A longer than expected good-bye

We were not even sure if we would end up staying in Taipei for a long enough period to do anything but buy our departure tickets, complete some housekeeping tasks and say some quick good-byes.  However, as things played out the time quickly stretched to nearly a week of wandering, eating, getting to know better some of the people we had met previous, meeting even more wonderfully hospitiable people and cementing Taiwan as one of the best places we have had the good fortune of getting to know.

During our month or so spent in Taiwan we pedaled 1250 kms, got lost, viewed sights of uncomparable beauty, made a load of new friends (we hope you take us up on our offer to visit us in the US), learned a lot of history not taught in school, cried (out of happiness),laughed, and simply enjoyed ourselves.  We can not stres enough how strongly we believe everyone with the ability must visit Taiwan at least once in their lives.  

Reasons to visit:

- the food and huang cha (cold tea with sugar)

- the people

- great roads for touring whether you are looking for breathtaking views, picturesque landscapes, culture rich cities or hellacious climbs

- the cost is very manageable, though accomodation can be slightly more pricey when you get into the more touristy locations

-the convenience of everything- water, wifi, bike pumps, food, help if you need it

Reasons to NOT visit:

-none

Seriously folks, get your tickets to Taiwan and pack up your bike NOW!

A welcome return but not so welcome surprise

Taipei night skies

Taking the train the last couple hundred km back into Taipei was more like a homecoming than we ever could have imagined.  The familiar roads seemed so much less chaotic and our host, Mitchell, welcomed us back with cold Taiwan beer and an open ear eargerly awaiting the tale of our time circumnavigating the island.  Likewise, when we visited Tern the following day it felt like the victors returning from a great battle.  Handshakes, smiles and interested faces greeted us all around.  Taiwan has been too good to us.

Mitchell, Lynn, Bruce's arm, a huge bunch of pasta. Mmmm....

We expected to be in Taipei only for 2-3 days before flying out to our next destination.  However, our 'victory lap' quickly ended in 'pit row' when I nooticed that Chiara's bike frame was making some odd sounds when I carried it upstairs to the apartment at which we were staying.  Upon further inspection I found what could have been a catastrophic failure in the hinge that makes our 'folding bikes' fold.  At some point in the past few weeks, unbeknown to us, one of the bolts had broken and but the design was such that the bike had remained in one piece.  After a bit of hemming and hawing we came to the realization that we would not be leaving Taiwan as soon as we had anticipated.  So we settled in and enjoyed the place that we had grown to appreciate, knowing that we could have certainly been in worse places for this type of thing to have happened.

  At the tern offices.  Great folks work here. 

There's cool bikes too. 

We felt a bit strange entering the Tern offices on Monday morning after having aid our farewells the prior week.  The people at Tern, however, could not have treated us better.  We felt like family, apologies for the inconvenience and reassurance that the bike would be fixed ASAP.  And the following day when we returned we found that not only had Chiara's bike been repaired but both bikes had been given a complete tune-up and inspection for the coming legs of our journey.  

We had always been happy with our choice of bikes for this trip but now we felt as though we had done more than jut purchase a bike but that we had been welcomed into a VIP club where the only criteria for admission is a willingness to pedal your rear-end thousands of kilometers around some of the most beautiful landscape in the world.  We want to give a huge shout-out to all the employees at Tern that have helped us make this dream adventure a reality.  To Amanda, Josh, Galen, Rod, Eric, Kara and all those at Tern that we we didn't meet, thank you with all our hearts.  We hope you enjoyed the VooDoo Doughnuts and please let us know if there is anyway we can begin to pay back your hospitality.

