Team Youngcare Meets The Great Wall

After another brilliant night at our Hutong hotel (minus the hourly phone calls from 1am to 7am in my room) we hopped back on the bus and headed out, out, out of the big bad city and deep into the foothills northeast of the city. Slowly but surely the cosmopolitan sites and sounds of downtown Beijing faded away into low rise apartments and small shops until disappearing completely into farmland, forest, and single-lane roads that wound up and up into the mountains.

 

Our first stop was the Qing tombs, where some new-age mini buses literally zoomed us into the labyrinth of underground resting places that once housed China's last great emperors, their wives, and concubines. As you descend deep into these monolithic tombs the cold air sweeps over you, a reminder of just how thick the marble walls are.

 

After a fantastic lunch sitting around the worlds largest lazy Susan it was onward to take our first steps on the Great Wall! The bus chugged up and up to the entrance, where we made our 37th toilet stop of the day, made sure we had Judy, listened to another 3 innuendos from Leanne, and decided to follow Glenn's matching neon orange watch and shoes up to the wall.

 

Before we started Bronwyn offered up two amazing ways to be reminded of what brought us here. Each morning and night a few committed trekkers will be telling the group what inspired their journey. We will also be passing the Youngcare flag between us. It has already been photographed widely! Combined with the evening handover of the "Inspired" bracelets, this is a very charity-focused, goal-oriented group!

 

Now it's dinner in the dining hall before we watch the sun set over the Great Wall from the central courtyard of our charming guesthouse. We know, you definitely wish you were here!

 

GO TEAM!