The time of the year when typhoons do not penetrate every orifice of weather (huh?!?) and that the heat is not so impregnating that it causes your flesh to shrivel and ooze sweat simultaneously is the best time to venture to the mountains. I believe this to be so, at least.
So this was the time the Ross and Lindsay came to visit. After some time in Taipei and some rambling about Hualien, eating magi and drinking Taiwan Beer, and before they took off to the grandeur of Green Island to the south, we headed into the geological abyss of the interior mountains. Unquestionable beauty. A thesaurus offers no words that could encompass the joy and ease I felt while pausing in the mountians, overlooking the craggy valley below and hearing the tropical birds vocally vying for a mate in the summer sun - it is humbling to sit on the mountainside, perched high over the river below and gaze across endless beauty, and consider the world. The whole world....the wars, the grief, the pollution, the hatred peddled by religions, and at the same time be subdued by calm. It is almost like a drug - a cognitive placebo drug to calmness.
But...before the doozies (the sunrise pics, that is), here are some plenary pic's from their time in Taiwan with us. Aside from the obvious enjoyment of seeing friends abroad, after being secluded socially for a while and immersed in the chinese culture it was refreshing to catch up and share old storeies and make new ones.
Remember the epic search for the fake glasses? And to think the ocean almost stole them....
Thanks for comming to visit - I had a time of times. Im glad we could share Taiwan for a while.
These are sorrily out of order in terms of chronology.
The day we needed glasses...and then lost them.
R and L high on a foggy cliff (well, the cliff itself wasn't foggy, but it was foggy AND they were on the cliff....).
R L and C mid hike in the fog.
R L and T at a roadway stop on the way to HeHuan. And scoters...there are two scooters.
What kind of a sale is this?!?
TienHsiang towniste; this marks the end of Taroko Gorge proper, but beyond (further into the mountains) is one of the most wonderful drives available on the island. This village has had a quite turbulent history, which I wont go into, but it is a black mark on both the chinese and japanese histories. Today, it is a prosperous place in its own right. This is taken from the TienHsiang Pagoda (see below).
This is the opposite view of the picture above. I took this from the village, looking up tio the pagoda. Nestled into the folds of the mountains, this proved to be one of the most relaxing places I visited in Taiwan. There was an earthquake in the recent past that destroyed a large portion of this buddhist momnestary and they are still actively working to rebuild and to regain their composure.
Now in Hehuan already, after a gusty hike in the mist and fog, we settle down to try and get warm in the hehuan cabins. These are Japanese styled, reflecting the Japanese influence of their occupation.
Us, while it is still sunny and warm, along the road to HeHuan.
This is actually even before we got to TienHsiang (and thus before we got to HeHuan); Ross and I are by the river trying to make the sand fall in along the weaknessess - which may sound bland but give it a try and youll be hooked! Compare the size of the boulders and the bedrock to us...quite a contrast.
This is a closer view of the TienHsiang Buddhist Monestary. I took this also from the top op the pagoda (the tall thin building from a picture above). As you can see they are still rebuilding some portions of it from the earthquake.
I would love to say that they were re-enacting some relevant process of Darwinian competition, or at least they had a horribly majestic glue accident and couldn't separate their helmets, or at very least that they were trying to squish a poisonous midge between their heads because it was at risk of harming us and they could not use their hands to cull it (due to the poison...); but no, I cannot in any sincerity say that they were dong anything other than having a mid-mountain headbutting contest. I forget who won....but does it matter? Really?
The beauty of simple symbiosis. Darwin be vindicated.
Ok, waaaaay back at the beginning of the trip; this is the entrance of the Taroko Gorge road. Under this little geological burrow you enter the majesty of rocks and the serpentine trail to the heart of the mountains.
These were the best walnuts ever! EVER!
BEST.....ACTION.....SHOT.......EVER......!
Ahh...Betel Nuts.
Left- After
Right - Before
I spared you the action shots of us spitting and spilling our slobbery drool among the tables as we hunkered down under a shady tree and devoured a bag of these in TienHsiang.
Ok, back in Hualien City. This is a shotif the local military base. Not really supposed to take, let alone publish, these, so look quickly and move along...move along....
Japanese BBQ - one of our first meals in Hualien (I think?).
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