Less Than A Week To Go And . . . A Bandh and A Volcano

I'm wrapping things up before my trip to Nepal and the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon. My training is winding down. Just easy runs for now and then a final long trail run on Tuesday morning. I feel pretty good but will be happy to leave the hot and muggy weather we've been having in Richmond. It's been an early summer.

I have most of my gear and supplies (I think). Just a few more things to buy. Therese will be happy -- no more daily deliveries from Campmor, REI, Amazon, etc. She's asking what I'm going to do with all of this stuff after the trip. I don't know yet. It depends how the race goes and whether I continue with the adventure events (it's my new athletic career!)

I hope that the packing checklist is good. If I forget something, however, I can always pick it up in Kathmandu. I haven't weighed the bag but I think that I'll be fine for the 30 lb. limit on the trek.

So no worries, right? Well, not quite. It turns out that the political situation in Nepal is deteriorating again. The Maoist Party instigated a bandh, or general strike, on May 1 demanding the resignation of the prime minister. The whole country is pretty much closed down -- shops are shuttered, no transporation, offices closed, roads blocked, ete.

Bandhs are pretty common in Nepal but normally last only a day or two. I think that they are often viewed as an unannounced holiday. This one is a little more serious. Food supplies are running short, tourists are having to walk to and from the airport, and the people are now starting to grumble about the disruptions.

So far it's been relatively peaceful and the parties are talking. No one is willing to give in yet. The Maoists are now allowing food deliveries for 4 hours each day but curfews have been imposed in some locations.

Santosh, a representative of the expedition company we are using, says that the bandh really hasn't been a problem for tourists so far. He says that the trek and marathon are on as scheduled and they will meet our flight on the 14th. Yeah, we'll see. I'd better be thinking of some contingency plans. If we can at least get a flight into Lukla, the start of the trek, we'll be out of the urban areas where most of the disruption is occurring.

All we have to do is get to Kathmandu. Not a problem for me. The Qatar Airways flights that I will be taking have been running pretty much on time. Gerry's flights, though, are another matter. He will be flying (hopefully) from Dublin to Manchester to Doha, where we will meet up. However, the Iceland volcano is acting up again and the airports in Ireland were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. He's keeping his fingers crossed that he'll make it out next Thursday.

Anyway, it's all part of the deal. It's the adventure before the adventure. Stay tuned.