The next morning we awoke again at 5:00 and decided we were too sore and tired to attempt the 500 meter climb to see the sunrise. We slept a couple more hours and finally got ourselves together for the two hour hike down to the cable car. It was painful to walk, but we saw some of the best views yet.
From the base of the mountain we took a taxi to the edge of the park, where we transferred to another cab that took us back to Huangshan City. From there we collected our bags and made our way to the bus station, and then rolled on to Hangzhou. Two hours later while walking down the steps at the Hangzhou bus station I took a bad step while trying to adjust my luggage and sprained my ankle. I immediately dropped to the ground and there I sat for a few minutes until I was sure it wasn't broken. Drew got me into a cab and we went to our hotel, where the bellboy took me across the street to a clinic. I had done a lot of hiking on treacherous paths on this trip, even before the Huangshan trip, without even a minor injury, and now this. I've done a lot of traveling over the past twenty years, and only one other time did I need medical attention - and that was when I fell ill in Hangzhou back in 2001. I love Hangzhou, but clearly she doesn't love me.
We spent the next day struggling around Hangzhou as best our sore muscles and my ankle would allow - visiting the ancient silk market, the garment district, the art street, and of course West Lake, but we didn't enjoy it much. The following day we flew down to Hainan Island, where things went considerably better.
2 comments:
You are more beautiful than the mountains.
Not sure how I feel about being compared to a bitter cold granite mountain, but thanks.
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