"Nothing can be sadder or more profound than to see a thousand things for the first and last time. To journey is to be born and die each minute"
-Victor Hugo
Outside of our hostel in Hualien. 1st morning in Taiwan.
Watching the neighborhood come to life, one of the joys of morning.
Early risers in Hualien. Thomas and I woke early Friday morning to walk around our neighborhood. We found this open-air toast restaurant and ordered 2 Taiwanese-style omelets by pointing and holding up fingers. The people seemed nervous to have foreign customers but were so friendly.
Taroko Gorge
Butterflies escape my focus
Daniel
They like the scum between my toes. The circle of life.
Wild man, Daniel.
We snuck under ropes lining the path beside the gorge, climbed over stones and walked through brush to get to the river. The water was perfectly clear, the beach made of smooth stones. Nathene and I stood in the water up to our knees, watching little striped fish nibble at our toes while the boys played.
Nathene
Bridge in Taroko Gorge
Washing in the mountain stream
Earth and Sky. My students learned the word "vast" this week. I think this picture would be a good illustration.
Caves in the gorge
Ripples of stone
Explorer Team Extraordinaire. We wore hard helmets to protect our marbles of knowledge from falling rocks. (I have to attribute "marbles of knowledge" to Nathene Morley. Genius, that girl)
Sitting Frog
Won Dong
Daniel
Thomas was anxious to touch the sea.
Near collision on the back roads of Hualien
After our day at Taroko Gorge, the cab driver took us out for Chinese pies. They were delicious. A large crowd of people stood waiting in line.
Train station in the early morning
Hualien
Thomas, grumpy and eating breakfast. We rose super early to catch the train to Kenting Beach. It was a beautiful morning but humid as hell, just what one would expect when traveling in Taiwan in late July.
We made the trip thinking that we had 4 days of thunderstorms ahead of us, but the large cloud we saw on the radar seemed to have disappeared. So lucky.
5:30 a.m. at the train station
The train ride from Hualien to Kenting revealed Taiwan's lush, tropical countryside. I watched as farmers walked out to their fields under the hot morning sun. Rice paddies stretched for miles, separated by thin lines of soil, a countryside of quilted patchwork.
The train ride was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Our room at the Surf Pad in Kenting. Achi, the Taiwanese man who owns the hostel, built the place himself. Achi made this tree as well as the bed. He used to work as an artist, crafting wood. He has a deep appreciation for nature and an understanding of the beauty of simplicity.
Morning coffee and the ocean
Livin' the island life
We woke around 5 to catch the sunrise. We were a little late.
Chicken coops and yellow flowers
Spider 1
Spider 2
Dewdrops
Daniel, Nathene, Achi, me n Thomas @ the Surf Pad
Achi
Motorbikers wait for a green light in Taipei. I saw few pedestrians in Taiwan. It was bizarre. The majority of people drive motorbikes or cars, that or ride bicycles. The number of motorbikes in the country is overwhelming.
On my first day in Taipei I saw a family of 4 riding together on a motorbike. Incredible.
Went out to find coffee~early morning of the last day
There are many tea and juice stands in Taiwan. Coffee shops are around but less frequented. This was a pretty unique little shop, filled with many worn and beautiful coffee makers.
Hostel in Taipei
