THE GREAT WALL

We hiked the Great Wall of China today, and the weather and scenery and entire experience was perfect. It was unbelievable! We signed up for the tour on Friday, and by Saturday (yesterday) all reports said rain all day Sunday and Monday. We were disappointed and worried that we wouldn't get a good day, but we got the total opposite. They need to fire the weather guy because it was a cloudless, 80-something degree day with a beautiful breeze.

It began early at around 6:00, and we and the two Australian women were picked up in a 15 passenger van and we cruised around to other local hostels until it was full. After about 3 other stops we were full and we ate the crappiest Egg McMuffins we've ever had. Definitely had been sitting around a little too long. Anyways, we seemed to be on our way when suddenly we pulled over and the driver simply pointed and said "your bus". Wait, I thought we were on our bus? We transferred over and suddenly our group of 15 turned into a group of 37. We gained a professional tour guide and we were (finally) on our way. At first I felt apprehensive because there were so many of us. There are 37 people on one bus, how many buses would be there? This was supposed to be the more remote and quieter section of the wall. I let it go, and started to drift back to sleep, hoping to skip most of the 3 hour ride. It was a good thing I didn't, because as we approached Jinshanling, the landscape was astonishing. The mountains were massive, jagged, lush green, and the complete opposite of the smoggy cities we had began to assume China was all about. And then we saw it. For about the last half an hour of driving we saw the wall winding its way along the backbones of the mountains. It really had no end. As we approached closer, or guide reminded us about the age, scope, size, and amount of work it took to build the wall. For hundreds of years people slaved away in this unforgiving environment. Many people died helping to create the Wall, so many, our guide pointed out, that it could be considered the world's longest cemetery. The very people who helped create the brick and mortar helped to fill the earth underneath it. The size is simply stunning, and not really comprehensible. She again noted that if you took all the building materials from the Wall, and reorganized them into a 5 meter tall, 1 meter wide wall, you could encircle the Earth. It's a mind boggling achievement.

We arrived and saw a small parking lot with only a few cars and one other bus. The sky was blue, without a single cloud, and the temperature was just right. Can I just say it one more time? It was perfect! We were given the choice of hiking to the top to get to the wall, or taking a gondola. Now, you know us, we're all for hiking, but we were given a strict 3 hour time limit and the gondola was cheap. We chose to ride up it to save time and energy. Who wants to get to the top tired and sweaty while (more importantly) wasting an hour of precious time? The ride also gave us a chance to soak in some of the gorgeous scenery. We arrived at the top, and there we were, in the middle of it all along the Great Wall. Talk about a surreal, unbelievable feeling! With something this famous, this talked about, and this photographed, it's almost impossible to realize that you're actually there, walking along, living the dream.

We spent about 3 hours on the Wall, making it from the entrance of Jinshanling to the Corner Tower. The Corner Tower was at the top of the highest peak in this stretch and is where the wall rode the spine up one side and turned a new direction down the other side. From here we were fortunate to be able to see for miles in every direction. We could see the Wall wind its way through the mountains all the way to the horizon, maybe 40 or 50 miles each way. The half destroyed, unrestored tower we took our break in was amazing. It was too bad each one was filled with a Chinese local trying to sell you water, beer, or souvenirs. It definitely broke the silence. We were steadfast and said no to all of them right from the beginning, and watched as those who said yes once not be left along for the rest of the day. At the time, it felt as though 3 hours could never be enough, but as we neared the end, we found a sense of relief as we hiked our tired, soon-to-be sun burnt bodies down off the wall. We both doused on SPF 50 at the start, but that was beginning to get wiped away easily.

We walked back to the gondola, which gave us about 15 minutes to reflect on what just happened. As we floated down the mountain, we looked back a few times and shook our heads in disbelief. We looked at each other and understood without speaking that we just shared another amazing experience...together. I am so glad I have Dani. I am so thankful we can share life's adventures together. I never would've believed that I would be doing this. Dani empowers me, she makes me stronger and more confident with every adventure we share together. We have so much fun, and are always on the same wavelength. Now we will spend one more day together in China, and move on to the next adventure in Mongolia on Tuesday. I can't wait!