Woke up this morning at 6:30 and packed up my stuff and got ready.   We had breakfast of porridge, boiled egg and a Swiss roll type thing with dried fruits and nuts.   After breakfast we set out, up a hill to Markha village and the monastery.  We carried on through more impressive landscape until we reached a monastery high up on a steep hill.  Climbed to the top and got some good photos of the surrounding area.   Then made my way back down.   We then carried on and stopped for tea at a nice tea tent.   Had some tea and then continued on.   Lots of great scenery and colors.   The wheat is golden yellow, there’s green grass, red rocks and the blue sky.  Another fairly warm day today.  We then came to a river area where we had to cross the river with our wet shoes.   Went fairly smoothly!   Later on I came to another river, unsure of which way to take as there was a path upwards, which appeared to be blocked by 4 donkeys, a path across the river and maybe some room alongside the river on the rocks.   The guide was up ahead trying to motion the correct choice but it was to far away to see.   He ran over and said the part alongside the river was the way.   Made it through and carried on.   Came to another section where we were creeping along a very nartow, soft and crumbly ledge above the river – definitely the scariest part yet!   Managed to make it across and to the lunch spot at an eco cafe.   Had our lunch and relaxed before carrying on to visit a school in the area.    We then carried on up a steep hill to an area where there appeared to be another monastery further up on a pinacle.  May have just been ruins so we didn’t stop there.   Carried in through some farm fields and had a dicey river crossing over some rocks.   Got a foot wet but managed not to fall in!  Carried on more until we reached our camp site,  which, again, has some impressive views. There are also a number of pikas (little groundhog type animals that live in holes in the ground).  I had spotted another one earlier but it was a different type.   Spotted two standing up wrestling on the way into camp and managed to get a photo.  Set my sleeping bag up and then took some photos of the sunset.   Played a bit of cards before dinner.   For dinner we had tomato soup,  rice with vegetables,  green peppers,  some other Indian vegetable and dal.   We then had apple fritters for dessert.  Played more cards after dinner and am just getting my blog done now at 10:20 – the latest night on the trek so far.   Time for bed! 

Woke up this morning around 6, a bit before the tent tea wake up call set 6:15.  Got my stuff organized and cleaned up before the breakfast gong.   Had some toast,  Indian bread, rice pudding and cheese omelet for breakfast.   As we were getting ready to go I noticed my camera battery was dead,  changed it with the one in my day pack,  which was also dead.   Managed to run to my tent and get a couple spares from my main bag.   Very glad I checked the camera as today is supposed to be one of the most scenic days!  We headed out of the campsite and into the Markha river valley.   The scenery was stupendous and one could barely walk 10 feet without wanting to take more photos. The sun was very strong and I remembered at a stop to put some sun screen on my hands as I think they got a bit of a burn from yesterday.  We carried on through the valley,  up along the banks of the river on little paths cut into the sides.  We stopped for a tea break at a nice tea tent with a big green lawn.   Had some tea and relaxed for a bit. We then carried in for another hour until our lunch stop at another tea tent.   This one was also nice although there were a number of wasps flying around, which seemed to get worse after lunch when tea was served.   We had some soup,  mixed peas and potatoes,  a cheese slice, some Indian bread and some beans.  After lunch we carried on through the valley.   There was a bit of a scare when a herd of blue sheep, high up on the ledge, started some rocks falling, one which landed not far from me as we were backtracking.   Luckily our guide noticed the dust high up on the cliff and had is go back.   After the herd moved on, we carried on winding up and down alongside the river.  Crossed a few dodgy looking bridges, which were often in some kind of weird angle.   They seemed stable enough… and were better than having to take off our boots and wade through. I saw a number of little lizards -1 managed to get photos of the green ones but the orange and yellow one was more elusive.  Finally arrived in our camp which is surrounded by the valley sides.   The Markha village is above our camp, which we will pass through tomorrow.   Had our tea outside on the grass and relaxed for a bit.  For dinner we had chicken soup,  papadom, pizza,  chips,  cauliflower and a salad with carrots, cucumber and tomato.   There was some fruit salad for dessert.   Played a few rounds of cards and then headed to bed to write up my blog.  Lengthy walk today but the scenery was amazing.   Time for bed now as tomorrow sounds like it will be a long day as well.