--We are presently at around 3600km cycled for the trip.  Most of the gear is holding up well.  The Big Sky International tent has been everything we hoped and more.  Spacious, lightweight and easy to set-up/break-down.  The Luminaid inflatable solar lantern I bought in Japan has been very useful though there has been issues with it leaking air.  The company was very reponsive and sent us another one in the mail.  After a few afternoons of GI discomfort from filling our water bottles from "nonapproved sources" (ie. public bathrooms or outdoor spigots) we decided to start using our Steripen.  Though nothing is written regarding there being water quality concerns in Taiwan we have been told tales by locals of there being periodic episodes of the water causing problems for people and animals.  Though unsure whether the water was the culprit or we just were feeling the heat and new foods, we did not seem to have any problems after we started treating the water.  The MKS pedals we chose have not been our favorite thus far.   Though the quick-release function has been super helpful in breaking down the bikes for travel, they are quite heavy and we have not enjoyed spending the the better part of a km after every stop fiddling endlessly trying first to flip the pedal to the correct side and then engage the tiny cleat into the pedal.  I am not sure how every other pedal clipping mechanism we ever used coould be so much easier than this design?!

Now for a bit of housekeeping:

--We received the box sent by our great friend Scott and Jessica- Shout-out to them as they navigate their own challenging tour of the PCT from Canada to Mexico! Check out their progress on their blog: - filled with things that we decided would be nice going forward, including our front paneer bags, to help redistribute the weight of our gear, our ultralight running shoes, our rain jackets (the ponchos are good but we had a few times after day long rains that we felt the warmth of a jacket was needed, a few more wool items for Chiara and a little surprise of Trader Joes dark choco PB cups!  /or You guys rock!

--While talking with people we have come to realize a reoccuring question we get is, "What exactly is Warmshowers?"  I guess we made a leap when starting our trip and blog assuming that people all inhabit the same world as do we.  Therefore a long overdue acknowledgement in the thing that makes our journey easier, more enjoyable and gives it so much moore meaning than would be possible oitherwise.  Warmshowers, despite the suggetive and mildly ambivelent and maybe slightly ill-conceived nomenclature, is a hosting service like Couchsurfing but angled and meant to support cycle tourers around the world.  It is a completely free fraternity that aks nothing from it's member but to be honest, good people to others.  The hosts may offer anything from, well a shower to food, a shuttle, a night sleep, and/or anything/everything you might imagine.

How do you go on?

Leaving Dulan and cycling south toward the southern terminus of the island it was hard to believe that we had only made it about 1/2 of our intended cycling path.  Based on most of those we had spoke to we had at this point passed through the best of what Taiwan has to offer to tourists.  But as many cycle tourers will probably tell you the best part of places aren't always the sites, at least not the sites that you might expect.  In fact, often the best things, those that you talk about years after your trip is just a memory, are those places that either people never tell you about or even those places that people suggest you avoid all together.  We first learned early in the trip in places like Geoje Island, Korea and Osaka, Japan.  And even more often it is the people that make a place truly magical such as in Yadoriki, Japan or now as we headed around the south of Taiwan new surprises awaited.  First we needed to find our way across the island from the wild and scenic east to the busy, traffic choked west.  Based on a few factors we decided to tread across island a bit north of the picturesque, and tourist laden Kenting area.   Though there is no debating the pictures we have seen of this area are amazing we decided we preferred to put some space between ourselves and the tour busses that choke these sites.  Also we knew that we had a long journey ahead of us both in Taiwan and in other locations and that we decided to opt to take a less crowded route.

                     

There's a lot of great public art in aboriginal villages

Riding through a typical neighborhood

As the daylight started to fail we found ourselves in some out-of-the-way villages with no intended destination.  For the first time our go-to Police station stop failed to result in a good option to camp.  Based on the maps, however a small town in the mountains a few km away appeared to be our best chance.  As seems to happen all to often we found ourselves making a sweaty climb up a narrow and mildly busy road at dusk searching out a place to camp.  This one payed off and we found a great school grounds with a covered area and friendly, inquisitive locals.  We made an early start, followed some wonderfully, quiet roads through villages and dropped into the west side of the island.  From a suggestion of another cycle tourer we headed toward the small port town of Fangliao where a hostel awaited.  This became one of those places discussed prior- that being one where we met wonderful people and had an experience that cannot be planned, charted, or booked.  Fresh seafood, drink, conversation, hospitality and an a/c cooled room- what else does one need?

