We finished! After some serious "hills" (right Andrea? HILLS, not mountains, just tell yourself hills!) yesterday we completed the cycling portion of the trip. Ending in Hoi An, the cyclists were enthusiastically greeted by the cycling support crew with banners and champagne to congratulate every rider as he/she arrived. As my injury had caused one butt-cheek to double in size, I was unable to ride and was waiting to toast the riders as they came in.
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| Champagne finish for the cyclists! |
Our "tourist" day in Hoi An started the following morning with a short tour of the city;
Hoi An was a very busy commercial port in the 16th and 17th centuries and merchants from Japan, China, Holland, India all came here to trade. Almost all of architecture including streets, ports, and civil and religious buildings are still intact. Hoi An is also well known for their amazing tailors and seamstresses. Many tourists come here with an idea in mind they pull from a magazine and see it come to life, custom-fit for their shape.
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| Woman at the market in Hoi An, Vietnam |
The afternoon was left open with the purpose of allowing everyone to run errands, shop for souvenirs and tour the city at their own pace. Another tempting option was to head to the beach or get a massage! This was the last night with our amazing cycling support crew so of course a nice dinner followed by a little Vietnamese accoustic singing and a spontaneous performance by our favorite male cyclists, Steve and John which left us...um...speechless, we went to bed with the realization that though the heat and long days of cycling were a challenge, we were leaving with new friends and a mission, accomplished!
Caitie Goddard
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