I needed a break from my blisters and Doug needed a break from doctoring my blisters so we are spending not one but two nights in Chuxiong. Our first hotel choice flat out denied us entry. In fact, they refused to even look at us so we wandered around until we found our current digs….

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Yesterday we met a group of college age bicyclists at the crest of a hill. We got a big “Welcome to China!” from them. Unfortunately our video failed so we will just have to relive it in our memories. They all spoke a fair amount of English and they shared some little nectarines with us….

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This lovely couple was nice enough to let us camp on their property. We have pitched our tent in a little spot under a leafy fruit tree. Out my side of the tent I can see a tilled and furrowed area waiting to be planted with something. Towards the foot of the tent is a…

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We took a wrong turn and went about a mile out of our way but it wound up bein a blessing. We we’re sitting on the steps in front of a store while we drank some water and a group of school children walked by. One girl whipped out her cell phone and took a…

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Lunch Break!

This morning was a whole lot of uphill walking- 5 1/2 miles worth followed by a short downhill walk that led us into a stone quarry that was very dusty and hot. They were making cemetery headstones heree. After we walked up and out of the quarry we immediately found ourselves in a busy citywith…

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An Amazing Start

We are overwhelmed by everyone’s interest and kindness. We hand out our post cards and people  beam and give us the thumbs up. A man in a truck pulled over and offered us a ride. We stopped into a Buddhist temple to have a look and the woman monk dumped a dish of fruits and…

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We Found It

High on our list of priorities was finding my great-great uncle’a grave site. With a lot of help remotely from a man named Peter and then more help from his friend Luxi, a Dali local, and then more help from a farmer we were at last able to locate it. We left some flowers for…

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Doug and I studied Mandarin for a few months before our trip and it really paid off! I was able  to figure out right away that this restroom was closed. Feeling proud and self satisfied ; )