Fantastic creatures and where to find them – Yeti

It’s time to get cold …

For several months I sat quietly in the office of the Last Tavern, disturbing no one, and did my chores politely. I was hoping that Aga, busy with the company’s affairs, and Ola, forgot about me during the wedding fever, and I would not have to wander the world in search of more cryptids. Of course, peace cannot last forever. One beautiful morning, I entered my office, and there was already a sheepskin coat, pants and snowshoes waiting for me.

– It’s good that you are! Agnieszka said to me, suddenly materializing in the doorway.

– The heating broke? – I replied, glancing at the boss, at the things on my desk.

– Fortunately not. It’s time for you to go in search of the next mythical creature.

– Well, in this outfit, you probably send me to the Himalayas – I just rolled my eyes.

– That’s right! You are scheduled to interview Yeti! Agnieszka beamed, recognizing that I knew in advance where I was going.

“But I’ll freeze over there!” – I shouted indignantly. Probably everyone in the editorial office realized how cold I am. Anyway, even Agnieszka often complained that in my office it was like a sauna, and paying bills for my heating the editorial office would eventually go bankrupt.

A malicious smile appeared on Agnieszka’s face.

– Oh, didn’t Bartek teach you how to warm up during the previous trip? Because he is warm so far …

I already knew I was in a losing position. I sighed heavily and started trying on the sheepskin coat.

Himalayas! Here i come!

Finding Yeti seemed like an extremely difficult task. It was much easier to meet Chupacabra, who lived near the town of Moca, and Loch Ness seemed easier to search than wandering around the Himalayas. This mountain range is over 2,500 km long and 250 km wide. It goes through Pakistan, China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. In addition, there is a lot of climbing there, because most of the peaks there are over 8,000 m above sea level. As you know, there is also Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. To walk through such a vast area and find a creature in it that might not even exist was almost a miracle. But what is not being done for the Last Tavern! Undaunted by anything (except perhaps the cold), I took up the challenge. I started my search from the place in which reportedly in April 2019 the Indian army encountered the footprints of the Snow Man, i.e. from the Makalu Barun National Park. It is located in the north-eastern part of Nepal, and was founded in 1991. Its highest peak is Makalu, which measures 8,463 m above sea level. You can find tropical and alpine plants here, but there are also bare rocks. However, I did not come here to admire rhododendrons or orchids (Makalu Berun has 25 kinds of the former and 47 kinds of the latter), but to find Yeti. To this end, I talked to the locals who are used to visiting tourists. Every year over 500,000 people come to Nepal. guests! They are mainly mountaineers who want to reach the highest peaks in the world. There are also hunting enthusiasts for the Snow Man. Nepalese people had different approaches to my requests to tell me something about Yeti. A few laughed at me, others, with horror in their eyes and half-whisper, told me to change the object of interest, but I did and many people believed that the creature really exists. But I still didn’t know where to start my search. Finally I started towards the mountains, in a completely random direction. On the snow trail, I had to cross the rope bridge. I tried to walk carefully and not swing it too much, but the ropes didn’t hold out anyway and I fell down. Already life flashed before my eyes, and my thoughts were in Valhalla when I suddenly landed in quite soft and warm paws. I was held by an almost two-meter long, heavily built creature. He had a conical head and his body was covered with thick, thick, light brown fur. He looked a bit like a gorilla, but it was definitely not. He bared his fangs at me and said:

– Mr. Markiewicz from the Last Tavern? Mrs. Agnieszka said that the Lord would come over. I didn’t expect it to be so literally.

At this point, I wasn’t thinking that I might have died or that the creature might eat me. Even the fact that I had just met Yeti, who was holding me in his arms, ceased to matter. The only question that circulated in my mind was “how does the Snow Man know Polish?”

Visiting the Snow Man

Before we started the interview, we went to the place where Yeti lives. Unfortunately, the Snow Man stipulated in the contract that we must not disclose exactly where this place is. All I can say is that it is a cave in the Himalayas, that I warmed up in it by the fire, and that on the way I had to jump on my interlocutor’s back several times and be carried, because I would never have climbed that high myself.

– Since we’re there and I’m not freezing anymore, why don’t we start the interview? – I suggested, taking off my gloves and warming myself up by the fire – Best from the beginning.

– From the beginning? So we have to go back to 1832. Although my ancestors lived in the Himalayas much earlier, then we only showed ourselves to the locals. So few people knew about our family. And it was supposed to stay that way. However, an argument with the Nepalese people made them spread about us to the world. No matter who started or what went. The important thing is that they started calling us “Yeti”, which in their language means “nasty, hideous”. Unpleasant nickname, huh?

My interlocutor smiled at me. I guess he got used to the nickname over the years and didn’t blame anyone for being called that anymore. I just nodded my head and asked immediately:

– What about 1832?

– Oh yes, I got off track. It was then that the natives were leading an Englishman named Hodgson through the Himalayas. They then decided to reveal the truth about the existence of my ancestors. To add drama, at the agreed sign they scattered, shouting that “the ape is coming.” Of course, no one in my family was there, and Mr. Hodgson admitted truthfully that he hadn’t seen any of the creatures. However, he was intrigued by this story, he found out about our existence, and the rumor quickly spread around the world. Although we wanted to quiet it down, more and more people traveled through the mountains and every now and then someone claimed to have seen Yeti. Finally, my great-grandfather, in 1913, wanted to solve the matter, go out to people, say that we are not dangerous, but …

Here my interlocutor bowed his head. The words stuck in his throat, and a tear ran down his hairy face. For a moment I didn’t know what to do, but finally I walked over, handed him a handkerchief, and, standing on my tiptoes, patted the hairy shoulder.

