4/27 -- Explore Gangtey

Three ladies hoeing their potato field, visible from our window
when we got up this mornng

We set out for the Gangtey Goepa Monastery, established in the 1600s on a local hill top. We visited with some of the monks and were taken into a back sanctuary with 995 5- or 6-inch tall statues of one of the reincarnations of the head of the monastery, each wrapped in a robe. There used to be 1000 of them, but when they were inventoried during the transition from one leader to the next, 5 were missing. We wondered about the robes and were told that the statues should not be naked in the presence of the Bhuddha statues (though my guess is that the statues were cast with clothing in the design) .

Scarecrow seen along the road to the monastery

Above and below: view of the village and farmland from the
monastery.

Most of the dogs here look uncared for, but this puppy seems
pretty happy/

Monastery and the small village below it.

Entry to the Monastery

One of the paintings in the entry.

A group of young monks we talked to.

A drain gargoyle

Then we had a chance to watch part of a service before walking down the mountain  towards the village. It was a pleasant hike, mostly downhill, and was designed to get us active at 9500+ feet to help us acclimate to the altitude.  We met the non-hiking folks at a little monastery and walked about 15 minutes to our bus, where we headed to lunch.

Ancient stupas as we started our walk.

Practicing using walking poles that I hope will help me go
uphill by supplementing leg strength with arm strength as
well as providing additional stability downhill.

Chimi with two local entrepreneurs who are searching for
rocks to heat hot stone baths, the local variation on hot tubs.

These little structures dot the landscape, where ever there is
running water. Inside is a large prayer wheel that is water
powered and strikes a bell each time it rotates.

Another old stupa

Three generations of women who are waiting for the local
version of a bus -- a truck comes by while we are chatting
and they depart.

The monastery we are hiking towards. We probably covered
3 miles altogether.

This type of design in prevalent and not
necessarily associated with sex. It is seen as
a good luck symbol and a way to ward off evil.
We will visit the Fertility Temple tomorrow and
learn more about it.

 After lunch, we visited the Black Necked Crane Center. This valley is a major nesting place for these beautiful birds, which are considered vulnerable. They summer in Tibet, and we missed their out-migration by a couple weeks. Before going into the center, we encountered a volunteer from Texas who introduced us to Karma, a black crane that was found badly injured in January last year, probably due to a feral dog. Karma is no longer able to fly, though there is some talk of raising money to get a US veterinarian to repair her injured wing. Because the center was not set up for rescue, they had to quickly build an enclosure and now are trying to raise $20,000 to build a proper aviary. They also have a promise from a group in the US that breed Black Necked Cranes that when there is better housing, they will breed a companion for Karma and send it to Bhutan. Even if Karma could fly, she is too accustomed to people and the other cranes rejected her when they tried to reintroduce her to the flock last fall. Since cranes can live 30 to 40 years, giving her a companion seems like a good plan. 

In the center, we learned that the cranes are called Birds  of Heaven by the local people and are considered omens of good fortune. This year, they counted over 450 cranes in this valley and a total of 555 in Bhutan.

Next, we drove down into the area of farms in the village and 6 of us set out to meet local people while the others retired to the hotel. Chimi saw three women  hoeing the potato fields and yelled up to them to see if we could visit. Soon, we were standing in the field, trying our hands at hoeing and talking to them about their lives. They are cousins, two of whom never married. We asked who would take care of them in their old age, and they said the children of their siblings would help. Then the owner of the home we were next to invited us into her house and we spent about 30-45 minutes learning about her, seeing her house, and answering questions about our lives.

Our farmers. Potatoes are a primary crop here due to the
elevation and shorter growing season. Potatoes are a cash
crop and are hauled to the south border for sale.

Lloydene and Jim try hoeing. Lloydene grew up on a farm
and was pretty good at it.

Our host's farmhouse. As you can see, the architecture is
similar to the rest we have see but simpler.

Our host and her granddaughter (in bed) who is trying to warm
up. The walls of the house are less substantial than they first
appear, there is no insulation and occasional gaps where daylight
is visible. Winter here is harsh. It must be like living outdoors
only with protection from the wind. This room is also used
as their bedroom because it is the kitchen and is warmer.

The main living space.

Bedroom space, primarily for guests.

Supplemental kitchen storage in the living room. All very neat,

An entire room the size of the bedroom is dedicated to the
home's shrine.

Then it was back to the bus for our ride to the hotel, for rest, fire-starting, and dinner.