Super rad people who cook some mean seafood by the train station

Tainan- the early capital city of Taiwan-would be our next stop.  Of course, as is our lot, we arrived on a holiday weekend where no Warmshowers were  available but a recommended hostel had room...and we soon found out the reason.  Not only was there a large typhoon approaching the island but also the recent upsurgence in heat and humidity (a sign of an imminent storm we learned) but along with this came a local outbreak of Dengue Fever, one of the very few potentially deadly illnesses which has no immunization.  Turned out these things resulted in an enjoyable four day layover in this ancient city.  After two nights in the hostel we found a returning Warmshowers host who turned out to not just offer our own room but also Michelle was the best tour guide through this history and cuisine rich city.  We cycled through the small streets to see temples, where we finally began to understand a bit more about these ubiquitous, ornate structures that dot every corner of Taiwan's landscape.  

  Pretty canal bikeway, Tainan

With Michelle, the hostess with the mostess, visiting a temple

 

Idyllic temple grounds

The typhoon passed the island more to the north however did not leave us untouched more to the south.  There were many inches of rain and winds that took down trees (and my kickstand...RIP) but this only temporarily slowed the people.  Early the next morning the people were out and about cleaning up and going on with their lives- something we admired.  

The night of the storm we had another one of those chance meetings that was in none of the tour books.  A local man invited us to visit with him to a local painter we later found out is considered by some to be an incarnation of Buddha.  A small, lean older man sat eating his dinner while his art hung in various stages of completion all around.  All pictures of dieties from Buddhist and Taoist lore which he had seen while he is entranced.  They also took multiple pictures of yours truly saying that he had seen Jesus and that I was that image.  We laughed, talked, ate deserts, drank tea, and ultimately....as you do...finshed the night singing karaoke as the rain and winds from the typhoon raged just ourside the doors of his cluttered studio.  

Exhausted, arms full with prints of his art bestowed upon us and dreading our wet, windy ride home we left and headed home.  How do you forget moments such as these?!

We enjoyed one more day with our host then made our way again north.  Originally we thought that it would be nice to ride the roads away form the cities but the hilly, winding terrain and the late start we got that morning found us on the heavily tavelled roads through towns and cities making our way toward our finally destination, Chieyi, where we would catch the train back to Taipei.  Leaving the 7-11 about 40km into our day we were confronted by a vaguely familiar looking man who thrust a phone in our faces with a translation from Chinese - English saying 'We met yesterday.  Do you remember?'  We, of course, did as he and his wife were at coffee shop that we stopped in to buy some beans.  The couple asked us what we were doing and where we were headed, through Michelle our host/translator/guide/friend.  They were excited about our trip and took her number saying that they wanted to show us the coffee growing region of Taiwan between our location and intended destination.  Thinking this was lip service or a well intentioned but empty offer we thanked them and after not hearing from them that night we moved on with our plans.  And now, here they were, in front of us encouraging us to put our gear and bikes into their small SUV so they could take us somewhere.  

High up in the mountains drinking coffee 

Unwilling and ultimately unable to refuse such a generous offer we piled in and communicated, slowly, for the next hour drive through the winding mountain roads via a phone translator app. Turns out they had spent the better part of the morning driving all over the area looking for us so they could fulfill their offer to show us the area!  This being more than we could have imagined we were beyond greatful to their hospitality.  We arrived at their friends coffee...uh, store, in the region where hundreds of butterflies fluttered about and we were served fresh baked breads, tea and fruit from the Lagdon (I think...) trees growing right on his property and of course his freshly roasted coffee.  In what world does this happen?!  And this wasn't the end of our surreal time spent with our new friends.  They told us all out their family and asked us whether we wanted to visit an area famous for its MUD hot springs.  When in Rome...so we found ourselves at a beautiful resort with our hosts offering coupons that made our visit to this unique (truly there are only 3 places in the world with these type of hot springs, Italy, Japan and here) cost $3 USD.  We cannot express enough our greatitude and awe at the unselfish and hospitality of all the people of Taiwan that have made our time here beyond compare.

Butterflies!!

