Update: Day 28

We spent our final day resting for our flight back to the US. Most of us slept in and ate a late breakfast at our hotel. For lunch, we went to an Internet cafe and did a little work on the blog. Some of us bought gifts for our friends and family, in Paro. We returned to the hotel to pack our bags for an early flight out of Bhutan. After packing, we played volleyball with the hotel employees. Tonight, we begin preparing ourselves for adjustment to US timezones. We've come full circle, returning to the place we began our journey. It's hard for us to believe that we landed here a month ago. We're all eager to go home and see our family and friends but we will miss the sprawling mountains of the land of the thunder dragon. We hope to revisit our Bhutanese friends one day.

Update: Day 27

Today, we climbed the Tiger's Nest. The Tiger's Nest is a temple that is treacherously built into the side of a mountain. We had to wake up at five to beat the sun. The whole hike was about two hours. On our way up the mountain we got great views of Paro below us. The trail was very steep and fresh mud covered the trail because of heavy rain the previous night. When you finally reach the top, you get an amazing view of the temple and the trail below. To reach the temple, you must climb down a staircase that is no more than two feet wide. On your sides are 300 foot drops down to the forest below. Our guide told us that we had to move quickly because rocks would fall from the cliffs above us. Next to the Tiger's Nest was an impressive waterfall that sprayed you with mist as you passed underneath it. Upon reaching the temple we were denied entry into the temple. Since we knew it would be hot during the hike, we all wore shorts. Unfortunately, to enter the temple, you need pants. We ended having to put on two pairs of pants and entering the temple in pairs. Photography was prohibited in the temple so we were required to leave all electronics behind. Inside the temple, there were 9 shrines to pray in. The craftsmanship of the shrines was absolutely amazing. Many monks and Bhutanese nationals prayed at the shrines. Most of us were quite unfamiliar with the prayers and had no idea what to do. Students from Tenzin HSS had joined us on the hike that day and explained the prayers to us. Some had brought food as a gift to their god. We visited the shrines and then began our descent. The descent was obviously much quicker than the ascent. We ended getting down in about an hour. By the end of the hike we were all very tired and spent the rest of the day resting at our hotel.