Taitung to Wulu Bike Trip

Wulu Gorge called us to us once again - we, and our bikes, once again obliged.

We have done this trip multiple times now, once biking from Yuli (north of the gorge), once walking from Haiduan (mouth of the gorge) and scootering (from Hualien).

This time we took our bikes further south to Taitung, and pedaled along a half-finished road through the Coastal Mountains and popped out just in time to pop into the Central Mountains and head up the gorge. When we arrived in Wulu Village, after 83km and 8 hours on our seats, we were tuckered enough to immensely enjoy some coffee and the hot springs. We earned our pleasures!

Starting out in Taitung at the (what we have come to call) Orchid Hotel. We got in late on a train from Hualien (you are only allowed to take your bikes on the slow trains, so what would normally be a 2 hour trip turns into a 3.5 hour trip if you want to bring a bike...but its all worth it in the end!) and crashed.

In the morning as the warm Taitung air lapped against us (and the sky cleared!) we went straight to the bikes and hit the trail. We knew about a road called #197, saw it on the map, and it all looked good. We just had no clue how to get from the hotel to this road. So, we took a shot at what we thought would be the right route, crossing over a creek, a bike path and then linking up with a main(er) road. Main for Taiwan mountain roads....but this quickly turned into a curvy, up and down, rough and landslide filled route. Totally Taiwanese. Totally amazing. The road was secluded and quiet and in parts broken by landslides and rockfalls. We saw some cool birds and I got to see my second mongoose!

We followed this road through the mountains until it took us to the city of Guanshan. Here we were able to grab some lunch and regroup, and confide in our leg muscles to keep them going - what we expected to be the easy part of the trip turned out to significantly harder and longer, and we knew that the second leg ahead of us that would take us up the gorge was definitely a gargantuan task. So, already tuckered out and cursing the approaching uphills, we ate some noodles, guzzled some water and hit the road. Just a bit further, legs, don't fail me now!

And then, almost immediately, were hit by a big humble pie. Wagon. Jet. Jumbo jet. A humble jet.

You see...we had just finished a tough bike ride at this point, and we did have a tougher second half of the day ahead of us. We knew that we were going to be tired when we arrived in Wulu, and we let a few complaints trickle our now and then. We thought that we deserved a pat on the back for what we had accomplished already, and what we were to accomplish. We thought we were the bomb, and that the road engineers put in those approaching hills just to make out life tough. Irrational thoughts poke through when you get low...

It was then, right at the moment we were feeling the most knackered, we came upon a race of some sort. A marathon. No. Not a marathon. An Ultramarathon. We biked the next 35km along side a stream of people that that were in the midst of a voluntary 100km non-stop running race.

Our complaints stopped immediately. The road ahead looked easy...enticing. As we made our way up the gorge we passed people who were 5 or 6 hours into a race that had no end in sight. We passed people who cheered for us, while they had the real task ahead of them. It was a non-stop ride of us giving them a thumbs-up and a "jia-you" (go, go, go!!) with them giving us a thumbs up and a "jia-you" in return. Some looked haggard, some looked spry. Kudos to all.

Once we arrived in Wulu village and settled into a room (camping is pretty much out of the question as the road is cut into the mountain side and if you want to pitch a tent you are probably going to require bivy gear and a little bit of trust....) and downed coffee while soaking in a hot spring. Epic end to an epic ride, legs buzzed, bodies tired and sore and minds wobbling a bit from exertion. Thoughts of the ultramarathoners made us feel better, and impressed.

Then, once the evening hit, the highlight came. A chance to poke around in the mountain forests for critters of the night. Night hikes have become our "thing" while in the mountains and this night we were out to find more cool insects, but this area is known for owls, and we have heard tales recently of flying squirrels...so our real sights were set to the higher canopy and trunks looking for these. So off to the forest we went, across a suspension bridge in the darkness of the night, up the mountain trail looking for eyes looking at us.

No luck. Crazy critters all over the place, but no squirrels or owls. But a fun attempt as always.

The next morning was fairly routine...wake....eat....saddle up...say goodbye to Wulu and head down the gorge. This is the easy part....almost 95% downhill. Just sit, fingers readied on the brakes, and go.......

Train, home, pizza, sleep.