The Dulan Vortex

Dulan turned out to be one of those towns that anyone that has traveled has been to and maybe even found themselves "stuck".  Not that stuck is the necesarily a bad thing in many of these cases.  Certainly not for Dulan, a small, artsy, surfing village tucked neatly in a cove just north of the city of Taitung.  As for us, unable to delay our riding any longer we rolled in an evening ahead of our friend and decided to wait him out figuring that some time to blog or clean clothes would not be the worst option.  After stopping at a brick-oven pizza joint on the side of the road- an obvious sign that this place would be slightly unique- we went to the usual location, the local police station, to ask about camping foor the night.  As it turned out they had built a few small covered sleeping platforms for cyclists right on their grounds for free.  

Um, hell yeah I am ready for some pizza.  3 months+no cheese = cranky Chiara

Aparently I was looking at something super interesting on my phone in the free campground at the Dulan police station.  WHERE in the WORLD do the police have free places for you to camp?!?! Oh, yeah, awesome Taiwan, that's where.

Delighted by this we claimed a spot, showered, and made ourselves comfortable.   That evening we went for a stroll down the single drag that made up the bulk of the town and discovered this little spot housed multiple backpacker style hostels filled with westerners and locals intermingling, drinking, eating, and listening to loud music.  We even came across a couple from Denmark that we had met previously in Haulien and we spent the evening chatting, drinking,and enjoying a more traditional 'backpacker' type experience.  Awakening the next morning, feeling a bit rough from the nights libations (i.e. Chiara was pretty hungover) we made slow progress packing our gear and moving from 'camp', but we eventually climbed the hills outside town to meet our friends.  That evening we were reunited with

Aaron or A-A-ron (a Warmshowers host from Japan) 

and we were introduced to his friend, an artist also from Spain, Alvaro aka 'Boubba', who lived austerely in this little artist, surf onclave while he worked on an art installation for which he had been commissioned.  To round-off our small mismatched crew was a Chinese woman, Vivi, who was also staying at the small home through a Couchsurfing vacation.  

We were quite the internation hodgepodge- eating, drinking, swimming, debating, and sharing stories.  Quickly 4 days elapsed and it became apparent why so many of the westerners didn't appear to have any plans on leaving any time soon.  We even started becoming more acquainted with local, um, friendly insects, that used the house as at least aspart time  residents, such as Priscilla, the bathroom spider that was almost the size of my hand, and this crazy praying mantis that was not the size of my hand.  Also viewed were groups of monkeys, hawks, hawks biting the heads of snakes, headless snakes, possibly every genus and species of moth ever recorded, dark brown wasps well over and inch and 1/2 long, and tons of others crazy creatures.

    

The laid back lifestyle, the access to beautiful uncrowded beach and surf breaks, and the congenial vibe slowed us down too, but eventually we packed up and continued further south.

The Sweet Spot

Reluctantly riding out of Taroko Gorge we were taking photos and slightly lamenting not trying to ride to the 3000m pass (the highest driveable rode in Asia) but knowing deep down that the misery of attempting this on a 20inch wheeled bike is almost certain torture.  We soon cheered knowing that the best of the best was immentently in front of us.  Hualien to Taitung is well know to be biking paradise.  A more than 200km section of roads that wind through hills, along coastline, in and out of villages and all with good bike lanes and drivers well aware that you, and thousands of other cyclists, are present.  

We rode through road with shrines for relatives who had passed.

  

On a bike-only trail on the coast.  Alas, there were ome stairs too.

The easy ride to Haulien was a pleasure.  We decided too treat ourselves to a hostel, hot shower and delicious night market food and the manageable sized and friendly city of Haulien was the best choice.  We checked-in, showered and went walking in search of the street food we have grown to love.  Nothing much happed in our time in Haulien.  Most tourists use this town as a base from which to visit Taroko and other surrounding sights but as we had just came out of the park and passed or will pass most of the aforementioned sights (a perk of cycle touring) we spent a large chunk of our time eating, reading, and sleeping.  Not able to be more content we did venture out at night to the wonderful Night Markets that are part of normal Taiwanese life.  The food is always cheap, fresh and unique and we love sampling the local delicacies.  

   

Eating a bunch of veg and stinky tofu, a Taiwanese delicacy that smells like your grandpa's socks but tastes pretty good.

   

A stall selling all kinds of skewers you can have bar-b-qued, Bruce in heaven with a pork-stuffed french toast, a milk tea, and a fruit-I-can't remember-the-name-of milk.

