A New Friend
After our staple breakfast of aloo paratha and chai we headed for the little bridge over the river.
Today we are heading in the opposite direction from yesterday, towards Chalal. We walked along the river and soon were in the village which was full of guesthouses but not many people.
A beautiful golden retriever came to greet us and decided he was coming with us.
We walked up and up past Chhalal and through other little villages. We discovered at one village our new friend was called Leo and obviously well known. He was a typical golden retriever, he would shoot on ahead and when he couldn't see us, he would come bounding back to find us. He found some water in one village and immediately jumped in and splashed around.
We met a few other trekkers on the way who were all heading to Rasoul. This was quite a trek but they were all staying overnight. As we had booked our accommodation in Kasol, we went half way and then turned back. On the way we saw two man carrying mattresses on their back up the steep paths and various other people carrying what looked like very heavy boxes on their backs.
It was getting pretty hot by this point. We found a little hut with a man sitting outside and asked if he had some water for Leo, as by now we had been walking in the sun for a couple of hours and he was starting to pant. The man kindly gave Leo a bowl of water, which he lapped up. Leo then picked up a large stick and tried to walk with it but it had various branches sticking out which were getting caught on the bushes. Leo managed to break it in half to a more manageable size for him to carry, clever dog!
On the way back down Leo suddenly started growling. Around the corner came a man with a goat on a lead. Leo really wasn't happy and as by this point we felt responsible for him. Christine grabbed his collar to keep him away from the goat. The farmer didn't seem very happy with Leo's behaviour and said something to us but we are not sure what. By this point a few people had asked if he was our dog but we explained he had just followed us from the village, which seems to be normal practice for dogs in the mountains.
We continued our trip back down, almost getting pushed off the cliff by some donkeys going up the mountain. Christine did end up stepping in the mud. Back in little village Leo found the water again and had another play.
As we arrived back in Chhalal a couple of people spoke to Leo. We were heading out of the village towards the river with Leo still in tow when a man appeared and started calling Leo...he ignored him at first but eventually went.. the man took his collar and led him back to the village. We guess this was Leo's owner!
We walked down to the river and continued along the path. We heard some drumming and saw a procession of people so went to see what was happening. It was people carrying a god from village to village and asking for blessings, like the one we saw in Jibhi.
We were going to head on to another town but as time was getting on we decided to head over the bridge and back towards Kasol in search of food.
After a quick pit stop at the guesthouse, a stop at the shop for some supplies we found a restaurant for late lunch. We had aloo paratha and chole wash down with a nice big cup of masala chai.
A quick walk around town, a spot of forward planning and we are ready to eat again. We chose the same restaurant as lunchtime. However, this time it was really busy. The only tables were up high on a platform that you reached via a removable ladder. We had no choice so up we went! There were some blankets to use to keep warm but ordering food became tricky. It would take regular trips up and down the ladder which looked as though it could slip at any minute. A table became free so we opted to climb back down. That table was next to the music, so when another table became free we shifted again.
Food was good, paneer and mushroom masala with rice and daal makhani. Masala tea to finish. Perfect.
Bed time as it will be an early start tomorrow.
