Day: May 28, 2006

Happy Mothers’ Day to all you mothers (to my mother in particular)

The province of Gansu is part of the Western and poorest provinces of the Peoples’ Republic of China.  Economic development mostly affects the Eastern part of the country, which is also the most heavily populated.  Once, the caravans on the silk route crossed the mountains and deserts of Gansu and stopped in the oasis towns.  The climate is particularly dry and this province is smaller and narrower than the Xijiang province.  We are going through its capital, Lanzhou, which we will reach after going through the Hexi corridor, a narrow passage between two mountain ranges.

It’s dead calm on highway 312: there are no bees, in spite of the trucks full of hives which continue to go by.  There are lots of heavy vehicles on this road and unfortunately it isn’t rare to see overturned trucks by the side of the road.  It’s always spectacular.

Serge, in the featherweight category, took a track along the highway this morning.  It was quieter and further away from potential bees… But the roughness of the terrain soon brought him back to the highway again.  The scenery is gorgeous: desert as far as the eye can see with hills, blocks of red granite, black rocks and a bit of vegetation and heather.

At kilometer 59, Serge reached an intersection near the city of Liuyuan, to the south of highway 215, which leads to Dunhuang.  This site is well known for the Buddhist grottos of Magao, which draw many tourists.  But for us, it’s always straight on the interminable 312, there is no time for tourism.  The scenery has changed a bit and isn’t so pretty.

After getting slightly stuck in the sand, we improvised our camp 100 meters from the road in a wind which blew sand into everything.  Our meal will be “sandy,” bon appétit!