Unlike yesterday, which was rainy and gray, we woke up this morning to beautiful skies and very pleasant weather.

After breakfast, we headed to visit Chime Lhakhang, a Buddhist Monastery, which was named after a very eccentric Buddhist holy man, known to be a womanizer and very irreverent. Often called the “divine madman”, legend says that he slayed a demon in the region with his phallus. Drawings and statues of his “thunderbolt of power” (you figure it out) are everywhere, and it is a place for women who are having a problem getting pregnant to visit and pray – enough said.

To get to Chime Lhakhang, we walked through a couple of rural villages. The village of Sopsokha was a cluster of homes, dirt paths, wandering animals and simple shops surrounded by farm terraces. In Sopsokha, we stopped and visited a farmhouse of one of the local families. Large and brightly painted on the outside, but rough and basic on the inside. With wooden floors, sparse wooden furniture, bedrooms with curtain covered doorways, a kitchen, and like all houses, a family shrine. When we first entered the home, no one was there, but our guide assured us that we were expected, Soon we were joined by a little girl, then her mother, and finally the grandmother of the house. It was very interesting, as we were able to ask questions and to see how typical rural families live in Bhutan.

After about a 30 minute walk, we finally arrived at Chime Lhakhang, where there were many young Monks on the grassy yards sitting in groups learning various subjects. Some were learning to play the various musical instruments used in ritual worship, like the Rag-Dung (a telescoping horn) or Tibetan flute. Younger boys were learning English. Interesting to see real life activities going on. After a quick tour through the temple, we moved on to our next location.

Next we visited the Sangchen Dorji Lhundrup Choeling Buddhist College for Nuns. The College was fairly new, but the girls were funny, and the hilltop location afforded beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, especially the line of snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas. We wandered the grounds and headed down to the town for Lunch. We ate at the Friends Bar and Restaurant, which offered food, buffet style and was good for the area.

After lunch, Michael went river rafting down the Mo Chu (Mother river) with Tandin, our guide and Jane and Yvonne from our group. Belinda returned to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation. The trip was nice, as the rapids were fairly easy (grade 1 or 2). Overall the float lasted for about 2 hours through the beautiful mountain scenery of Bhutan. We floated by the Punakha Dzong, and where the Mo Chu and Pho Chu join together to become the Puna Tsang River. It was a fabulous experience.

Back to the hotel for dinner and repacking our stuff for our long drive to Paro tomorrow.