Part 149 - Me La to Shingbe: rain, valley notes, and missing mail

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SUMMARY:
A rainy, disappointing day with no views as yak men delayed and refused to go as far as Shingbe. The writer praises the valley between the Cho and the La for its floral richness, regrets not spending more time between there and Dongkar, and reports that by the 20th July none of their mail had reached Kumari Khata, including a post sent from Trashigang by the Dzongpen, possibly misrouted via Nerli. On 23rd August at Shingbe they halted to check and pack flowers and write letters for dispatch.

CONTENT:
Me La - Aug 22
Codonopsis sp. nov. 876
Cardamine macrophylla 877
Me La Aug 24

A most disappointing day. It rained steadily the whole day, we never had a view of the hills & glaciers at all. The yak men did not want to go as far as Shingbe & made a late start. The valley between the Cho & the La is one of the best we've seen anywhere. I believe had we spent all our time between here & Dongkar we would have got nearly every flower we have collected in all our wanderings. A few of the Sakden ones might not have been found, but there would have been others of the earlier flowers to make up for that. But it can't be helped now. Last night I made the rather unpleasant discovery that by the 20th July none of our mail sent off by us had ever reached Kumari Khata at all. As that includes a post from Trashigang when it was personally sent by the Dzongpen, it is rather unpleasant. What can have happened I do not know. He must have sent it to Nerli, but from there it has not been sent either.

23rd August. Halt Shingbe. Spent the day checking & packing up flowers & writing letters for a mail to be sent off tomorrow on the