Wazhiwei Nature Reserve & Guandu Temple Lantern Festival

February 10, 2020

Corona Virus (Covid-19) continues to rule our lives. We avoid crowds by avoiding public transportation, wash our hands and stay away from people. To this end, Chia rented a car again and drove us a mere 8 miles north of Taipei to the area near Tamsui District.  Taylor and I have been to the town of Tamsui on the MRT a number of years ago, but we visited the opposite side of the river which has a bustling downtown.  This time, we explored the quieter opposite side of the the Tamsui River at the far north where it empties into the Taiwan Strait. 

We began our outing at a public playground, and then wandered along a boardwalk through the mangrove swamps in the Wazhiwei Nature Reserve.

Solomon was exuberant at being in the fresh air, in a playground, and among children.

Tamsui is across the Tamsui River from us.  Mangroves and fishing boats are in the foreground.

We paused at this riverside stainless steel sculpture for a family portrait.

For a child, there is always something to examine on the riverside. Chia is teaching Solomon about how mangrove trees germinate.

As we walked along the boardwalk, it became apparent that we were walking along side fishing villages.  The tide is out so the boats are all grounded. It's a great time to see the painting on the sides of the small boats.

I can tell that this is an active fishing village when the boats go out, and when they come back in.  Right now, all is quiet and ready for the boats to go out again.

Mangrove swamps are fascinating for all ages.

The trees germinate when these long beans drop into the sand.

After our walk through the mangroves, we headed to Guandu Temple for the Lantern Festival.  Guandu Tample was built in the 1661 for worship of Mazu, the goddess of the sea.  The actual date of the Lantern Festival was several days ago, so we don't encounter large crowds, which is our goal.  We pretty much had this enormous temple all to ourselves.

I took this photo from the parking lot.  This is one portion of this enormous temple which is built into the side of a hill.  There are several more entrances.

I'm standing at one of the many entrances, looking out at the river.

We entered through this long tunnel, built into the hillside.

In one of the temple courtyards, Solomon helped feed the fish and turtles in the fountain.

Mickey supervised the feeding of the fish.  After all, it's the Year of the Mouse (Rat).

This is an animated display.  The sealife was in constant motion.

These lanterns are recycled water bottles, brilliant in many ways.

The temple was brightly lit with lanterns every where.  However, up in a room at the very top, was  the grand finale:  lanterns made to represent famous European paintings.  Maybe you will recognize some of the artists.

Of course, no festival would be complete without Mighty Mouse.  After all, it is the Year of the Mouse (Rat).

No trip to Taiwan is complete without a visit to a temple or two.  This year, due to our location in a western style shopping area which was short on temples, and the virus, we didn't go to the temples like I prefer.  Guandu Temple, during the Lantern Festival, proved to be the magical temple experience that I require in a visit to Taiwan.

Thank you for watching over Solomon.

(Thanks to Chia for contributing many of these photos.)

Xiaowulai

February 2, 2020

The inconvenience we experienced moving into our apartment in Taipei has dissolved.  It has been replaced by fear of the Corona Virus.  People on the streets are all wearing masks, and spending a great deal of time standing in line at pharmacies to purchase masks and alcohol wipes to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

We are watching the news reports and doing what we think is best to stay safe.  We wash our hands constantly and avoid crowds.  This means that we aren't taking public transportation or going to the traditional markets where we love to buy our fresh fish and produce.  We are also seeking out parks for Solomon that have few or no children for him to play with.

Chia, seeking to entertain us, proposed a trip to the country.  She rented a car, and we drove to Xiaowulai for the day. This scenic area is south of Taipei.  To begin our day, we stopped at a small resort area and soaked our feet in a hot spring.

After preparing our feet for some hiking, we drove further up the winding road into the mountains to the area where we could view waterfalls.

There are several restaurants at the beginning of the trails.

Although the restaurants looked appealing we brought our own lunch so I didn't get to experience sitting with my snack and enjoying the view.

We started our adventure by hiking through the forest.  We had some good views, and didn't see any people.

This stroll through the forest wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

We made it! There were only 58 steps up to this level, but it felt like at least 158.

After lunch we decided to check out the waterfalls.  Our first stop was the Plexiglas bridge overlooking the river and falls.

Plexiglass bridge overlooking three levels of waterfalls.

Oh!!!! What a view!

Our next activity: crossing the one lane suspension bridge.  Kind of scary.

Before crossing a second suspension bridge back to the side we started on, we explored this secret trail carved in the side of the mountain.

I was intrigued by this opening in the rock wall on the trail. It is the beginning of a covered trail that ends with a lovely view of a waterfall.

Happy family at the end of the trail.

One final waterfall before crossing the second bridge.

Here's our secret trail from the opposite side of the river.

At the end of the afternoon we drove down the long winding road and stopped at a roadside stand to buy some local produce.  I bought a cabbage, 2 turnips and 8 oranges.  Chia got a better deal - the load of corn that is on the back of her bicycle, and an enormous bag of mandarins which is in the front basket for the same price as my purchases.

This is a lot of veg!!!  And you can't see it all because I've got the cabbage and turnips in my backpack.

Of course, once we returned our rental car in downtown Taipei, we had to transport the produce to the apartment.  Fortunately, Chia had her bicycle so she did the produce transport and the rest of us walked.

Corn feed.  Although each ear isn't perfect, it all tastes delicious.