Looping Around Taiwan

Hi family and friends. Our two-and-a-half weeks in Taiwan is coming to an end, and I'm full of feelings. But first, let me tell you that Taiwan is beautiful. The people here are incredibly kind, especially to the kids (and total strangers congratulate Ryan on having three kids!). The land is so lush and green, with nearly 60% of the country devoted to forests. The surrounding ocean is brimming with sea life, including (to our delight) many sea turtles. And the food is totally incompatible with the kids' palates...can't win them all I guess.

We started our Taiwanese adventure with a few days in Taipei. After months in lesser-developed parts of Asia, Taipei felt like a dream. The organized infrastructure (city grid! sidewalks! trains! malls!) reminded us that we were getting closer to home. We began with a hike up the tallest peak in Taipei, Qixing Mountain. The trails and the views were just outstanding.

Back in the city, we took trains all over. We all loved it, even though it was a tight squeeze for Ryan.

We visited the 101 Tower (11th highest building in the world!) and the original Din Tai Fung (tastes just like the one in Seattle).

I realized as we walked the fashionable streets of Taipei that we look, well, ratty. So the kids each got a new outfit to liven up their very limited wardrobes. It's been funny to have the same few clothes for a year. I might burn them when I get home.

From Taipei we took the train to Hualien. We had planned to explore the Taroko Gorge, but the recent 7.4 earthquake destroyed the entire area. We still enjoyed our visit, highlighted by some epic ATV action on Manbo Beach. For some reason, the ATV company started the tour with an illusion photoshoot (?) with poses that were so damn funny.

Then we hopped on our ATVs and hit the beach! It was ridiculously fun. Lu, who probably could have flown off at any moment, had the most fun of all. (I wouldn't be surprised if that kid took up BASE jumping when we get home.)

From Hualien, we took the train to Chishang, a town known for its bike paths through impeccable rice patties. We hopped off the train, dropped our stuff, rented bikes, and hit the trails. The biking was great. The endless rice patties were so beautiful (and symmetrical!), and the kids loved biking on the deserted roads.

After Chishang, we started our journey to Lambai Island. We took a train two hours south, hopped a taxi to the ferry terminal, ferried eight miles off the coast, and finally arrived on a tiny island stole my heart.

Lambai, also called Xiaoliuqui or Little Liuqiu, is Taiwan's only coral island. Despite its tiny size, Lambai over 700 resident green turtles. The only way to get around the island is to rent scooters, which was so much fun.

On our first day, we explored Beauty Caves and the beaches below.

We popped out of one beachside cave, only to find five enormous green turtles feasting on algae in the shallow water. We watched them roll around in the waves and eat for a long time, having no idea what awaited us the following day.

The next day we went snorkeling. I just love this pic of Baker.

We walked right from the beach into a turtle wonderland. Green turtles are protected in Taiwan, so they are everywhere and unafraid of humans. A few times we had to quickly swim backwards to get out of a turtle's path, because they sure weren't going to yield to us. This turtle was about 4 feet long.

I had never seen anything like it. It was just magical.

That afternoon the kids got some garbage bags from the hotel and returned to the beach to clean it up. The plastic pollution is disheartening, but seeing this young generation care so deeply gives me a lot of hope!

We spent the rest of our days scooting around the island, exploring caves, watching green sea turtles from beaches, swimming with them along the reefs, and eating roadside donuts. Ryan also took a free-diving class and held his breath for 3 minutes 15 seconds! I understand why this island came so highly recommended. It really is a tiny paradise.

We said goodbye to Lambai, ferried to the mainland, and started our journey up the western side of Taiwan. Our first stop was Chiayi, a town at the entrance to Alishan National Park. From there we traveled north to Alishan, a green, lush, beautiful forest. We hiked across the Dijiu suspension bridge, with views over the river and trees.

And then we entered the park, which is packed with cypress trees and every shade of green imaginable.

It felt good to be there...probably because it looked so much like Olympic National Park. We just wandered around, looking at trees, watching trout swim in the river, and crossing every suspension bridge we could find.

We left the mountains of Alishan, and found ourselves at Sun Moon Lake for a couple days. The lake is circled by a 26km bike path, and we biked and ran all over it. The highlight was a hike up Maoshan ("Cat Mountain") for an amazing view of the area.

Our final stop in Taiwan was at Cingjing Farm. We went for the renowned mountain views and free-roaming sheep, and arrived to a rainstorm and dense fog. So it goes. We head back to Taipei tomorrow to catch our flight to Seoul...but not before the kids spend all our change on Gashapon in the Taipei train station.

Can you believe we will be stateside in 41 days? 41 days. I have missed our home. I have missed our people. I have protected my homesick heart for the past year by focusing on each day and not looking ahead. But now I've let myself start thinking about pulling up in front of our house, seeing our neighbors we love so dearly, wrapping my arms around my friends and family, meeting the babies we have missed, seeing how much all the kids have grown. We are so close.

Two more countries: South Korea and Japan. I get to hug Sandy and Holly in Japan, and then it'll be just days until the rest of you.

All my love,

Madeline