– Relax, if you don’t want to, we can not talk about it. Or make an appointment for another day. – I smiled amiably at the Snow Man.

– No, no, let’s get it over with – Yeti blew his nose into my handkerchief, wiped his eyes and continued – But he found not very friendly Chinese hunters. Instead of talking to him, they shot him, tied him up, and deported him to Patang, Xingjiang Province, north of Tibet. There my grandparents were kept in a cage for five months, then unfortunately he died. Thanks to the chaos caused by the revolution in China, we managed to steal his body. We also decided not to show ourselves to people anymore. But sometimes it’s harder said than done. Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury saw my family in 1921, and NA Tombazi of the Royal Geographic Society four years later. In 1938, my uncle noticed a Captain d’Auvergne of the Victoria Museum in Chowringhee on the hillside. He was badly injured and would probably freeze in here. Despite the harm done to our family by the Chinese, my uncle could not leave him there. He took the man to a cave and nursed him for several months. Later, it was he who talked about what exactly the representatives of our species look like. In 1942, when I was still a child, we also rescued a group of people who had escaped from the gulag, headed by a Pole, Witold Giliński. It was then that I learned a bit of Polish. Later this story was appropriated by Sławomir Rawicz, whom I never met. However, he described it in a book Witold Giliński at the helm. It was then that I learned a bit of Polish. Later this story was appropriated by Sławomir Rawicz, whom I never met. However, he described it in a book Witold Giliński at the helm. It was then that I learned a bit of Polish. Later this story was appropriated by Sławomir Rawicz, whom I never met. However, he described it in a bookLong march . Since the 1950s, there have been countless missions to find me and my family. I will not list them all because we would run out of time. But I will mention two millionaires, Tom Slick and Kirk Johnson, who spent a lot of money searching and only got a few hairs and the footprint of one of my aunts. After a while, it even started to amuse us. That’s why we got filmed in 1979. Because we liked the Poles, they got the opportunity to make a historical discovery. Jerzy Surdel became the first person to immortalize me on film!

– Now I understand how you know the Polish language. – I smiled at my interlocutor – what about further events?

The Snow Man only waved his paw.

– There is not much to talk about. More expeditions, photos, rumors and collecting evidence. It is impossible to list all those who went this way. Usually, however, they collected random “evidence of the existence of Yeti” and flew off to brag about this world. Later it turned out to have the blood or hair of deer, bear, tapir, dog, cow and even other people.

The Snow Man laughed heartily, and I smiled too. I imagined excited seekers running to the labs, where it turns out that they had collected their own hair that had been lost earlier. Yeti, meanwhile, returned to the story.

– From the interesting and slightly newer stories, I will only mention two scammers from the USA, Whitton and Rick Dyers, who even called a press conference to show the body of Yeti. Suddenly they changed their mind and decided they had to be paid first. Funny guys. In 2014, I in turn tossed a polar bear hair to one group! But there was confusion when prof. Sykes revealed it to the world, and suddenly everyone wondered where the polar bear came from in the Himalayas. The latest news are those from the Indian army who even posted photos with my traces on Instagram. True, I forgot to hide them – the Snow Man nodded his head a bit embarrassed.

Time to relax

Of course, Yeti, like Nessie and Chupacabra, didn’t let me leave the cave until we watched movies about him. Surprisingly, even at an altitude of 5000 m above sea level, you can install a home theater. We started with one of the newest productions, O Yeti! . Later we also watched an episode of Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes , where Duffy and Bugs dealt with the Snowman. There were also the Mission Yeti , goosebumps , episode of Doctor Who , Monkey Boy , Rage Yeti , Yeti: Lethal feet or even the Werewolf and the Yeti. There were many more films, but there was not enough time. So my interlocutor lifted me from the peaks and left me in the area where I fell into his hands.

Before going home …

After returning to the village, I decided to complete one more tradition that broke into my travels, so take advantage of the hospitality of the Nepalese people and eat some local delicacies. I started with the number one dish – Dal Bhat Tarkari – rice, lentil sauce and curry vegetables. Everything was served on a special plate with compartments for the individual ingredients of the dish. In Nepal, it is very often served for breakfast. Then I tasted Momo, the Tibetan meat dumplings. I wished to serve them in hot sauce, which turned out to be almost lethal. But as I love spicy dishes – I was delighted. The dumplings were also served with achar, i.e. pickled vegetables in lime juice, garlic and chili. There was also a corpse – a special thick noodle soup. I was offered a beer made of fermenting millet called tongba to drink, or rice vodka, or raksi, but I preferred yak butter tea and lassi. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink the famous dog’s stock, but the drink made of curdled milk mixed with fruit (e.g. pineapple or mango) and sugar. I was able to return to Poland with a full belly.

Agnieszka greeted me in the office:

– It’s good that you are. Pack your bags, it’s time for another trip.

– Again? I just got back… ”I winced a bit.

– There is nothing to take breaks. Yeti called. His cousin is jealous and wants an interview too! Aga said excitedly, leaving the office.

– Wait, but where should I go? What cousin? I stopped her, grabbing her arm.

– You do not guess? – she smiled at me with pity – of course the USA! Bigfoot is waiting for you!