Day 4 - Taiwan - Eastern Coast Excursion

On our fourth day in Taiwan we took off for a three day excursion to the eastern coast of Taiwan. This side of the island is nowhere as developed as Taipei and is home to some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. We loaded up and took the train to Hualien to begin our adventures. Once we arrived in Hualien we had a very nice lunch. I believe Monzer referred to it as Cuisine International (said with zee heavy French accent). After lunch it was off to the Taroko National Park. We started out with a couple mile hike along the river that had a beuatiful rest area about half way through. We were able to actually go down to the absolutely crystal clear water and wade around in between the gigantic bolders. Our tour guide (Mike) told me that the water was so clear because the rocks in the area were very high in calcium carbonate and it had this effect on the water. In any case it was beautiful. After our hike we went for a tour of the Taroko gorge. This is probably the mose magnificent natural formation on the planet. We essentially were able to walk right along the edge of a gorge that was about 10,000 feet tall and it goes on for miles. This took pretty much the rest of our day and it was great. At the end of the gorge there was a set of shrines built to honor the 212 military men that died while the roads were being constructed. Fatima, Bob, Levi and I all took off for one that was way up on the cliffs overlooking the gorge. What an areobic workout, they really make you work to pay your respects. My legs were so tired when we got back to the bus that I couldn't keep them from shaking. It was worth it though and I was able to sleep on the bus back to town.

We stopped by the beach on the way back into town which turned out to be very interesting. This beach had absolutely no sand to speak of anywhere (see picture). It was all rocks of various sizes, I felt like I was in a gigantice fishtank with all of those little rocks in the bottom. When the tide came in we had to keep moving because the ground would literally wash out from under your feet while you were standing there.

That night we checked into the best hotel we have stayed in so far and wound up taking an adventure through Hualien to find dinner. After a crazy cab ride and some fantastic dumplings we all made it back for a good nights rest.