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the clouds in the air and the nights down here

day 151: 平凉 (pingliang) - 安国 (anguo) = 19km

Finally, I got back on old highway 312 today:

I had figured that with seven days of rest in 平凉 (pingliang), my feet would have healed up perfectly, and walking would go like a charm.

Well - I was wrong.

I come to think fixing the shoes might have been a mistake. It hurts more than it ever did before.

Anyways, being back on the track was a good thing:

I slowly limped through the arid landscapes in the western tip of the valley:

Took a cookie break up on a little hill:

And lay down looking at the clouds doing their dance with the sun:

…then it was back to the limping part again:

That night, I had dinner with a group of truck drivers in a little Muslim restaurant:

They were shipping 20 tons of baby strollers to the most northwestern part of the country:

And because that was my destination as well, I was very happy to ask them a couple of questions about the road ahead.

I’m a bit worried about the desert, you know.

We figured we would run into each other again somewhere between here and Kazakhstan, then the dudes managed to find me a place to sleep in the back of a restaurant:

It was better than nothing in this place completely barren of hotels.

Though later that night, when the music started to play and I had regular visitors in my little corner, I figured maybe pitching a tent in the hills wouldn’t have been so bad after all:

At around 2am, once the music had finally stopped and my audience was on their way home, the baby next door realized he had a cold and started crying.And he cried all night.

Soundtrack: Iggy Pop - “The Passenger”

—total: 1923,9km

Posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 10:57 pm ;Filed under video, walk.

9 Responses to “the clouds in the air and the nights down here”

1
Maggie Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Poor you! so much unnecessary attention!
2
Martin Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
O je. Ich drück’ die Daumen das deine nächste Nacht ruhiger wird.
3
Achille Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 1:40 am
20-50 kilometers per day,.oh ,my man, how could u make to Hannover with ur injured foot?

why don’t u hitchhike the truck, since u have the same destination.
4
claudia Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 2:51 am
because he wants to walk, achille!

i hope you will find a professional shoe-healer soon
or a shop to buy new ones.
5
Hermann Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Wie wäre es mit einem Lederschuh? Vielleicht sogar mit einer Ledersandale, auf jeden Fall aber mit einem Schuh, der im Gegensatz zu allem, was Adidas, Nike, Puma und Konsorten produzieren, atmet.

Im übrigen: Fats Domino hören, dich vorwärts schieben lassen und nicht an Ziele (Wüste etc.)denken, sondern die Gegenwart Gegenwart sein lassen. Sagt einer, der gerade an das Ende seines neuesten Hörspiels denkt, das noch mindestens so weit entfernt liegt, wie die Wüste, vor der du dich fürchtest.
Grüße
Hermann
6
jule Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:29 am
hey, das bild von den wolken ist echt schön. für mich sieht es aus als wenn die sonne der kopf eines engels ist der rechts und links seine flügel in die höhe streckt. da passt also jemand auf dich auf!
naja, derjenige hätte sich ja vielleicht mal lieber drum kümmern sollen dass du ohne schmerzen laufen kannst und nachts schlafen statt so schöne bilder in den himmel zu malen…….
sonnige grüße und ein packet gute laune aus der münchener ecke!
7
andy Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
hey Alter: don’t worry! Einen hohen Berg besteigt man nicht mit einem Sprung oder einem einzigen großen Schritt. Man geht einen kleinen nach dem anderen! Und Du wirst Dein Ziel erreichen! Hat das irgendjemand mal gesagt? -keine Ahnung, wahrscheinlich schon, aber das ist DAS, was ich mir jedesmal sage. Im “echten Leben” wie auch symbolisch (Hermann hat schon völlig recht!)- große Dinge sind nur step by step zu bewältigen.

In jules Gute-Laune-Paket schmeiß ich Dir noch eine Portion Zuversicht, Optimismus und Dich-Nie-Verlassender-Humor mit rein!!!
Wer will noch was dazulegen????

My suggestion:
Johnny Cash - We´ll meet again ;o))
8
Steven Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Chris, your intention of walking across the desert alone has always been my concern indeed. An alteration of plan should be seriously considered when things get worse.
People’s applause, growing popularity are definitely more supportive, as well as pressure.
Do relax and enjoy your own practice, footstep by footstep !
Btw, a few long tunnels you have to walk through before you arrive Lanzhou as far as I see in GE. Please, do be careful and safe!
All the best and Good Luck!
9
Christoph Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Maggie: Exactly, poor me!
Martin: Danke.
Achille: I’ll consider hitchhiking an option when I’m in the desert, but not now.
claudia: The shoe-issue shall be resolved once I get to Lanzhou (another 300km)
Hermann: Haha, hast schon recht, hast schon recht!
jule: Der hat halt viel zu tun.
andy: Gut gesagt, danke.
Steven: Thanks man. I’ll send you a textmessage to come save me when things get rough, eh?

the clouds in the air and the nights down here

9 Responses to “the clouds in the air and the nights down here”

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