Trek 2

Breakfast, and I use that term very loosely was Chinese style which for a lot of people consisted of 2 fried eggs and a coffee unless you like steamed seaweed or dumplings to help you start your day. Roll on Lunchtime!

Today (Tuesday) was yellow t-shirt day, the shirts were sponsored by Graeme and Janie Reid. A big thanks for that although we did look like a busload of canaries as we set off.

A 30 minute coach trip to the Dayingpan area of the Great Wall today and an absolutely stunning trek. The area we visited was largely untouched and is rarely visited. This was a massive difference from yesterday’s tourist spot and although this was a tough trek, the breathtaking views made it very worthwhile.

We got a family history from another of our tour guides, he informed us that he started talking at the age of 18 months, unfortunately for us it seems he hasn’t stopped since!

This section was built in 1520 during the Ming Dynasty and whilst it been untouched since then and generally in a state of disrepair, it was originally the benchmark section whereby soldiers were brought here to be shown the standard expected elsewhere. Despite being untouched it is still an imposing structure. We reached heights of 4500ft and were able to see the wall snaking through the vast countryside.

Locals talk about the wall being a Giant Dragon and this part is referred to as the Dragon with no Skin as through the decades the indigenous people have pillaged the stones to build homes and gardens.

Most people found today extremely tough going but ding ding (very very) good, We got four seasons of weather ranging from sun, strong winds, snow storms and very cold at times. We had a very steep climb across generally gravelly ground very uneven and definitely not fir for transport. We reached the wall after an hour and a half before climbing up one of the military entrances. You can tell these were made for Chinese people as they were very small.

This part of the wall is not for those vertigo as there are parapets on this section and too easy to fall over the side to a 60ft drop in places.

After a very strenuous walk we were ready for lunch, unfortunately today’s food didn’t really come up to scratch – Roll on Dinner!

The guys had a liquid lunch – soup and beer!