THE STACKS OF YOUR LOAD

If I came on this trip to challenge myself, then I definitely accomplished that in Sapa. Departing on a 12-hour night bus from Hanoi and arriving at 6am, I was fortunate to catch at least one hour of sleep; the winding road disallowing me any more. At 9am, my 50k trek began, with nine others. Accompanied by many Vietnamese women and children, I could not have made it by myself through the steep hills and balance-beam roads without the help of one woman who held my hand the whole way. The views were breathtaking, but the weather could have been better; hiking in +30 degrees.. Ugh. The homestay where we slept that night housed all ten of us in one giant loft, with mattresses on the floor and mosquito nets. I feared a sleepless night again, because I hate bugs, and there were MANY around: moths, beetles, cockroaches... *shudder*. But, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of pounding rain, which in the mourning proved a most treacherous trek through mud and slippery slopes. Again, I surely would have slid to my unfortunate demise had it not been for another woman who literally held me up as I hiked barefoot (my shoes were wayyy too slippery). Arriving for lunch after another 25k, I was completely soaked and caked with mud, from falling numerous times. A change of clothes, a sizable gash in my left heel, fries and coffee for a meal, and then back onto another 12-hour night bus back to Hanoi. Whew.