Cass and I got “Noddy” the car fired up and pointed beachside on Saturday morning although I made a deliberate and calculated move not to include any surfboard, surfing paraphernalia or anything else that might tempt me into the water when we got there. Yangminshan mountain’s snaking route was as busy as ever, possibly more so because of the upcoming flower festival and the possibility of an early glimpse of blushing cherry trees. Flower watchers would have been very disappointed, however, as when the heights of the fumaroles were breached, we plunged into a pea soup fog, a quite ethereal Wuthering Heights moor’s type mist and a languid yet dangerous caravan of overly cautious, oft-breaking drivers in Nissan Cefiros!
Skidding off the mountain slopes and to the relative safety of the coastal road, the seeping sky didn’t relent all the way round. Past the eight spinning wind turbines in the shadow of the nuclear power plant, the restaurant on the back of a truck still plying a trade even after its principal attraction (a beached cargo ship) has been salvaged and hauled away, then threading through the depressingly gray wind and wave-whipped coastal hamlets, Noddy purred her way right through to Greenball. The surf looked really enticing and I was glad I’d removed all temptation to enter the water and possibly re-injure my healing ribcage. We met Dan and family as well as some of the other local surfer boys I’ve got to know over the years: one tiny benefit from my injury might be that it will scare them away from Nan Ao for a little longer, judging by the look of horror on their faces when I recounted the “incident”!
After a brief stop we decided to motor back on round to Jinshan township to again sample the delights of the anomalous “Victoria” restaurant. Others have obviously been similarly wooed by Victoria’s charms as we were informed there would be a half hour wait for a table for two! Undeterred in our quest for food, we simply wandered across the road to the far less salubrious, but equally convenient 7/11 for our lunch. Some of these super 7/11s over here have to be seen to be believed and with the recent addition of the “City Café” coffee shops within, they are almost rivals to the local restaurants. We simply selected our items, had them “nuked” if needed, ordered our cappuccinos, then sat at their clean and serviceable dining area to enjoy the meal. Maybe not quite the Victoria experience, but also about a 10th of the price!
Cass had succumbed to an annoying cold late in the week, so she was more than content to luxuriate in the comfort of the car on our trip through the mists on Saturday, and also to snuggle on the lounge with the cats and watch the one day cricket on Sunday. After the first innings, I was determined to get myself moving and she felt similarly “stir crazy” as we had schlepped our way round the house all day! We decided on separate walking/hiking adventures to suit our different energy levels and each departed on our planned route. Cass went down to Sogo and marveled at how many people seemed to have broken from their winter chrysalis to soak up the early spring blaze of sun, intense blue skies and the caress of some bone-thawing warmer temperatures. The butterflies had finally broken free of their pupas!
I rode the scooter up behind section 7 and beyond the “back steps” where I often start a hike, all the way to a set of steps near the horse stables I had spied as we whizzed by on Saturday. Where they led and for how far was anyone’s guess, but I was determined to track their early path at least. They went up at an alarming gradient at first and continued this way before flattening out slightly and briefly every now and again before again tilting skywards. The path pierced the terraced slopes of lush and verdant plots and gardens, all nurturing edible plants in various stages of maturity. The tiny buds were fragile, yet you could almost hear the cold snap of mountain freshness from some ample and bursting leafy pickings! I stopped from time to time to catch my breath as well as to capture a scene on the camera: the photos above don’t really do the scene justice, as I think all five senses are necessary to really get the feel of the day. I hiked ever upward, until I came to the road we often travel on the way up Yangminshan.
At this point, I was quite prepared to stop, and probably should have as both my rib (from the full expansion breaths I was huffing!) and my dodgy knee were both acting up a bit. I did spy the path continuing ever upwards on the other side of the road, so decided to investigate a little further. The next flight was long and steep but leveled out on a ridge of the mountain. There was a car park and a garishly decorated temple along with a simple sign indicating the path continuing as it meandered and disappeared through some marsh grasses down the slope and away: intriguing! Back down the mountain I went and arrived back some hours after I expected to. I was extremely pleased with my afternoon out in the soothing beams and bucolic plots, idling as they did alongside an ever-present stream which bustled through sluices and dykes all the way down the hill alongside the path.
Photos are of Virgy sprawled in the morning sun, the green splendour of Yangminshan’s foothills along with a tiny baby taking his car for a spin and my tragic old ugg boots, which are literally and very publicly falling apart!