High in the Mountains

This was the vantage point near the beginning of the 12 km hike to villages surrounding Sapa.
Fellow trekkers---Ed, Phu from Viet Nam, Bernard from Australia, Natalie from San Diego (one of the few Americans I have met) and Laura from Spain

Where the going got rough for these old bones.

Like the Hotel California "what a lovely place" is Sapa. From almost any viewpoint in the town which is situated atop a medium size mountain there are soaring peaks or sweeping valleys. From here you can see southeast Asia's answer to Mount Everest which is called Mount Fanispan.

Yesterday I joined and organized trekking expedition which was a hike of about 12 km down the valley, alongside the waterway and back up, during which we visited villages of 2 different minorities as the indigenous people are called. We saw the black Hmoung (so called because they wear all black heavily embroidered with colored thread and adorned with silver) and the red Tzai (red head scarves). The agent booking my tour advised it was of medium difficulty and I was confident that I was in shape for it. Well, the other 5 people on the tour were in their 20's and 30's and it was definitely a challenge to keep up. I did pretty well however I struggled as we hiked a narrow path between the terrace of rice fields and the beautiful crystalline stream which waters the paddies. By the end of the hike my shoes were pretty muddy so I left them with one of the many services here which clean and dry shoes overnight. I am pleased they look like new now.

I have another self guided hike planned for today which sounds pretty steep and I will take 2 preparatory Alleve. Going up while more difficult is easier than descending which can be pretty painful in these old knees. The views are supposed to be spectacular.

The day time temperatures are very pleasant and the nights are chilly. As tonight is my last night I hope not to buy any more warm clothes since I do not expect to need them in other places on this trip, however Saturday nights in Sapa are famous for the "love market" where locals come to court villagers from all around. I doubt that I will fall in love and I hope I resist the temptation to add more to my travel wardrobe.