After two restful days we staarted south again and zig-zagged our way from one road to the other across the less formidable but still challenging coastal range mountains of Eastern Taiwan.  Avoiding the main roads whenever possible we chose the local village roads which were more rolling hills but with almost no motor vehicle traffic.  At the end of the day we landed at dark at another coastal park camping ground in a village diffficult to pronounce without a smirk and snicker- Shihtiping, that we read about in the Lonely Planet book.  Everything was great- covered platforms on which to set up your tent only meters from the picturesque shore, hot water showers, and only a few other campers with which to share the accomodations.   Unfortunately we found out in the morning that the price was 3X that quoted in the book.  Not a trip ending dilemma but still a shock and slightly bitter pill to swallow.  Still half the price or less of what it would cost in the States we decided to stay and rest another day as we found out that our friend (and warmshowers host, Spanish Aaron) from Japan was coming to do a short tour in Taiwan and wanted to meet up a bit south of our location so we needed to kill some time awaiting his arrival.  

  

Scenery on the way to Shihtipeng,

  

The view from the campground, the platform we camped on, and crater-like rocky beach down the road.

We ate at a local aboriginal food at a cafe run by a wild haired and slightly crazy-eyed native island woman and slept well listening to the sounds of the waves against the rocks on shore.   The next morning we stretched our bodies, something that was long overdue, while looking over the waves (the kind of staff that would make Rodney Yee jealous) and walked arround the little park playing in the tidal pools and enjoying the peace.  We tried to go eat at a local seafood restaurant that we read about in the very tiny village but in true Taiwanese fashion they we inexplicably closed at a normal eating time.  We have started to get used to this phenomenon in Taiwan.  It has similarities to places we have visited in Central America in the past, where 'Hours of Operation' are more of a rough outline of what 'might be' and not what should be expected.  

Hitting the road early the next morning we continued south toward our rendevous point of Dulan but not exactly in a straight line.  This time on coastal Hwy 11 and again crossing the coastal range inland.  We made great time and even had time to search out one of the locally famous destinations, the hot spring hotels where for a few bucks you get to soak and relax in a private hot spring fed tub.  Needless to say ut wasn't easy to get back on the bikes but we were close to a town where we would eat and spend the night.  Little did we know that this simple task would end up being quite so powerful.

Taroko Gorge

When I had read the Lonely Planet and started doing research about cycling through Taiwan, the Taroko Gorge came up again and again as an unbelievably beautiful national park, replete with high peaks, good camping, and touring granite walls.  We rode to the gorge in the waning light, almost giving up the idea of heading to the campground about eight miles beyond the entrance to the park, instead staying somewhere in the small tourist trap of a town that sits at the base of the park.  We had already spent the day gaining and losing elevation on windy roads with small shoulders and multiple narrow tunnels accompanied by innumerable trucks and large tour busses carrying the Chinese tourists that were the mainstay of Taiwan's east coast landscape.

  

Riding up to the Gorge, cliffs leading to the ocean on the other side.

  It had started to rain a bit before we had reached the entrance, which combined with the waning light caused us a bit of concern about getting to the camp.  We ended up riding through to the campground and when we arrived at our destination we were glad.  The campground was small, maybe 15 large platforms, each having a picninc table and a bbq area.  There were bathrooms with showers AND we were perched along a steep river valley in a serene part of the park, quiet and with water rushing down below and a waterfall within view.  All of this for NT $200, which is insanely cheap (about $6 USD).  Even though it was a Saturday the campground wasn't full, and the next morning all our neighbors packed up and left, leaving us the main area of the campground all to ourselves.  It blew Bruce and I away that such a lovely tranquil campground could be found in a major national park so cheap and all to our selves.

  

We spent the next few days riding further into the park, exploring some some of the trails, one of crept down a steep and partially washed out staircase along a stone wall of the gorge into natural hotsprings.  They were so beautiful, and blazing hot.  We were only able to dip our feet in for the first ten minutes or so but we eventually were able to sit and immerse our tired, road weary legs.  There was a flurry of older tourists in the pools with us.  Some agreed that the heat was unbearable but a few submerged themselves completely to the awe and cheers of fellow bathers.   It was impressive but it appeared that he might be a regular bather carrying with him a whole basket of provisions for the long periods he spends immersing his body in the cauldron of near boiling subterranean liquid.

