Nov 15 - Tengboche

Today we walked over from Phortse to Tengboche where the Mani Rimdu festival was in full swing. We arrived around noon after a 90 minute walk that started with a 900 ft descent and ended with an ascent of roughly the same. We watched a 45 minute performance by a monk dressed as an old man. He pulled a tourist from the crowd and started using him in various ways such as a yak, a bell-ringer, a crowd-scarer and a cook. The local children were very entertained. We then ate at a bakery and chatted with some folks from Boulder who were working at a medical clinic further up the valley near Everest. Back to the monastery for several dances and then dinner at our teahouse before returning one more time to the monastery to see some Sherpa dances and then to bed in our teahouse. Here is a photo from the "old man" comedic portion of the dances at the monastery. Yes, the two participants are other trekkers!