Coast sanity break

Why haven't I been posting? Had midterms to give and grade, and then took two days off to visit a friend in Chenggong. Love that ahhhh feeling when you head south out of Hualien and you know it is going to be a good day. A special bonus was the vast decline in tour buses. Saw them, but not in the insane numbers of before.

Interestingly, the wind was in my face the whole way. Usually it is at my back this time of year. El Nino?

More photos below...

Hualien is lovely early in the morning.

Looking back on Hualien and Jian from the bridge south of town.

Niu Shan. I still hate that mountain, though it is not as dull a climb as it was before the put in the tunnel. Luckily they have Meiji double chocolate ice cream bars at the rest stop...

Always a pleasure, the view from the rest stop.

Last time I rode this, this wall had just collapsed, blocking the road.

Note the fence. Unfortunate "progress". This has always been an open beach you could just walk down to from the road.... one of the many costs of China tourism is this sort of urge to define and control space.

Not a bus in sight.

Figures of hay for tourists like me to take photos with.

Sweeping into Fengbin.

This noodle shop next to the 7-11 in Fengbin advertises that it's from Taichung Chingshui.

A crane clears space for more of the concrete jacks. Construction is constant on the coast.

I didn't stop to ask why this spot was so special, but fishermen lined the road for about a kilometer, and had obviously camped out overnight.

Fish farming.

The mandatory shot over the fishing port at Shitiping.

The Tropic of Cancer marker, now bereft of tourists. Relatively speaking...

Baxian cave, which hosts a very old archaeological site. The clouds moved in here.

Paddy and shed.

The egret flew off, refusing to pose for me.

The play of cloud and light on this section of the coast is always magnificent.

Parking: because who needs to think about other people? A traffic jam in Changbin.

A little fishing port.

These ruins are the oldest shop in the area.

Heading into Chenggong.

I think the mountain wall around Chenggong is one of the most beautiful on the island... so many moods.

A farmhouse near my friend's farm.

My friend Jeff. I stayed with him in Chenggong. We took his dogs out to his farm in the evening.

In the morning I set out for Taitung and the train station. Caught the sun reflecting off ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.

The weather was already ominous as I left Chenggong.

Huge rocks like this, far from any peak, are likely deposits from ancient tsunamis.

Far from the paddies, the sky was darkening.

Surfers near Donghe try the waves before the storm arrives.

I rushed down the coast...

....but didn't beat the rain.

Lovely two days of peaceful solo riding on the coast. Hope to see you with me there soon!
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