| Jon and I have had two good weeks along the Great Wall with many good experiences. Jon took a plane from Beijing to Scotland last night and will be back home soon.The last couple of weeks, water has become the most important issue. The more mountainous region we have hiked through is not so highly populated. Also, it is getting hotter and hotter almost by the day. A few days we have carried five to six litres of water and Ice Tea which has been our treat.Although I’ve tried to use Chinese sun cream with factor 30, my nose is burnt and dry.My ankle is complaining now and again. Although I have not written a lot about it, I think it potentially can become a problem. I sprained it a couple of years ago and it doesn’t seem to have healed properly or completely. The ankle hurts a bit after a day with walking, particularly in the area that it was sprained.I suppose the ankle will either get better as time goes on, or worse. There are still about ten months left of the trip and the sections ahead are a lot more hilly, so I’m hoping for a slow recovery.It is strange to sit here and write this two week status report, because it seems like only a few days since last time. The days and weeks are starting to flow quickly and luckily it looks like the kilometres are also adding up.For those of you that have clicked the logo on the top of the page, you will see that the donation part has been updated! It is now possible to donate money to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The set target for this walk is $25.000, and I really hope to reach it!! I will be writing more about this soon. |
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The biggest challenge the next two weeks will be to live (or should I say survive) without Jon. It is always a luxury to be two people on a trip like this and that luxury has just left the country.Since Jon left Gansu a few days ago, things seem to be going OK and I have a LOT more incentive to study Chinese now. Hopefully I’ll be able to make myself understood and understand more of what others are saying and asking.The next two weeks, I will be monitoring the ankle carefully. I will start each day walking slower than I would like, just to warm it up gradually. The walking sticks are great for stabilizing myself when walking on the ridge of the Great Wall and when climbing up and down the many small valleys formed by erosion.The SUN is becoming a bigger problem now. In about a week it will be at it’s strongest with regards to UV rays. I bought some Nivea sun cream and hope it works properly. My lips are really dry and sore, and my nose is tanned… Although it has been hot the last two weeks, I know that there is more and hotter weather on it’s way.The heat makes everthing harder and slower. One needs more water and it takes more energy and discipline to take photographs. A few days ago I took a break in the middle of the day, but there were no trees or shade in which to take refuge from the sun, so I ended up holding the umbrella the whole time. Not very comfortable. |
Hei Robert!
Det må være en stor overgang å gå videre uten broren din! Man er jo alltid sterkere sammen. Håper du får gått dagene inn i en god rutine allikevel. Også spennende med ankelen din. Sikkert greit å ta det litt pent. Du hadde vel i utgangspunktet ikke smerter, så det er vel aktiviteten som har frembragt dem. Men samtidig kan det sikkert være god trening å gå… Håper du får til en grei balanse!
Lykke til videre på turen!
Tor (som skal på tur med Tråkk i helgen)
Thanks Tor – yes – it is strange to go on walking without my brother. The ankle is doing OK, but I try to be a little careful. Good luck with the job!! And hope you had fun in the weekend.