Day 39 - Walking Through Many Seaside Towns To Baisha, And Meeting Other Adventurers, The Long Walk South In Taiwan

 

Day 39 - Walking Through Many Seaside Towns To Baisha, And Meeting Other Adventurers, The Long Walk South In Taiwan  

We slept well last night, although I could hear the wind howling all night long, and the heavy rain pounded on our windows.

I opened the curtains this morning and saw more heavy rain, and the palm trees were blowing wildly in the wind.

I breathed deeply as I thought about the fact that we will get soaked today, while walking in the rain.

I knew that Wendy had arranged for us to walk with some of her friends, who will help us for the last leg of our walk.

They will join us for the last few days, because this area of Taiwan has only simple guesthouses that are sparse and are not available to book online.

Covering the distance between guesthouses will require the owner of the guesthouse to pick us up on the trail, and then drop us off the next day at the same location.

There is also a mountain pass, long days of 25 kilometer hikes and a section of the trail which requires a permit, and an indigenous guide to walk along with us.

I started to have doubts about inconveniencing the people who will be coming to walk with us.

It might not be fun for them and for us to walk in this kind of rain and wind.

I also saw on the news last night, that there was another typhoon coming to this area of Southern Taiwan, and the idea of inviting people to walk in the storm seemed wrong to me.

I sent a message to Wendy, and she replied that she will contact the group and message me later.

She replied and said that they do not want to cancel and that they will be coming, despite the bad weather.

We got ready for the day, packed up our backpacks and went down for breakfast. 

Breakfast included soft eggs, which are one of the things Jules like least to eat, but he was a trooper and ate it anyway, which I appreciated, because a pilgrimage is not a luxury trip and often we have to eat whatever is served to us.

If we wanted complete control of what we eat and drink, we could stay home or travel to places that serve what we love, not walk pilgrimages.

As if by magic, the rain stopped when we started walking.

The walk was scenic, shaded by trees on one side of the road and with nice views of the mountains and the sea.

There were packs of wild dogs on the path, some growled or barked at us, but they got quiet as we just walked past them, without responding to their threats.

Sometimes, I saw what I called “phantom dogs” because I saw them ahead on our path, but they disappeared into the woods before we reached them 

I even saw a crazy dog that scared me, because he was running after passing cars, but he too disappeared when we neared his location.

It made me feel a little more protected.

We had no convenience stores to rest in today, and no stores of any kind lined the main road.

We did have a nice break in a small,

cool cafe, in a village that seemed to be a diving destination.

Many houses have a sign advertising their dive shops and well worn dive suits were hanging in their yards.

The cafe had only a few chairs, and they made their own freshly baked items and good drinks.

We were their first customers after they opened, but soon they were busy with other customers.

The village had houses that were painted in white and blue, like they were trying to create a Mediterranean atmosphere similar to that in Santorini.

We continued to walk along the coast, and through a tunnel of mangrove trees, locally known as “Sea Almonds”.

We had an occasional rain shower and strong gusts of winds.

Since we arrived in this part of Taiwan, the scenery and nature are so much more enjoyable and I enjoy the walks very much, regardless of the weather.

We stopped to eat a late lunch by Baisha Beach.

It is the beach where they filmed the movie “The Life Of Pi”.

Signs were posted all around advertising the beach.

We ordered vegetable noodles and pineapple rice, and sat enjoying the big waves breaking on the shore.

The rain intensified after we left, and soon we were walking while what felt like a high pressure hose was spraying us.

We saw our hotel located up on a small mountain. 

We walked up the very steep road, stopping every fifty steps to catch our breath. 

Finally the road turned into the hotel’s driveway.

The hotel was a lovely luxury resort, and the front desk spoke perfect English.

They took us to our suite room in a golf cart.

It felt almost ridiculous to walk all day in the pouring rain, only to be driven such a short distance to get to our room.

It was a great suite, and the beautiful lobby had huge tables made from polished wood slabs and a really great selection of free snacks and drinks.

They even had a laundry room and a deer enclosure, with five newly born fawns. 

After taking our showers and changing our clothes, we collected our laundry and went to sit in the lobby until dinner time.

In the lobby, we met a couple who were cycling around Taiwan.

He was an American man and she was a beautiful German woman with a great smile.

I really liked her and felt that we shared many ideas and beliefs, which turned out to be true, after we chatted for a while.

They told us that they have cycled all over the world and now they were cycling around Taiwan.

I asked them how had they managed the last few days, with the heavy rain and really strong winds.

I remembered how cycling in heavy rain and wind, can blow you sideways.

They said that they haven’t cycled in the past few days because of the weather.

They stayed in this lovely hotel, enjoying the scenery, the food, the comfy rooms and endless snacks and drinks, waiting for the weather to improve.

They looked at us in admiration for continuing to walk in the storm.

We talked about how it was going down the western coast of Taiwan, how surprisingly populated it was and how they struggled through the traffic and congestion of the cities.

They mentioned that they had a near accident in one of the cities,  but no flat tires at all the whole way.

Secretly, I felt an idiotic sense of pride.

This is because all along our walk, I kept on clearing rusty nails and screws from the sides of every road we were walking on.

I kept remembering our own cycling trips, and how annoying it was to fix flat tires.

I also thought about the many local cyclists and scooters that I saw daily, and how simple it is to kick a nail into the gutter, instead of just leaving it on the road.

I really enjoyed meeting this couple of cyclists, who seemed to be more of less our age, fit, strong, intelligent and adventurous people.

They inspired me to keep going, and their perception of what they liked and didn’t like about their journey, comforted me because I felt almost exactly the same.

That night, I slept so well in the airy bed with pillows that felt as fluffy as clouds.

With love,

Tali

Today’s Stats:

Steps - 24,611

Daily Distance - 17 km

Total Distance To Date - 615 km