Our second week travelling through this beautiful and serene country has seen us further into the Eastern Part of the country and in the Wangdue Phodrang Valley. Here farmers still till the land by hand, growing Potatoes and Buck-wheat. A morning walk along the quiet valley road in the sun-light and mist of a cold winter’s dawn we encounter the local folks out working, milking their cows and gathering wood to stock the fires. As the sun gets up higher in the sky we observe whole families, young and old together working the fields, animated in their discussions and with laughter echoing across the valley. One morning we spot a group of the rare and endangered Black necked Cranes, a real treat indeed. Our group quietly walked across the edge of a newly ploughed field and clicked away, edging closer and closer. The remaining Cranes took off and then flew around the valley floor twice, right over our heads before heading off into the mountains…perhaps beginning their annual journey into Tibet. the local Bhutanese farmers never hurt these lovely creatures, just another part of the Buddhist way of life, they believe the Cranes bring them good luck and happily the numbers over recent years has seen a steady increase in overall numbers.