   

    

Many people cycle from one end of the gorge to the other, on a winding, switch-backed roads topping out at a little over 3000 meters, or around 10,000 feet.  I had been considering this climb before we set out on this trip.  The largest climb Bruce and I had done to this point was Washington Pass in the North Cascades National Park, which tops out at 5,600 feet and I believe in the range of 27 road miles of climbing.  My mind flipped back and forth between wanting attempt the climb and feeling like it might be unrealistic.  Instead, we opted to ride about 1/3 of the road, but this allowed us to explore some of the trails, to keep our gear at the campground, cook delicious meals, and also feel like we could relax a bit.  Maybe I'll eventually be disappointed that we didn't do the whole climb, but I feel like we've already done some good climbing coupled with some slower, languid days that allow us to enjoy all that this amazing country has to offer.  As we ended our time in Taroko, I firmly believe that it is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen and and was an experience of a lifetime.

The Food, the Friends and the Father

On our way into the town of Yuli we came across another cycle tourer, a solo rider from Singapore who spoke almost perfect English and seemed interested in talking with other riders.  We told him our plans to get a meal and he started asking the locals where the local noodle shops were located.  This started what became a culinary tour of this litttle town- delicious noodles, a local dish they call 'meatball' but is more like meat inside chewy, gelatinous cover (very tasty),  shaved ice bowls with chopped fruit or sweet beans, fresh squeezed fruit juices and the malodorous but rather tasty 'stinky' tofu.  Stuffed to capacity (a rarity on a bike tour) and dark approaching we went to the local police to ask about camping or the like and were directed to the local catholic church.  Here we met the nicest and most welcoming French priest that offered us to sleep in an extra room out of the onsetting rains.  The next morning, Keith struck out at sunrise to head north and back to Taipei while we, in true 'Crack of Noon' style made coffee and slowly packed our things. 

     

With Keith eatiing dinner, desert, and at our fancy church digs.

As we were about to leave the Father came down and invited us to share morning prayer and breakfast that he serves to the local needy.  We met the most interesting group of people, literally of all shapes and sizes.  

We also met a young French man that was an intern of the priest that filled us in on the happenings.  Turned out the Father had been in Taiwan for many decades and had spent much of his time serving the desperately underserved indigenous peoples of Taiwan.  Many of the people milling about, he explained, were from various 'tribes' from the mountains of Taiwan and spoke totally unique languages aloong with Chinese.  The Father was able to communicate with most of them in their native tongues and seemed to know each personally.  We later come to find out that this priest is famous all throughout Taiwan and was given an award from the president for his work with the indigenous people.  After our food and a small chat about our journey we said our good-byes and the Father left in a truck on what was sure to be another long day of service to his 'Flock'.  It was redily apparent that this man's life and work were meaningful on a level that is hard to quantify and his presence,  even in our short time was impossible to ignore and not feeel blessed for having met this man.  Moved to tears and feeling reaally thankful for thier hospitality, Chiara and I rode away from this chance interaction and, as it seems to be in Taiwan, straight into another odd and wonderful experience.  

In front of the church with the father and his intern.

While making our way out of the town we "picked up" a young, local fellow cyclist.  He didn't speak more than 5 words of English but seemed  determined to ride wherever we were headed and communicate by whatever means necessary.  This led to a day of pantomiming, picture drawing and language lessons where we were given a tour of the local area- beautiful terraced rice fields, a delicious (and famous) Bento restaurant and hillside parks.   We rarely had had spent such day of superfulous activities.  It reminded us what the true purpose of our time was, not just a list of destinations, mileage counting and box ticking but a journey of human interactions, exploration of a people and their lives.  We are very greatful for meeting our new friend "Monkey" and will never forget him.

  

Bruce and I being arty and with our buddy Monkey.

