Sapa Trek on July 30

I finally have a chance to post! This one about Sapa on July 30. While S & B were on their 10 mile run on the nice paved read, aj. D decided to go for a trek down to the valley and back up to town and meet up with then two hours later. Rainy season, however, made all the tiny little offroads quite muddy. My first turn down the valley transformed my trek into a a delicate balancing act of sliding down the mud. I checked my watch, and realized I had already spent 30 minutes trying not to fall! Behind schedule already, I decided it was best to manouver through the narrow valley roads till I found someplace to climb back up the mountain to the city. At most, I thought I was 30 minutes behind schedule.

After about 20 minutes there was not another tourist in sight. Clearly, these roads were off the well-worn beaten path of other nice paths into villages you must pay a fee to enter. I passed several housing communities, just short of villages. Since adults and adolescents were out working in the fields, there were many, many young children about, being watched by their four year old siblings! It was quite interesting to watch; yet because there were no tourists, there was no place I could get a drink I so desperately needed! The cool waters from nearby streams held me over for a while.

By the time I got to a place where I could see Sapa town, I stumbled onto a little hut selling food and drinks. I interrupted about six men around a table having tea, and they gladly showed me a path back to town. Almost there! I thought.

On this path, there were only villages going to and from the road; no one tried to sell me anything, although I would have gladly bought a drink from them. The nicest little girl saw me struggling the mud, and found me a nice bamboo stick, and generously waited for me to made it up to the road.

I made it back, finally, but 2 and a half hours later. Poor S & B were so worried about me, poor things, sorry! But the dinner afterwards was totally amazing, and we were all in much better moods.