Tropical Storm: Songda

Maybe a miss, maybe a hit...the next few days will tell the tale.

Liyu Lake Triathlon and Butterfly Valley

This weekend was a double whammy: The Liyu Lake Triathlon (above) and a field trip with Crystals students to Butterfly Valley (below).

We took part in the triathlon as a trio, and it was an absolute (painfully wonderful) blast. Crystal did the run, I took on the bike and a friend did the swim. A hot, sunny day, friends and a crowd more than 2000 strong of Taiwan's elite and amateurs. A really cool vibe, a really good time and I think when the results come in it will be happy news. Regardless of how we placed, it was worth every moment.

Me switching off the time-chip after my bike ride as Crystal prepares for the run (left) and Crystal at the end of said run as she crosses the finish line.

To the finisher go the spoils! A towel, a hat and a medal. On the right is the poster that greeted us at Butterfly Valley, a look at some of the common birds that could be found in the area.

On Sunday we loaded up a school bus and took Crystals class to Butterfly Valley, a pristine (most of it) conservation area and one of Taiwans butterfly migratory stopovers for myriad species. There are three main places in Taiwan that are key butterfly habitats - the whole forest of the island is important, but these are the vital links to their survival - and are trying to be preserved. This one, one in the south (Purple Butterfly Valley) and a region in the north are all delicate ecosystems that the butterflies rely on for their survival while in Taiwan, and their energy requirements for the journey throughout Asia. This place has unfortunately turned itself into an upperclass resort, but beyond the expensive hotel, the overpriced coffee and the rather inhospitable workers, the forest beyond the parking lot is exquisite. Not just for butterflies, but birds, insects and monkeys...and everything else. Its wild, and easy to access if your willing to walk the walk!

Um..... (left) and a nice view of part of the valley that is the Butterfly Valley.

Group photo along the way - we took the hike out in bright sun, then as soon as lunch was starting to digest the rain started....not simply rain, but rainy rain...wet, heavy and drenching. We ended the day drenched, but happy. On the right the students are looking around the butterfly enclosure where all the key local species can be found.

Overall an excellent weekend - a race and a free dinner, then a free trip to a wonderful conservation area to see some rare and endangered butterflies in the wild. To too bad, I say!

9-21 Earthquake Museum

September 21, 1999, a 7.3 earthquake struck Taiwan and left a path of devastation behind. It was an unusually strong earthquake in usually earthquake free region of the Country. In the end, after more than 12 000 aftershocks within the next month, there were 2,415 dead, 11,305 severely wounded, with 51,711 buildings completely destroyed and there are still 29 bodies unaccounted for. More than a decade later, this earthquake that maimed the landscape and the people still shows its scar. A line of disjointed land runs from north to south along the fault, and not only can you see a line of destruction along its path, but the path of the physically displaced tectonic plate is plainly visible, too. You can actually stand beside a 3m high wall of broken rock, shot up from the innards of our planet. How...freaking....crazy.

The people and the government decided to establish a permanent memorial for the people lost and to recognize the power of nature. One school that was hit particularly hard was chosen to be the site of the museum - a destroyed edifice to learning left as a permanent teaching tool.

This weekend we did took the trek to the west coast (yuck!) and visited TaiZhong City (yuck!) to see this memorial. Along trip to the west coast is always a little depressing as it reminds us of the garbage, the consumerism and the pollution that is the western side of this half-gorgeous country. But, if we want to see all that there is to see in Taiwan we must go everywhere....

The museum is totally worth a visit - half of it outdoor, where you can walk along the old track that was displaced, walk through old classrooms and see the damage. The indoor sections are well done also, with pictures, exhibits explaining earthquakes, simulations and explanations of tectonics and geology. Really well done.

To look at pictures and hear stories is well and good, but to actually touch the place, to see what used to be a school with kids, teachers, books, computers all turned into compacted rubble is astoundingly moving. The government has done a really good job of both preserving this for us to see, but also using it as a learning tool so that we don't forget and so that we are prepared. Building codes changed in Taiwan because of this.

After a long trek to get here, a healthy chunk of time spent poking around the earthquake memorial/museum, we headed back for TaiZhong City, remembered how utterly sickening it is in the west coast cities and got a cheap hotel and crashed. The Museum rocked - literally I suppose - but the city, the place, the west.....well, it sucks.

