The Great Wall, Part Three

The saga continues...

Not only did I make it up The Climb, but I made it clear to the Five Window Tower, beyond which was the Simatai section of The Wall, now closed for renovation according to our guides. We couldn't be sure because there were no signs, but I for one didn't need to go exploring much further in this direction. At that point Phil called Kristy to discuss our entourage.

"They will want you to buy something from them or give them money. They can be quite persistent."

"We noticed."

"Just be very clear up front that you are not interested."

"What if it's eleven towers later."

"Ah."

Once we got back to the spot where the workers were rebuilding The Climb - we took a shortcut to avoid climbing back down it - our entourage suggested we take a path to the parking lot. But we wanted to keep walking The Wall. "Ok, then you can buy our souvenirs now." It would come to a head here. We talked the bookseller and the Mongolian Farmer into an easy 33% discount for two books, but we didn't want to buy from the third companion, who was now baring her teeth at us in a metallic snarl. As she poked Kristy in the chest with her index finger while exclaiming, "I followed you!" it dawned on me that we were carrying enough cash to buy all of their books, our muscles were near total failure due to three hours of climbing, the workers who had gathered around to watch the negotiations had access to large stones and shovels, and we hadn't seen a single tourist in over an hour.

Thankfully, the people were nice, and as we made our retreat along the wall only the third companion followed, making increasingly desperate offers. A book, a T-shirt, a fan. After she poked Kristy we decided on principle not to give in, and by the next tower she gave up and went home.

Though our time with the entourage was entertaining, at this point the skies seemed to open up and reveal that they are blue in China as well. We had a beautiful walk in the opposite direction over a newly renovated section of The Wall, in the end spending a total of 5 1/2 hours. Mr. Li patiently awaited our return and drove us back to Beijing.

Blue skies emerge.