May 11 (Day 4)

I was excited about today because I was finally going to see one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China. I’d seen and heard so much about it that I couldn’t wait to finally see it for myself. Fortunately, the structure did not disappoint. It was truly awesome. It is the only man made structure that can be seen from outer space. It spans 4000 kilometers across the country and is a marvelous spectacle. Only a fraction of the wall was open to the public. However, that fraction took a while to climb. You could take two routes. One route was less steep and took about seventy five minutes. The other route was steeper and took about 40 minutes. I chose the steeper route and paired up with Nashae and Van. The incline was unbelievable in places. It had to be at least a 50 or 60 degree incline in the steeper portions. It finally dawned on me that I was actually climbing a mountain even though it was cleverly disguised with steps. The wall rises and falls along the geographic plane of the mountain which adds to it’s beauty. About twenty minutes into the hike, I realized that poor Van wasn’t going to make it. She became so frightened halfway up that she had to turned back. It turns out that she is afraid of heights and the steepness was more than she could handle. Nashae decided that she’d had enough too and went back with Van. I caught up to Maria and Wanda and we continued to the highest point of the wall that was open to the public. They were content to reach that point, but I wanted to hike to the end. I couldn’t persuade them to go further so we parted ways and I continued the trek on my own. Maria and Wanda could’ve easily made the rest of the climb. The climb to the highest point, which is where they turned around, was the hardest. The rest was mostly downhill and only another 10 - 15 minute hike. I was glad that I continued to the end. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment.

In addition to overcoming the physical challenges of climbing the wall, I also faced a gauntlet of peddlers hawking their arts and crafts all along the wall. I couldn’t believe it. Is anything sacred? Here I am on the Great Wall and commercialism is alive and thriving. Can you say “boo-yaw”? Every few feet you would find an artisan selling something. From what I could tell, they hiked up the wall each day to set up shop. It's not like the thing was equipped with elevators. Needless to say, I boo-yawed my way to the top and tried to enjoy the scenery as much as possible. As I came down the wall, however, I hatched a better plan. I had my mp3 player on me so I stuck my ear buds in and enjoyed some musical bliss on the hike back down. It worked like a charm. The peddlers didn't bug me at all on my return trip down. They knew they couldn't compete with the music. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? The Great Wall is a must see but be sure to take your mp3 player.