A few days earlier I went with my school to Taroko National Park - scratch that - my school, true to Taiwanese tourist style, went to the visitor centre at Taroko National Park and we sat in the snack bar for 5 hours. That is their escape to nature - sitting in a f***ing snack bar at the foot of the most beautiful place in Taiwan. I still don't get the Taiwanese after all these years..... .

Regardless, during this time I poked around outside and found this curious critter. It is actually a pure yellow insect (this is the nymph stage) but it camouflages itself with....with....with....poop! Yup, it poops on its back and keeps it there to hide its gloriously bright yellow colour. When they turn into flying insets, they drop the poop-game, but while they are slow, leaf eating sluggies they slather their bodies in wet, sticky poop. Nature.....what else have you got up your sleeve?

Illegal Hikes of Taiwan: Part n (and a bike trip to get there...)

To our home away from home, Taroko National Park, once again.

We combined a nice bike trip, two hikes and some epic swimming this weekend, all under clear blue skies. The bike trip was our regular jaunt through Hualien, up the gorge and to TienXiang village...and once there we de-saddled, rested, ate some fruit, drank epic amounts of water and hit the trails.

The illegal trails, of course!

We started out early Sturday...primed with some porridgey goodness and some high octane coffee we hit the streets. Usually the Taroko trip takes two stages - the city stage and the park stage. The park stage is always epic and wonderful, and the city stage is somewhat boring. However, this time we found a new trail that meanders about a little following the river - not too much though - and makes almost half of the city stage a pleasant and car-free ride. Perfect! The fewer cars, the fewer green-monster trucks the better.

Once in Taroko (the ride, while awsome, has been documented many times before so ill leave it to those posts to explain the joy of biking through this park) made our way to the Chimu Bridge trail - sans permits, of course - and started trek. This dry river bed is riddled with massive boulders of pure marble, some the size of trucks. Being here illegally made it all that more fun and exciting.

After a long ride, a nice hike and a good dinner...we crashed. Waking up the next morning to yet another clear blue sky, and having time on our hands, we took to the trails again. This time it was not a river bed of massive marble, but a ridge crossing. Up and up into bamboo forests, along some cliff faces and then down again to a (now, thanks to a landslide that blocked the main access trail!) secluded swimming spot. We bathed, sunned, bathed. The frigid water calmed the shuddering heat of the morning nicely. Then some more walking...flat, totally flat, through a few tunnels, across a few cliffs and to a really cool tunnel with a waterfall inside. Inside. A curtain of water permeating through the bedrock and cascading down on you while you are inside a mountain. So freaking cool!

Alas, time was growing short and we still had the hike back to the hostel and the ride home ahead of us so we turned around, and started back up the ridge.

Lunch, and a ratehr blissful (mostly) downhill ride through Taroko Gorge took us home. A stunning place that fails, always, to let us down. Always something new to see, always a new illegal hike to find!

L: Skink R: fresh cooked corn as a mid-morning snack on the way to Taroko

The entrance of Taroko National Park...who stole my helmet?

L: Crystal taking nap, post bike trip and pre Chimu hike R: Crystal during the hike testing the waters

L/R: The view along the Chimu hike

L/R: More Chimu scenery...all marble!

L/R: More and more Chimu scenery, and a new frog (to us!)

L: Cool rock, with iron deposits leaching out along the bedding plane R: The cats came back....friends we met at our hostel

L/R: More cats that found our hostel room to be much more interesting than the outside world.

L: Us at night, letting the cool evening soothe our muscles. R: Taiwan/Chinese Bulbul (not sure which one...)

R/L: The next morngin the hike took us through a neat bamboo forest, over a ridge and down the otehr side to a river valley. Here we are perusing the bamboo...

L: The sunday morning trail. L: The river at the other side of the ridge.

L: Swimming R: Relaxing

L: tadpoles in various stages of development R: One of the many tunnels along the trail.

L: Scenery R: More tunnel time.

We were ready to leave....and then....we stopped again to say goodbye. Perhaps ou last time here so we had to make it a good one....so tought to leave. So tough.