Day: May 27, 2006

Rain and good weather…1 month in China.

Not only is the weather a universal subject of conversation, for us it’s matter of great importance.  The province of Xinjiang, which we are leaving today, was rich in climatic diversity: from the hottest in Toksun (53° Celsius) to the coolness after Kuqa (12° Celsius), from a relative humidity at 52% on May 10th to the dryness of 12%, the two wind storms, one after Toksun and the other 200 kilometers after Turpan.  The weather has not spared us but we aren’t complaining.  The weather affects our life and influences the progress Serge makes, as well as the life of the camp.  It’s part of the charm of adventure which each of us appreciates.  We accept the risks and whims of the weather, far from the comfort of our homes.

One month in China, it is also 8 nights in hotels and 23 nights camping, some mountains, lots of desert and a few oases, two falls in one week and 5 bee stings in three days (the 5th was today).

At the 39th kilometer, Serge went over a 1850 meter pass, at the top of which there was a toll (in China, the highways aren’t free so there are lot of toll booths).  We went by the service station of Xingxingxia and entered the province of Gangsu.  Serge was wearing a mask which Daniel made for him because he was stung by another bee right over the eyebrow and he cracked up.  In the afternoon we were able to buy a hat with a veil from one of the quarry workers.  So now we are equipped, hoping that the trucks of bee hives will stop spewing the contents of their cargo.  When the bees get lost in the desert they go wild and charge to sting.  After being with our caravan for three days the CCTV team has left us.

We set up camp in the vicinity of a gold mine.  Will we dream of veins and nuggets?