Hi All,
Still living the dream.
This has been on our
china todo list for ages so we were really looking forward to finally
getting to the gorge. We headed to the gorge with a couple from the
Netherlands, lucy and eric, and a single English traveller, marieanne
all from the hostel. There were also a couple of Israeli´s travelling
with us.
It was a pleasant 2hr drive in a minivan to qiaotou the
starting point of the walk where we were dropped off. Unfortunately the
signs weren't clear (no existent) and our map was not detailed so after
guessing correctly to follow the road up the hill we missed the turn
off to the track only to be turned around by a couple of kind Chinese
farmers about 100m later. We still missed the turn a second time before
being pointed in the right direction. It was a bit of a climb but not
too bad and had nice views of the river below before heading toward the
gorge. The Israeli couple were struggling after a couple of hours and
after finding a village with a restaurant decided it was time for
lunch. The others also stopped but we decided to keep walking as there
was still another 4-5 hrs to the half way hostel. The walk got steeper
and we hit the notorious 28 turns which is a very steep and demanding
section of the walk. We bought a couple of overpriced mandarins from a
well located and enterprising local but declined on the mule ride and
the dope. Vanessa was sick and I was cranky by the time we reached the
top of the hill only to find that we had to head down again. The views
were excellent even though there was not much snow on the peaks.
Once
into this section the walk was relatively easy and the area was
remarkably like Nepal with villages every couple of kms each with jaw
dropping backgrounds.
It was quite a long walk and the hill climb
had sapped our energy so it was great to be rewarded with a deep gully
with a small bridge crossing and at the same time a shepherd was moving
a flock of goats across. For some reason it was captivating watching.
The scale of the chasm against the size of the goats. A set of white
dots on a dark grey canvas. On the other side we were met with gale
force winds which nearly knocked us from our feet which is quite
worrying considering the narrow path at the time was cut along a cliff
face. Fortunately there was a gutter which we climbed into to give a
sense of security and once around the edge it was again still. Stunning
views along the gorge, backdropped by rough mountains and into the
distance were snowcapped mountains. Stunning, stunning, stunning. Yes!
Still
we felt cheated. There were cars on the road and we could see traffic
far below. Why walk when you can drive? Often the reward is getting to
places that take effort and we just climbed a steep mountain only to
find we could have been dropped off on the other side.
It was
getting late in the afternoon and the hostel still wasn't in sight. The
track was poorly marked and often we had to make choices based on
hunches, other times we found faded red and yellow arrows and sometimes
just the hostel name. We were over walking by the time we got to the
halfway hostel but were pleasantly surprised when we got to the
courtyard. It was quite nice. We were expecting very basic. The hostel
in Lijiang had booked a couple of dorm beds for us but out of curiosity
I checked a basic room and found that it had stunning views of the
gorge and was only a little more expensive. I took the room it in a
flash then told Vanessa. Room 9. Wow. A couple of beds with electric
blankets, mains power and a room with plenty of airgaps. Not bad for 60
yuan. (approx. 10AUD)The room rattled as the wind ripping past as it travelled down
the gorge as we sat and looked out the window. What a reward for the
days effort! The was a deck on the roof called inspiration point. So
true as it looked over the impressive mountain range.
A french group were a few minutes behind us and they missed out on a room with a view as we beat them and then with a final burst of energy Vanessa beat them to a table with a view in the dining room. Bad luck...perhaps.
Our new friends still hadn't turned up and it was getting late but
we waited confident that at least Lucy and Eric would make it to hostel and then just as expected they did so we ordered dinner and had just finished when much to our surprise Marianne turned up and much later the israelis. The owner gave us a couple of rounds of home made rice wine to warm us up and even lit charcoal in a pot to warm Marianne.
We finished off our evening with some hot chocolate in matching red cups with hearts.
Next day.
A good start to the day with an 8am start and breakfast with Banana and honey pancakes.
Forgot to mention. The toilets. Loos with view. Squat and look out over the mountains and enjoy the cool breeze on your exposed skin.
Half way hostel is actually more like 3/4 way along the walk and it was an easy walk down to the road to the chaotic Tinas hostel, the place to arrange our ride back to Lijiang. It took some negotiation but we managed to arrange a van for 230pm giving us time to walk down to the bottom of the gorge and back. A very steep descent and climb back. We said goodbye to our israeli friends and headed off with some vague directions about a house at the end of the road. It turned out that this was indeed the start of the track and the owners, alerted by their chained angry dog, demanded a 10 yuan fee for maintenance of the track. Marie anne did not want to pay and headed back up to to Tinas to drink beer and read a book. We paid the fee (AUD1.5) each and headed down with Lucy and Eric. The path hugged a cliff and was steep and well maintained even if the safety rails were somewhat dodgy. Some were welded dog chains but they did the job!
We were almost to the top of the gorge and Vanessa caught up saying she had lost her necklace. It had happened quite a few time before with it falling into various parts of her clothing but this time it was gone. We looked at a photo taken at the bottom of the gorge and it was around her neck so it had to be somewhere inbetween our current location and the bottom but there was no not enough time to return to the bottom to find it as our minivan was due at 230pm. Goodbye silver inca calendar pendant from La Paz, Bolivia.
We had a quick meal before our ride turned up. We were relieved to be on our way as it was difficult to find transport. Our relief was short lived as we met a traffic jam of cars and soon found that there was a landslide ahead that was being cleared by plant equipment. The problem was that rubble was still coming onto the road and covering it almost as quickly as it was being cleared. It was astonishing to see 100s of rocks rolling down the hill and obviously quite dangerous. Eventually a few cars passed before the road was closed again and our driver called a friend and got a van on the other side of the landslide ready for us. The problem was getting to it. We waited for a break in the rolling rocks and started across only to be called back as another showed of rocks rolled down. The second attempt was better and we all got across safely. We got back to the start of the walk and (wheres wally) an unwell looking Australian and his friend who we picked up at Tinas guesthouse needed to pick up their backpacks then we arranged for the driver to take us back to Lijiang. It was a slow trip as the van was underpowered for the amount of westerners but we were just happy to get back. Our driver didn't know Lijiang but eventually we found a known point.
May had the best room for Vanessa and I back at the hostel in Lijiang and the shower was fantastic after our adventure. Thanks May!!!So good!
We met some really great people at the hostel. Yet another moment in time shared to cherish. We know that it isn't possible to keep in contact with all the people we meet. We are just glad to had met them and shared the experience. Sad again to leave.
Tomorrow we are off to Dali.
Still living the dream.
Bye,
David and Vanessa
