Not many of the group made breakfast this morning! For those that did,
it was a sight to behold - sausages, bacon, fresh coffee, croissants,
fruit ...the list goes on. After this feast and rather than taking an
organised tour, a small group of us decided to spend the day visiting
temples. First on the list was The Temple of Heaven. Not only did it
gave us beautiful architecture and scenery, but an insight into the
Chinese way of life. The park surrounding the temple was teeming with
ballroom dancing, Tai Chi, flute players, yoga plus some modern hip
hop. An hour later, having given a few of these past times a go we
finally reached the Temple of prayer for good harvest. the afternoon
involved a visit to the Lama Temple and Temple dedicated to Confucius.
After some shopping we prepared for our celebratory meal. I ended up
giving a short speech to thank our guide so put my poetry head on and
delivered the following verse's:

A wall to discover
A tour like no other
wit a guide who treats us
like his sister or brother

7 days ago you welcomed us
to fabulous Beijing
with facts, wisdom and a
"let the adventure begin"

It's been exciting and at times frightening
as I recall Cara's fall
as we follow your lead
on that magnificent wall

You gave anecdotes and history
with
but I am afraid some of it was
lost in translation

we now know "basic" means "luxury"
whilst "easy day" means "quite hard"
Wall catcher advice
you seemed to discard

"Go slowly", "hold here"
not Mr Rodger nonstop
I turn my head
and he is there at the top

On a serous note however
With out you - it would have taken a while
you motivated, you inspired
with your humour and your smile

Now with one day left
and before we depart
we would all like to thanks you
from the depths of our heart!

An early 6am start meant that we were the first trekkers on the
Juyongguan wall. We were greeted with over 1000 steps varying in both
height and depth. This first section took over an hour t complete,
however yet again magnificent views stretched out for miles before us.
We all helped each other keep motivated with various songs and
chants. There was a quick stop at the top tower for a group picture
(enclosed) before the decent and the finish line.
As the morning progressed the wall became busier and busier and we
could feel that this adventure was coming to an end. Tourists rather
than trekkers passed us in all sorts of attire, including stilettos!
With the line and cool beers in sight we made a run for it. Everyone
was quite emotional, having completed this epic challenge.
We transferred to Beijing and the night was filled with another
wonderful Chinese meal and a trip to a local bar - yes Karaoke until
3am. I feel that tomorrows tour of Beijing is going to be tougher than
the trek!

Whilst climbing over 1000 steps in the heat of the day, today I began to reflect on the incredible members of the group taking part in this challenge. Several of our group are partially sighted, one guy had just had a knee operation and was climbing in memory of his late Mum, and two others whilst both having Multiple Scerosis were on the first of 7 challenges across the globe over the next few months. From the blog so far you can probably get a feel for how impressed I am with the wall, but today I must say that the group are as impressive, if not more impressive with their courage, determination and love for one another. We really are becoming a family.

After reaching the highest point of the trek we had a choice to decend one of three ways: cable car, toboggan run or walk. I took the quickest - the toboggan and let rip. A fantastic day with a suprise hot shower at the end of it. What can I say - another awesome day!

The best day yet - today's trek took us through the Black Dragon pool park. Our guide, Rodger (his English name) took us off the beaten path into the unknown. We climbed steeply to about 800m, causing calf ache which I had not experienced for the long time. The route dropped back down into the park and we were rewarded with a breathtaking waterfall. The track then followed pool after pool before another incredible noodle and chicken lunch.
The afternoon again took us away from the main tourist routes through what I can only describe as undergrowth. We literally hacked our way creating the path for about an hour before reaching a watch tower on the summit and 360 degree panoramic views.
The group are looking forward to tomorrow - a toboggan ride off the wall. Watch this space...

Awesome, incredible, beautiful, ancient, fabulous, fantastic, hot, hard and hilly are just a few words that could be used to describe day 1 of the trek. Just before we started todays adventure, we were greeted by some "wall catchers" that we could pay to carry our bags and of course catch us if we fell. Two of the group opted for this and were the envy of several of us. The wall catchers doubled as drink and book sellers at every stop too. What amazed me is that one wall catcher lady was 75 years old. I hope that I am that agile at her age.



As the day progressed, we began to get to know each other. Several of the group were raising money for cancer charities, due to loosing close family members whilst others were participating to see if they could achieve the challenge. Two Canadians were filming whilst trekking and this was the first of 6 challenges they were taking part in over the next 3 months. They had raises thousands for their charities so far and what was even more amazing, they both had multiple sclerosis. Talking if fund raising, if you have not yet uploaded a picture to this site, please do to help with the Save the Children goal.


We are now chilling out with cold beers, resting the feet and sharing more stories. This trip is definitely going to be a trip of a life time in so many ways.

Arriving on any trip with 20 strangers can always be a little daunting however when it involves travelling across the globe to an unknown country, taking on the adventure of a lifetime, fears increase. I needn't have been worried as within 5 minutes of meeting everyone this morning, I realised that I was in the presence of some wonderful individuals who all had stories to tell about their fundraising activities and reasons for trekking the Great Wall of China. I will allude to some of these in later posts.


We departed at 9:15am heading to Abu Dhabi. 3 movies later and a quick transfer we we then on our way to Beijing. We we whisked through passport control, collected our luggage and were ready to catch the bus (photo 1) within 20 minutes. The rumours about Chinese efficiency were true. A further 2 1/2 hour coach ride allowed us to catch a glimpse of the Great Wall and the challenge we had signed up to. Before we knew it we we eating the most beautiful Chinese cuisine I have ever tasted at the hotel. I am now off to bed for an afternoon nap before we are briefed this evening on the trek. I can already feel this is going to be one adventure that I will never forget.

• http://beforeyoubackpack.com/use-your-travel-photos-raise-money-charity/


• http://happytimeblog.co.uk/share-the-experience-of-a-lifetime/

Take a look at this blog post from Gailatlarge who is showing her support to the upcoming Experience of a Lifetime trips http://gailatlarge.com/blog/2012/09/11/17900