Goecha-La Trek Day One

After searching the various tour operators out of Gangtok we finally found an outfit that offered a desirable rate and level of experience-Blue Sky Tours and Treks. On Sunday, April 17 we rode in a rented Jeep with Topden, our guide, to the village of Yuksam, the first capital of Sikkim. Once again, the journey was hair-raising and we amused ourselves by reading the various road signs: "Where Eagles Dare," "Life is Short Enough, Don't Make it Shorter," and "Thanks" were some favorites. Outside of Geyzing we stopped at a Bon monastery where we found a novice monk of six or seven napping in a garden. Topden pointed out Tashiding, the holiest monastery in Sikkim, atop a perfect conical mountain. The ride also involved a punctured front tire which was repaired somewhat hastily with some kind of bamboo stick and a piece of cloth, but the stop allowed the Bear a chance to snap pictures of a terrace crop of barley and an adorable little boy who seemed intrigued by us. Once we arrived in Yuksam, a lovely and misty village that smells of fresh grass and offers sound effects of goats, roosters, cows and ponies, we ate at Gupta's, apparently a popular trekkers' haunt. We slept in Demazong Hotel, where the Bear was unhappy to find a spider the size of my hand and insisted in spraying the perimeter of our separate beds with Deet. Luckily, the night was uneventful and we awoke without any spider bites. =)