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Yunnan Province; China

Mar
2004-09-14 15:37:29

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need to take with 30kg of luggage and a bicycle, is a small trail that leads down and is interrupted by at least 70 stairs of around 10 steps each. We let go of the idea of cycling down. The trail is 1.4km downwards and at the last 100m it finally gets too tight for a bicycle and its 'pusher'. The road is now not more than rocks that are too big for a bicycle with luggage to be pushed over. We unload our bicycles and try to look (and not to think about) the trail on the other side of the river. The ferry is a 'long' speedboat that takes us with some difficulty across the river. At the other side we are met by some clever guys who are willing to bring your luggage up the (even steeper and smaller) trail that starts with a 'landslide' of small rocks. Raymond has experienced such a 'landslide' before in the Gorge du Verdon (France) where you don't want to look down or think what will happen if the rocks start sliding. Raymond ties two rear panniers around his shoulders, one on the front and one on the back and the carriers and a horse take the rest of our luggage in 45min. up the mountain. We are in (almost) no position to bargain. At one o'clock we reach 'Walnut Grove' which is a small place in the middle of the gorge and decide to spend the rest of the afternoon reading and drinking Dali beers. Tiger Leaping Gorge to Deqin
From the Tiger Leaping Gorge the road (214) leads slowly up. The road is under construction and the only thing we breathe in for the next 20km is clouds of dust and the black fumes of trucks. We are lucky that someone saw us cycling and lets it drizzle once in a while, which saves us another 2km of breathing dust. For the next 10km, we have exchanged the dust for a steep 7-10% asphalt road, after which we arrive in a very small village that exists of 25 wooden houses and a school next to the busy road. We hope we can stay overnight in this village. It turns out to be one of those uncomfortable situations ...