THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

One of the drawing points for this cruise was a stop in Beijing to see the Great Wall.  As with most places, Carlos has been there, done that.  But it was a first for me and one of those items I wanted to check off my “bucket list”.  Sadly, we would not be able to stay and see the many sights Beijing has to offer.  Does this mean I might go back?

We were on another Beijing Discovery Tour.  Joyce was leader on this and she arranged the tour with one of the co-founders of BDT – Andy.  Due to a problem on my Shanghai tour, Jeff and Andy wanted to make sure this one went smoothly.  But it turned out to be comical – just how many problems can come up and be totally out of one’s control.  You have to learn to roll with the punches and take what is given to you. 

Joyce had us all off the ship and through Chinese formalities long before our appointed meeting with Andy of 7:30 a.m.  Andy was nowhere to be found.  There was a guide who came up to Joyce to say that Andy and the bus were stuck on the freeway.  It had been shut down due to an accident and heavy fog.  When Andy finally arrived we were off and running – over an hour behind schedule.  However, we had to have a back-up plan, just in case the freeway remained closed.  The drive to the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall would take nearly 3 hours.  We boarded our very nice bus and headed out the freeway – thinking all was well, only to be stopped about 30 minutes outside the port.  We came to a dead standstill.  Cars were turning around and heading back - - on the shoulder of our side of the road!  Crazy traffic in this part of the world.  At this point, Andy and Joyce were discussing canceling the Great Wall and heading to other attractions.  However, they decided to wait and see if traffic opened up.  Finally after sitting for an hour, we started to move.  Great Wall here I come.  However, would you believe some of the fun was being on the freeway people watching? Another thing I found fascinating were the freeway signs.  Many you would never see in the USA. 

Carlos waiting for roadway to open

Our arrival at the great wall was just around 11:30.  Andy said we had 1 hour – we could walk out 30 minutes before having to turn back.  The fast walkers went out like marathon runners and Carlos and I were at the back of the pack.  We were in a real-life tortoise and the hare reenactment.  But at one point with very steep steps going down, I had to leave Carlos and go on by myself.  I was determined to get just as far as I possibly could in my 30 minutes.  It was a tough go – the steps steep with unstable cobblestones.  I did not get to the one tower I had set as my goal, but I can say I walked the Great Wall of China and I can now tick that one off my bucket list.  FOOTNOTE: did see that one Diamond passenger broke her arm when she fell down the steps.  I think she was mightily lucky only breaking an arm.  And to boot, she was much younger than me.  I am grateful that it was not me.

We had lunch in a very nice place at the wall before the long uneventful ride back to the port.  What started as a bust of a day, turned out to be so much fun.  My cup is half full and I am grateful for the wonderful experience shared with new and old friends.