The county of Enshi is a magical place. We left on on me having some great days, and from Guandian to Enshi city, the great days continued. I trailblazed a small road through the mountains where the reward was stunning scenery and the nicest nicest people. Enshi is filled with steep valleys, granite cliffs and some terraced agriculture.
Multiple times I met friends on the road and was able to accompany them in their daily life activities-once having iunch at someones house, next staying in someones village for a day, in next town spending my birthday planting an acre of corn, and then joining someone for a ride in their cart down the mountain(I’d already down the hard part of getting up the mountain, the extra time to chat with him his is shop and on the ride was a good way to vary things up, and in Enshi, we enjoyed dinner together at his friend’s food shop.
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It’s not all peaches and cream though, traveling does come with its own set of follies: upon reaching Enshi, my Chinese brain was tapped out. Like working out a muscle, it needs rest. Not to mention constantly meeting people, riding, going around is exhausting in it own way. So my first day in Enshi I was a couch potato. I just needed to do absolutely nothing for a day. walked around a bit the next day, and caught up on my journal the next.
Oh and unfortunately, I’ve met my nemesis’ sidekick in China. Poison Oak. Though, here its not poison oak, its something else and I’m unclear of how to exactly identify it. It’s either lacquer tree or sumac, regardless of what it is. I’ve broken out with a boiling rash on my next, causing seeings mouths to drop, asking if I’m okay. I’m okay.. I’ve had this too many times before I’d say.
Overall, things are great. despite rain and poison oak, the part of China is fantastic for traveling, and more interesting is how absolutely different life is than China’s quickly changing cities.
At my hostel, I met a riding partner who seems to be willing to venture on obscure small roads, so we’re going to ride together for a bit, probably until Chengdu.
Yesterday, we headed out of town and rode to Lichuan, meeting three more cyclists on the way. Today they’ll make there way along the 318 and we’ll turn off on a small country road.