Greetings from the Himalaya!

Greetings from the Himalaya! I arrived at my final destination just over two weeks ago, our classes have begun, and we're now settled into our daily schedule. We are living in a tiny hamlet called Sonapani ("gold water"), a 15 minute walk from the nearest road. It's just about as isolated as can be, but we have plenty of modern amenities including electricity, western toilets, and toilet paper. A nearby town called Almora lies within a day's walk or a short weekend taxi ride. There we can purchase other important supplies on the weekends, such as cheap Indian whisky. Toilet paper and whisky: two things for which I've never felt so fortunate.

Here is a picture of the tallest peak in India. On clear mornings, before the haze moves in over the valleys below us, we have an amazing view of these 8000 meter peaks. Just to give some perspective — West of Seattle, you see the puny Olympic mountains on the horizon. Here, to the North, the Himalayas rise four miles into the sky.

Another important supply is available for free, growing wild in places along the trail. Here is a photo of Josh preparing his crop. I will not admit to anything.

The only internet access is via a sort of cell-phone device that all the students take turns sharing for 50 rupees an hour. This is why I haven't been in touch — a half hour slot is barely enough time to read incoming email. I must admit, though, that being almost totally disconnected has a certain temporary appeal. Many of the other students bought cell phones here, but due to some documentation snafu they haven't been working. So here we are, alone in the jungle, at risk of being attacked by a leopard at any moment (really!) with no one to call. Perfect tranquility.

About the leopards — although the locals say they'll go years without seeing one, we've already had three sightings amongst our group. Last week, a cub was spotted actually squatting in the dining hall. And yesterday, our host's dog was killed not 50 meters from my cabin. They tell us not to walk alone at night.

I have one favor to ask of all of you — send me your postal addresses (if you think I don't already have it) and I'll try to mail a postcard. I've got a growing collection of travel stories — a trip to Nainital for a Hindu festival, the routine here at Sonapani, etc. We have a week off coming up during which I'll be traveling to Jaipur. The only problem is finding time to write them up. I'll keep you posted.

Until next time, here are a few more pictures below, in no particular order.

-Peter

(You can find this and older postings at http://pediddle.net/.)

Nathan juggling some pine cones, on a field trip for our Forest Ecology class.

A view of CHIRAG, the organization at which we're taking classes and with whom we'll be working on personal projects in a few weeks. I took this picture from a road overlooking a 50 meter sheer cliff. Twice a day, we squeeze between 8 and 14 people in a jeep — yes, it's a very tight fit — which then navigates this single-lane mountain road at breathtaking speed. For my project at CHIRAG, in a nutshell, I'm going to be looking at school and community education about environment and forestry issues.

A colorful building in Kathgodam, the last stop on the train from Delhi. We spent one night here before taking a 3 hour taxi ride to Sonapani.

A sailboat on Nainital lake. Nainital is one of the largest cities in the state of Uttaranchal, a destination for Indian tourists trying to escape the summer heat.

Lisa and Linsdey on Nainital lake. For 120 rupees (about $3), we hired a boatman to row us around. It looked like unbelievably hard work.

Two effigies being prepared for the Dashera festival in Nainital. This festival celebrates a battle between two Hindu gods, whose names I have forgotten at the moment. It kicks off the month-long holiday season across the whole country, roughly analogous to Thanksgiving and Christmas. (The biggest holiday, Diwali, is on October 21, when I'll be in Jaipur.) Come nightfall, the townsfolk put on a grand show culminating with these effigies bursting into flame along with the most amazingly dangerous fireworks show I've ever seen. A fellow student recorded a video which I'll try to post online in the future. Also, because our group composed literally the entire white population of this city, I made the front page of the local paper. I'll try to post a picture of the article.

The forest near Sonapani, featuring Lindsey, Katie, and Lisa.

Katie in a burnt-out tree trunk. This has special significance to our forestry studies: historically, nearly every pine tree in the forest has been tapped for resin. The old method of tapping resulted in these giant scars, which were aggravated by yearly ground fires. The resin industry is still booming here but the people have since found some less destructive ways of collecting resin.