued north....


...until we finally found the bridge! Well...we found 2 bridges and we opted for the more interesting of the two (the other being a cement monstrosity :)


The view north was lovely...except what was that hanging there on the wire????


...it was dead things! They look liked newborn baby lambs and calves. Maybe some sort of sacrifice? It's still a done thing around these parts....


the view back across the bridge...


Then we were heading south on a paved road, about 5kms north of Medro Gunkar - riding slightly uphill into the wind...and we were starving! But we made it and we stuffed ourselves at a local restaurant and hit the shops for some juice and BEER :) and then went to find our camp.


Woohoo! Our luck is SO good!!!! We found a little niche and set up camp :)


Then we cracked the beers...


...and watched the sunset :)







The next morning we made coffee and toasted some bread...on a proper fire!!!! I had collected some wood the afternoon before because we had found the wood so damp when we tried to light it that evening.


...and then cleaned ourselves (clean hair!!!!! :) and some of our clothes :) I must say that this is the first time I have ever had an "ice cream headache" without eating ice cream...that water was COLD!!!!!



It was a beautiful day and we made some noodles for lunch....



In the afternoon we played cards (A has hauled this deck, a prize from a Christmas cracker from years ago, through India and China...it was about time we put them to good use :)


would you trust this face??? :)


The next day we gave the stove a rest (we were running out of fuel at this point) and built another proper campfire :)


I told you this was a yak pasture :)


We spent 3 nights in this campsite and we would have stayed longer, but it was time to head back to Lhasa...