DAY 63  -  Hualien, Taiwan

February 29, 2024 

Taiwan is a pretty big island - with lots of geological diversity.  Our stop today was to visit the Taroko Gorge. We had a nice drive along the coast, and then turned inland to go up into the mountains.  The national park was also the beginning point of the first cross island highway. The government felt it was necessary to have this to be able to defend both sides of the island against attackers. Over 200 men were killed in accidents building the highway through the mountain with tunnels and bridges crossing the terrain.  Part of what we saw was a shrine/memorial to the men that were killed building the highway.  But the beauty of the gorge was spectacular,  The hike in was about 2 miles - all paved with rock or cement.  The local tribal people still inhabit the area and keep their old customs.  They also have a food stand half way up the trail!








Enjoying a quick stop for a pepper dog and lychee drink.







Our hiking companions for the day kept egging each other/daring each other/scaring each other about going out on the slippery rocks 50 feet above the rocky stream.




















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  DAY 37  -  Manila, Philippines February 3, 2024 With all of the history in this big city, we were surprised that we were only spending a half day here.  But with a lot ahead on the water for this part of the cruise itinerary, I guess something had to give. We had four stops in the city...first at the old cathedral, second at the Fort used by all of the occupying countries (from the Spanish in the 1500's to the Americans in the late 1800's with the Japanese and English in between...followed by the Americans again after WWII).....at the famous Hotel Manilla (where Gen MacArthur had his headquarters) and at a large park with lots of street vendors. This is the entrance to the dungeon....which was quite freaky and gruesome to visit..... We have been told to be really careful about street food vendors....but some of these looked really good and smelled great! All of the kids were wearing these "Duckies" clipped in their hair (it was a Saturday and schools had lots of ex...
Read more
Image
  DAY 64 - Ishigaki, Japan March 1, 2024 For some reason, in all of the planning and calendaring for the trip, John completely missed this day.  We had no plans or trips or even options scheduled. Fortunately for us, the weather turned and it was cloudy and cold, and it rained all day. When we looked outside, there were no mountains or cities, just a harbor and small town with nothing standing out.  The daily ship newspaper said that the town was best known for its beaches and hiking. So happily we stayed inside, took long naps, read the papers and the news, did laundry and really laid low all day long! 
Read more
Image
DAY 77 - Okinawa, Japan March 14, 2024  The WWII battle for Okinawa is well known as one of the most crucial battles and one with the highest casualties of the Pacific War.  It was so important due to its proximity to the island of Japan. Allied bombers would be able to attack the major cities in Japan if the airfield on the island was available to them to take off and land.   We had two stops during our excursion today on the island.  The first was a beautiful Japanese garden with ponds, bridges and shrines.  It was a public park available to everyone to relax and enjoy a quiet peaceful day. Our second stop was at the palace.  The main building was unfortunately destroyed by fire a few years ago and is being reconstructed.  It was not talked about much during the tour, but this had to be a major stronghold and fortress during the war due to its location, height and solid construction.  It is called a palace, but seemed like a massive fort wi...
Read more