Dispatches From China: Day 3 From Team Animals Asia

CHARITY CHALLENGES ROCK!





By 6am the bright morning sun was pouring into our rooms, slowly thawing the late-night cold that had crept in. Thanks to just a touch of rain and a great deal of wind, the wall welcomed us with brilliant blue skies - a treat here in China!




After our "continental" breakfast of bread, pancakes, tomatoes, spam, and a plate of butter that looked suspiciously like slices of cheese, we hopped back into our shiny bus and, this time, literally zoomed onward to Gubeikou Great Wall.

We started our walk WAYYYY down the mountain and slowly made our way along the trail before reaching the wall itself. The scenery was awe-inspiring. April had clearly been wet, as evidenced by the greenness of the countryside. The remoteness and magnitude of the wall was further reinforced by the fact that we ere the only folks out here. Good thing? We thought so!




The next five hours saw us trekking along the least restored section of our Inspired Adventure. At points, the wall itself was no more than 1 meter wide. This was not terribly popular with those of us scared of heights but Kerri, Maya, and Jo powered on brilliantly!

The mother-son team of Bev and Matt were on fire today. Matt has been filming some "real deal" video footage from his head camera and Bev moves with machine-like precision. "I do a lot of mountain climbing," the 67-year old told me. Don't we all!




Before long we stepped down off the wall and passed through a deep valley being farmed for corn, grain, fruit, and vegetables. An hour later we reconnected at Jinshanling Great Wall, a slightly more restored section of the wall that continues some 100km onward without interruption.

The hot May sun was pounding down on us and the laborious trek definitely tested our toughness but we powered through and couldn't have been more proud to reach the end of the day's journey, take a shower, pop open an ice cold drink, and have a good laugh (mainly at the expense of Thomas and Anton). After dinner we got in a little shopping before heading off to bed. Tomorrow promises an exorbitant number of steps.




Bring it on!ey, take a shower, pop open an ice cold drink, and have a good laugh (mainly at the expense of Thomas and Anton). After dinner we got in a little shopping before heading off to bed. Tomorrow promises an exorbitant number of steps. Bring it on!