Obviously not making it too far on this day we camped again in a mostly deserted campground at a welcome center.  Only one other family was there and with the help of their precocoius little boy we soon became friendly.   They gave us a delicious local dessert, pineapple filled 'Coffin Cakes' and we spent the morning watching their baseball phenom 4 year-old hitting pitch after pitch from his father well over his head.  We would not be too surprised to see this kids name on the back of a professional jersey in 15 years time.

Like so many people in Taiwan the family waas exceptionally warm and welcoming and even invited us to come and stay with them in Hulien where they lived.  Lamenting a bit that we had come from the direction already and would not be able to take them up on their offer we said our good-byes and hit the road south oone more time to meet our buddy in Dulan.

You Gotta Take the Bad with the Good

Cycling out of Taipei: the North Coast

Whoa! Our exit from Taipei was a complete 180 from our entrance. Mitchell pointed out that there was a bike specific path one block from his apartment ( how did we miss that?!?). That path led us to the Taipei cycle and pedestrian dedicated paths that led us not only out of the city, but to the north coast of Taiwan. The ride consisted of many conversations such as: Chiara (sarcastically): 'This is terrible.' and  Bruce (sarcastically) 'I know, Taiwan is terrible. How are we ever going to survive this?' And every turn seemed to just become more surreal and postcardesque.  We rode for 40km with scarcely a motor vehicle near us and exited the city joining the coastline Rt 2 route around the northern aspect of the island.  The day was building up to be the best of the tour thus far with small seaside villages, quiet roads, beautiful sunny weather and two happy riders.  

   

That was until the route took a left turn....literally a left fork in the road that I didn't see and Chiara did, though she was a bit behind me and didn't see where I went and that's where the cautionary tale begins.  Though we had planned for such an event of losing each other our contingency somehow failed and as did our always patchy WiFi we have ben relying on for any email, text etc.  Jump forward 2 hours and you have two riders, on the same road 20km apart and no idea which one is in front of the other.  Flash forward 4 hours and after a bit of hard to decipher text messages and an assurance that both were on the right track you have two riders almost 60 km apart in the dark, hungry, confused and exhausted.  Turns out the place we were both trying to find, Jiufen has an "Old Street"  as do many other towns that have names that also start with "J" and on maps are hard to find because they are so small.  Now you may be beginning to understand what this all adds up to...a day that started like a fairytale and ended in FUBAR.  With nothing left to do but go to sleep in our respective locations and fight a new battle in the morning we resigned ourselves to our fates.  Chiara went to the local police station and found the most sympathetic, concerned and helpful public servants since we were in Japan and misplaced her wallet.  They found a hotel for her across from the station and made sure she had her phone charged and that she knew where she would need to go the next day.  Bruce managed to find the place we were staying but all the amenities had been long since shut for the day.  

The picture Bruce sent to show me the home stay.

Luckily the intended guesthouse was very lax in their idea of "closing for the night" and I found a friendly bunch of Austrian travelers outside that helped me find some WiFi (so I was able to find out that Chiara was indeed safe and tucked in for the night) and that there was an empty space in the house that I could lay my head for a few hours.

  A big shout out to Sebastian, Max and Anna...hopefully we can take them up on their offer to come and visit them on our way back to the States.  The next day Chiara was up at the crack of 6 and she blazed through the mountains, through steep winding roads on her way to rendevous in the quaint old mining town that was intended goal the day before.  The drama of the evening wore away as we made our way to the guesthouse deciding to enjoy a full day together in the little hillside town, eating and gawking at the busloads of tourists that poured into the impossibly small "Old Street".  The views were amazing from the streets but in the daylight we appreciated the strange little homestay with the windowless room we rented that was built into the hillside, a much cheaper and mustier option than the other rooms.  However this came with added bonuses of a dark quiet night sleep and movie channels with English langauge films! You know that things have gone a bit askew when your laying awake into the wee hours watching Night at the Museum 2 and actually enjoying yourself.   We headed back out towards the coast and the famed Taroko Gorge, with a better plan in case we lost each other again and a desire to stay a little closer together when we cycle.

A view from thet homestay.

Narrow little streets on Jishan Old Street.

Evening lights and clouds.  A beautiful sunset.