Last Day in Taroko

I got my own bed last night, which meant no chance for me to roll over my bed mate (sorry, Yinjie). While out of Taipei we've been staying at numerous accommodations. All of the hostels, hotels and youth centers have exceeded my expectations. 

*Don't read the next paragraph if you don't want to hear toilet talk

They all have normal sitting down toilets instead of squatting potties. I've actually grown to like using the holes in the ground. It's a much more comfortable position; given you have the right balance. Plus you don't have to touch the germy seat to your bottom. The only downside is the smell, because the used tissues are thrown into the trashcan instead of the bowl. This helps the sewers run more smoothly, making cleanup easier. Also, I have been toting around either a small roll of toilet paper or tissues. This is a precaution for in case the bathrooms (everyone calls them toilets here) aren't in stock. Two thirds of the time they don't. Only the very fancy places do.

We conquered another trail this morning! This one was longer and better, but more stunning. We had to wear helmets again, but today I didn't wear the sweaty chin strap. I prefer this type of hiking - where I can actually stop to enjoy the scenery, instead of staring at my feet the entire time. 

The start of our hike differed in that we walked through a cave, not down some stairs to the gorge. Helmets not only protected us from falling stones but also acidic bat urine. The evidence of its strength was seen on the walls of the cave. Rocks were discolored and crumbling around the bat toilets. When we shone our lights/torches on them, they would squirm about and do what looked like covering their eyes with their little claws. Who wouldn't be irritated if you woke them up in the middle of their sleep?!

Passing through the damp caves, we had more gorgeous views, although not of a gorge. We were hiking along the side of one of the mountains that are in central Taiwan. The coast was not far away, but the scenery changed dramatically. I felt like I had entered a scene from Jurassic Park. Okay, so I've never actually seen the movie, but I can imagine dinosaurs stalking through the ferns and over sized leaves.  

I made Vico pose like this. Usually he's not this expressive.

Halfway through the hike we spotted a bridge. Hip hip hooray!
I've been seeing these the past couple of days but I have not had the change to traipse across one. This one had a sturdy wooden boards supported by rope looking cables. It was hanging about twenty meters above a river. It was strange, the river. The first part that fell from the waterfall was glassy and green. Then as soon as the water passed under the bridge, it turned muddy brown. There was some weird Taiwanese magic going on :O My excitement turned into nerves as soon as I stepped on to the bridge. It was really shaky! Even more than I expected. Jenny and Baker were afraid to cross, but they got over their fear slowly. I also carefully tread, snapping a few pictures of the waterfall.

Beitou Sacred Tree
50 m tall, 35 m diameter
3,000 years old

Our group takes so many pictures.
Jump shots, solo shots, group photos. I think we spend about a quarter of our time with our noses behind a lens. After spending a copious amount of time taking pictures, we finished our hike and ended up at waterfall inside a cave. JiLing and I shared a raincoat, which resulted in us laughing more than paying attention to our footing. We screamed a lot when the cold water hit our hood. I'm really happy that we've gotten to visit so many great places.