The rain continues....

We had been told be lots of people that it stops rainng in early September, and were kind of hanging our hopes on that, so the fact that we still get a storm most days is a bit disheartening, but at least it has cooled down a lot. Apparently this monsoon has been longer and more severe than most, and the saturated ground seems to have had enough.

There has been a spate of landslides just around Pokhara - at one point last week all three roads leading out of town were blocked. One community just near the lake to the West of town has had a terrible time, with what looked like half the hillside crashing down on them during the night. Five people were killed and many are homeless with livelihoods destroyed.

The next day was a shocking sight - the hilside strewn with boulders and trees where previously there had been well tended rice paddies. I felt very helpless watching people leaving what was left of their homes carrying all their possessions on their backs.

There has been a wave of conjunctivitis affecting lots of people, but so far we have been spared that. Evie has had a cold for the last week, but has stayed cheerful almost throughout. She now understands quite a lot of what you say, but not to the point of being able to make you a cup of tea or do anything useful. She is growing up frighteningly quickly: she came home from creche with painted nails the other day and apparently had a crush on a small boy at the swimming pool. I am scared, very scared!

Counting down the days until our first visitors arrive in early October...