Emily and Lisa are currently in Charikot to pick up specific fittings and piping and to contact other mentors using WiFi to go over our designs.
The water testing however, goes on! I will elaborate in later posts, but part of the responsibilities on this trip is testing water quality around Kalinchok. Daniel was feeling sick so we (Abbie and James) set out with Bhupal to continue the testing.
Bhupal has not been feeling 100% lately so we took the hike very slow. We traveled to old Ward 9 for the first site, where we had to wait for a woman to finish bathing to test the flow rate.
After completing testing at the first site, we continued upwards from Ward 9 into the jungle. The trail was narrow, overgrown, and slippery, but fun to hike nonetheless. As we carefully made our way further into increasingly dense jungle, we had no idea what was in store for us just minutes ahead.
Approaching a clearing, we began to hear the sound of rushing water. Bhupal notified us that the next site was very close, and as we emerged onto smooth, rocky ground we were met with the most beautiful waterfall either of us has ever seen.
The scene could only be described as idyllic. The water flowed down from the waterfall towards another cliff, looking out from which one could see the entire Kalinchok valley. Water testing takes 30 minutes, but we stayed there for an extra 15 to take in the sights.
Sadly, two more sites awaited us, and we were forced to move on. The third site was a similarly beautiful stream through the jungle, and the last brought us to a small grouping of houses some distance above the school. As we waited for the growth medium to solidify, the homeowners cooked us some delicious noodles, which raised our energy and spirits alike for the hike back down.
Water testing is nearly complete, and after today’s events that’s fine because we’ve probably peaked. Despite this, we are looking forward to continuing with this part of the trip as well as beginning construction on its main focus, the tap stand.
-Abbie and James
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