Good walk today, took the time to go steady and take pics, which was nice (so far have been more engrossed in the challenge and getting to the front where possible, shame as you miss so much doing it this way). Saw our first sheep of the trip being sheared (those with handlers using shearing scissors looked far more comfortable than those whose handlers had chosen a big knife for the job!!) As we got further towards the village saw lots of bamboo trees (huge) and then got to the village of Karuna, a typical Gurung village with about 25 neatly built houses. Apparently in this village, most husbands are working abroad so all the remaining villagers (mainly women and children) have to do is grow and cultivate enough food for the village. With the absence of husbands for long periods, it is typical for wives to find a new man and abandon the marriage in favour of a new suitor - harsh but fair I feel!! The land we camped on is owned by a man who has properties in the UK and NZ so donates rental money to the village also. You could tell a few tourists had been here before us as the second we arrived, the children barely said Namaste before demanding chocolate, pens and money - such a shame as they don't need it and it had an impact on the enjoyment of the visit. After settling into camp we had a village tour, again accompanied by the village children demanding treats, although they did give a few people some flowers they had picked which was sweet, then back to the tents to play cards (Sarah in the group has taught us several card games, all called 7's, so asking to play a round of 7's could mean any number of different possibilities!) Great fun and managed to consume number 206 of the 400 packets of Tesco dried roasted peanuts Trudy and Simon had brought on the trip, having experienced trekking food on previous holidays, they had decided to come prepared! Evening meal was a triumph, pizza, chips and curry sauce (we had been craving pizza all week) then into the village for the cultural dance - which actually turned out to be more of a school disco affair, where girls were "encouraged"/pushed onto the dance floor by friends and relatives, then stood looking nervous until they plucked up the courage to make up a dance to whatever was playing. We joined in a bit but left them to it as it seems this is the last night for the porters who basically get wasted on Roxy, home brewed alcohol (tastes like ditch water) and dance with the local girls - I say dance, a few were seen heading off into the night together- no wonder they were intent on having a decent wash (the first one) when we arrived!! Ended the night being given a scarf and having red paint dabbed on our foreheads for good health and well being.....