Arrived in Kathmandu

It is now 8.45 am on Sunday 17th May, I arrived on Friday night and have just got the internet connection. It has been a very hectic time to organise the return to Nepal but I am so glad to be here at last. On the flight in from Delhi our flight was delayed to load on extra tents provided by India for the relief effort. Whilst flying over the area leading into Kathmandu I could clearly see the villages perched on the sides of the hills, but at each village from the air I could see a patchwork of orange rectangles. All these were tents where the villagers were sheltering. The airport was crammed with relief deliveries, and many military helicopters, osprey planes etc. from various countries. In yesterdays newspaper ( The Himalayan) they have reported finding the lost American Huey helicopter ( 8 crew and passengers killed) 10 miles north of Charikot. It went down during the second earthquake, which had its epicentre there. The old buildings in Kathmandu have been badly damaged. Many people are still sleeping in tents outside as we are still getting aftershocks. Yesterday I was sitting in my room when it felt as if someone was pushing and pulling the chair from side to side ( only lasted a few seconds but it was un-nerving). A Nepali friend told me that 5 aftershocks were recorded on the internet yesterday, I only felt 2 so maybe the rest were small.  Many rescue teams are still here , especially Chinese, Japanese and European groups.