It’s been a busy, tiring week, getting ready for the summer camp. The first week’s campers will arrive on campus on Monday. Yikes. Wish me luck!

So, last Friday, Miki (one of the students here who I met in Kentucky – she spent last semester at our school) came to pick us up and we took the train down to the main Kaohsiung station and picked up the bus to Kenting just across the street.

Apparently there is a Fisherman’s Wharf in Kaohsiung!

The buses are really quite nice and very comfortable. The seats were gigantic and the air conditioning was perfect.

That evening we ate at Miki’s family’s restaurant, Ali Seafood. It was amazing – best food I’ve had in Taiwan, by far. Pictures will follow in a future post about this trip. After dinner, we drove into Kenting and walked around the night market and shops lining the street. The place was hopping and we had a great evening checking everything out. Miki gave up her bed for the weekend and Kristen and I shared a bed with an actual mattress. I hadn’t slept so good in over a month. It was delightful.

The next morning we slept in, had breakfast/brunch, and finally got started on our day. Miki first drove us to Maobitou in Kenting National Park. According to the sign, “Maobitou is a cape on the western side of Taiwan’s southern tip that separates Eluanbi and the Taiwan strait. The topography of the area is made up of coral rocks that have rolled down from the coastal cliffs. In addition, erosion from the winds and waves has created cliffs, ditches and caverns, making this cape an outstanding geography and topography classroom.”

The coastline was simply stunning. These pictures were taken within minutes of each other. The weather was changing very quickly.

The rock on the right hand side of the photo is called Maoyan or Cat Rock, because it is said to resemble a cat. I

Since the climate in Taiwan is similar to that of Miami, where I grew up, it’s not surprising that I should run across some things that are familiar. Saw grass is one of those things. Miki didn’t know what it was called in Mandarin or Taiwanese.

I particularly liked this plant.

The first warning sign was at Maobitou. The second one was at the first beach we went to that weekend.

The beach was fabulous and the sand was warm, but the water was very rough and they had it cordoned off. Anyone who went past the barrier got whistled at to step away from the water.

After we went to the beach, Miki took us to meet her Grandmother and Grandfather (her father’s parents). They live about a block from here this area. There were quite a few kids diving and jumping off the pier (?) and enjoying the warm (and relatively calm, safe water).

I finally got Miki to sit for a picture.

This is Miki and her grandmother. She was totally adorable.

We hung out at the water for a bit and then we headed over to a local food stand. There were a number of people eating there, which boded well. For the most part the food was good. I finally tried pig’s blood congealed with rice and put on a stick. It wasn’t horrible, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering it again. It wasn’t a favorite of mine, mostly a textural thing, I think.