My afternoon got off to a rocky start when the shop I was to meet the instructor at was closed. The instructor, Hector from Spain, arrived on time but was as surprised as me to see it locked.
After about an hour we were ready to go. I had my training shoes, helmet and harness. We hopped on his moped and zipped through town and out in to the sticks to climb.
It was really interesting and reassuring to have safety precautions it even included a warm up, which was particular useful when it came to the more difficult climbs.
Hector is a really likeable guy who now lives in YangShou as an English teach at a University though now he focusing more climbing. He clearly had my interest at heart when he debated with his assistant, Ya Ya, which wall to start on. Hector opted for the easier of the two, which for a first attempt at a wall was very challenging and not as easy as I thought it would be. The technique seems to be to get your footing and balance and use your legs to push up and not pull on your arms too much. It seems easy but in practice when you are hanging of a wall at 15 meters or so of the ground was a lot more challenging.
I climbed 3 different walls each were challenging in the own way. I will most definitely try this sport again because it is as physically challenging as it is mentally. You have to accept the situation you are in and understand that there is nobody but yourself that can make the best choice for you to move on up. I loved it.
I also learnt that Hector, who I felt a connection with because of his honesty and friendliness, teaches Spanish online. I intent to use his language teaching skills prior to going to South America where there is little or no english spoken.
Packing up and heading back to YangShou meant we had two big backpacks full of equipment and 3 people including Ya Ya. The interesting part for me was realising we only had one 50cc moped. We fitted everything on, including the three of us, for a very quick and efficient journey through the rush hour traffic.
I ended the afternoon feeling great from what I had achieved and spending time with two very chilled and cool individuals.
I did not take my camera with me so I do not have any photos. Hector and Ya Ya very kindly took some and said they will email them. So when they do I will add them to this post.
