August 5: Day 7
Around 9 am we started about 5 miles north of Mystic where we left off the day before. We had 16.6 miles to tackle, and two dangerous bridges to be driven across (not factored into the 16.6 walking miles, much to our disappointment). Those driving logistics, along with many hills and the intense humidity, slowed our pace as we were spread out far along Route 1. Karen, who joined us for the day, and another Karen, graciously provided us with rides and a satisfying lunch.
By mid-afternoon, it was "that time" again--the point where the delirium begins to set in and our brains can't keep up with our feet. Burnt out completely, we stopped for a break in someone's front yard (the nice lady even let us use the bathroom!). The police pulled up to check on us because they thought we might be protesters marching to the nuclear power plant a few miles down the road. But then they found out we were only the crazy Tibet marchers they had been told about months ago and they were relieved.
Not everyone was receptive in this area, as one woman driving by yelled out, “Go home!” Little did she know that was exactly what we wanted--for all Tibetans to be able to “go home” to an independent Tibet.
When we reached Old Saybrook finally, we were given an official police escort with a patrol car at the front of the line and rear of the line. This slowed our pace but impressed everyone in town. It also forced us to walk in single file and spread apart. As a result, motorists and pedestrians were able to clearly read our signs. It started to rain for the last 5 minutes of the walk--a very auspicious ending to a very long day. Our longest day yet in fact, as it was 6:30 pm when we finally finished.
We went straight to the Congregational Church of Old Saybrook for our presentation, where we heard from Jigme la, Ngawang la, Tracy la, Norbu Ngodup la, Mary-Kate la, Karma la, Mingmar la, and Larry la. Mary-Kate-la spoke in Tibetan and many Tibetans in the audience could be seen crying. After Palden la spoke, we enjoyed a huge feast prepared by Thapkhey Tsering la and the Tibet Association of Connecticut. What a fantastic welcome! The evening's festivities didn't end until after 11pm, however, and the exhausted walkers were then shuttled to the three different Tibetan families' homes, where we enjoyed the luxuries of showers, laundry, and beds!
