Our Little Getaway

It just so happens that our one year anniversary fell over a holiday here in Taiwan, giving us a nice 3-day weekend to get away and celebrate. We hopped on a train and headed to the eastern coast to experience Hualien City and Taroko Gorge. Several locals have described it as being their favorite place on the island--and we can certainly see why! It's absolutely beautiful. Nestled between the blue Pacific and sky-scraping mountains and cliffs, it was the perfect escape from our now daily urban lives. Here are some of our favorite pics...

Somewhere Beyond the Sea:
The picture above was taken from the balcony of the Farglory Hotel, a very expensive English-style hotel that sits on top of a mountain in Hualien. Very scenic, to say the least. Just over our shoulders and behind our backs is America. We were standing in front of a big sign that pointed its direction out. It's a little hard to see, but if you squint hard enough... Knowing that home was just beyond that vast expanse of blue ocean somehow brought peace, refreshing, and smiles to these two foreigners' hearts.


We enjoyed spending time at the coast. Here we are getting a little beach time in. The water was too rough to swim in, which of course made it perfectly ideal for the host of surfers in the area:


A Fish Out of Water: Poor guy. Chip found this little puffer fish washed ashore. He kind of looks like a cartoon fish or something, doesn't he?



Our day at Taroko: And although these pictures hardly do it justice, here's what we captured of Taroko Gorge:



The first two pictures give you an idea of just how tall and steep these gorge cliffs are. At around 3,000 feet, they tower over everything. The third picture is one of several waterfalls we came across that day. Although it doesn't look like the bridge is that high up, it was--and below it was fierce and raging water. And forgive us for the poor quality of the last picture. It wasn't an easy shot to get. At the end of one of the trails hikers can put on a poncho and enter a cave that has waterfalls pouring through it. We got soaked!

We have plenty more pictures to share with you, but until we get a chance to post more, enjoy these!