Arrival in Dhankuta

So yesterday we made the final leg of our trip. A 30 minute ish flt from KTM to Britnagar, then the 4 hour bus ride to Dhankuta. The bus ride is up and down a windy road built sometime in the 40's or 50's by the British army. It is considered one of the better roads in Nepal.  Although due to the terrain it is prone to landslides. In fact there had been a landslide 3 weeks prior to our arrival that took out a big chunk of the road. The diversion is through a river bed. If the road isn't repaired by the time of the next monsoons people may be locked in on the Dhankuta side of the road
Our driver was slower on the up hills then our previous drivers (motor troubles) but really fast and scary on the downhills to make up for time. Along the way we did pass a bad accident between a tractor and a motorbike. From what we were told there is no emergency service here, so survival from one of these bad accidents isn't good.

That was a sobering sight and our driver did slow down after that.

Finally we arrived in Dhankuta. We arrive to a welcome from the people of the area. dressed in their best. We were met by old friends from previous missions, lots of tears of joy, smiles and laughter.

Today we spent the day organizing the OR, PACU, and outpatient dept. Tomorrow surgery begins.

The internet is slow here so I will try to upload pictures later.