Off the Beaten Path

Taiwan is a densely populated island. 

It is listed in the top ten.

That is mostly due to the larger cities, filled with high rise apartment buildings. Cities such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, and even Taichung. But don't be misled. Not all of Taiwan is crowded. I once read that there is a trail in Taiwan that you could hike for days and never see another human being.  

While I live and work in Taichung, I enjoy and look forward to being out and away from the city. I love seeing out of the way places.

This little town was such a place. On the east side, near Hualien, this little aboriginal village was our entryway to Taroko Gorge. 

This village also happened to have a unique characteristic.

A Christian cemetery.

Home Sweet Home

As we are starting our fourth year here in Taiwan, we have once again moved. 

If you happen to be keeping count, yes, this is our third apartment.

Hopefully, this one will be for at least four years, when we will have to downsize again as Jacob graduates and leaves for college.

Our new apartment is part of the Morrison campus. My walk to work every morning will be less 
                        than five minutes! I could make it even shorter if I hooked up a zip line!

Being on on the 6th floor, we have a bird's eye view of the school.

The elementary building is in the forefront of this picture. The high school is the building behind with the blue lockers. 

The covered play area and playground equipment are directly below our balcony.

Our previous apartment was a stack house (5 levels), surrounded by other stack houses. All we could see from the back  balcony was another building. There wasn't a view. The only sky visible was if you walked out the front door and looked straight up. So I love being up higher and having a place to enjoy the view!

Now I get lots and lots of sky. I enjoyed watching storm clouds move in the other day! 

The floor to ceiling windows in the living room allow in plenty of bright light!

One of the best features is an American style kitchen. Chinese kitchens are small with little counter space.  My heart is overflowing! I feel so blessed!

The Road Less Traveled

Many years ago while in Haiti, my fellow travelers and I shared an inside joke. No matter where we were going, whether it be just down the road or five miles away, it was going to take two hours to get there. The roads were simply atrocious. Potholes, big and even bigger, were everywhere. The roads, obviously, were not maintained.

Not so in Taiwan. Roads are constantly being repaired or improved. This is especially true in the mountainous areas. Earthquakes, landslides, mudslides not only cause damage, but the government looks for ways to prevent future damage.

Along the east coast, tunnels are frequently used to make roads more efficient. Cutting through a mountain can cut off miles and miles of swerving and twisting blacktop. When this happens, the old path is abandoned. 

We hiked along one such road.

Lack of upkeep, earthquakes, and growth of vegetation have obviously taken its toll. 

 We found a shady spot with built in benches to eat our lunch.

After our lunch break, we ventured on, not knowing that the best was yet to come.

Sometimes the best view can only be seen from an uneasily accessed spot.

Oops. Where did the road go?

I wonder  who built the crudely manufactured ladder. And more importantly, why?

Don't get too close! Who knows when another piece may decide to break off and plunge into the abyss.

This just isn't suppose to be. 

And then the road  just disappeared. 

The view beyond.

Unique beautiful memories...

So glad to have shared this day and made these memories with this group.

While we did not see any four legged friends, it was very evident that they, too, had enjoyed this abandoned road!

Words Are Not Enough

Words can not adequately express the beauty of this place.  

Photos only give a hint of its vastness and majesty.

Taroka Gorge

Just as beautiful and awesome- the friends who shared the experience!

Onward

So, like all great things, our week at the beach came to an end.

Lucky for us, however, the vacation wasn't over. Next stop- Hualien.

A tropical storm was bringing gray clouds and rain, but our ride northward followed the coast, and even in the rain, was beautiful.

We had hoped to cross this bridge, but the entrance was roped off. Perhaps do to the rain.

So we posed for a few pictures before the rain caught up to us.

With the rain and absence of sun, the temperature was lower than we had experienced in quite a while. Abbi was freezing, even though she was dressed in long pants and long sleeves. I checked the temperature... it was 79.9 degrees!

July 4th

Happy Birthday, America.

I know. I am a little bit late.

Celebrating a national holiday like the Fourth of July in another country can feel a little odd. 

Strange in the fact that no one else is celebrating. It's just another work day for them.

No parades. No family reunions. No Red, White, and Boom.

We celebrated by visiting this awesome beach.

The beach itself was government property. The land leading up to the beach, however, was privately owned. In this case, the owner was a retired Taiwanese businessman. So what does one to do when owning a terrific piece of land, with more than enough funds to improve the property, but the land is zoned agriculture?

You build a golf course, of course!

Not a full size golf course, just three holes, right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with an in ground swimming pool. All that was needed, but will probably never happen, was a gorgeous beach side home.

 It was great getting to meet Fong Ge. When we arrived, he was already out on his sailboat, receiving his second sailing lesson from Chris Gant, our host. While this may not seem odd, let me add that he is 70 years old and never learned how to swim!

Before beginning his lesson, he unloaded his jet ski onto the beach.

For the next couple  hours, while Carl and I watched from shore, the kids took turns riding the jet ski.

The view behind us was just as beautiful as the ocean view.

This grove of palm trees is where our van was parked. Both Carl and I agreed it would be the perfect spot for a small retirement home.

It was here we performed the obligatory July 4th picnic.

While not the typical American celebration, it was beautiful and relaxing.