Although it isn’t that far from Datong to the place by the Great Wall where I returned, it took a long time to get there. The bus left at one o’clock but then it drove around in Datong almost an hour before actually heading for the destination. If I had known it’s last place before leaving Datong, I could have saved an hour by going directly there.
I met the same old guys in the small village by the Great Wall. It has been a warm day. Along the small villages by the Great Wall people were sitting in groups. It was like a communal sigh of relief that the harsh winter has come to an end.
The Great Wall really hugs closely to the mountains here! There are mostly terraced fields here all the way up to the mountains. The visibilty has been bad – really grey. I’m hidden behind the Great Wall in cover from the wind just five metres from the blue mark on the map right now.
Time to eat and drink. As I was walking, I was thinking of the very mountainous areas of Hebei and Beijing. How to save weight but get enough energy. Wonder how Ice Tea mixed with oatmeal would taste when it is not boiled – just mixed. Only one way to find out I guess…
6 kilometres today
Path of the Great Wall of China;
There seems to be a distinct difference between dark and light colour along the path (The Great Wall of China) that Robert follows now. It is best seen when zooming in on the Google map. It seems to mark the transition between the barren mountainous landscape on one side and the agricultural landscape on the other side. Maybe that it is how it was several hundred years ago also, when the wall was built?