Hi guys!

It has been a really busy, really brilliant couple of weeks of having friends and family converging on the region. By luck / design, Markus has been here (need to work out what photos I have of that … seems so long ago now!), Anke & Lars have brought Linnéa on her first world tour, and even my parents have been traveling through HK on the way back from New Zealand. The fun hasn’t stopped though – fear not – Gerhard and Klara will be trucking through in just a matter of weeks.

But first, Anke & Lars, and their little bundle of ice-cool baby style, Linnéa.

Wulai ho! The river has been narrrowed, I think. The hot springs remain, and the diving board is removed much of the time (like all areas of water in Taiwan, people tend to throw themselves and die at alarmingly regular intervals).

Since the guys left the island, the amount of hiking I have done has dropped significantly. I can’t be too worried as I am in the mountains most weekends on my wheels, but none the less it was great fun to jump into Mattieu’s car (pretty much the only forriner that I know that has one) and jaunt down to Wulai; world capital of the crazy hot spring.

It was more or less impossible to stop taking photos of Linnéa, but for that I am not sorry; she was an utter delight for the whole time. Great work, guys.

Back on the trails – feels good.

Linnéa – stop it!

Tongue-tied.

Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

It was amazing to see her at this age – prodding, probing, testing, fondling … and just occasionally falling over (usually when Anke walked over to Lars and I).

Okay, I’ll stop for a while.

We stayed overnight in a sweet little hotel, and the next day considered what to do. Somewhat as a joke over breakfast, I suggested we ride the cable car at the waterfall, and see what was up there. No foreigner I have ever met has been up there; most of us avoiding it, assuming it was a Taiwanese tourist trap. Everyone I know just rides past it on the way to waterfalls / hiking / camping.

We were correct about the tourist trap; stuffed toys, haunted houses, boating lakes, cross-bow firing ranges etc. But it really was a bit of a magical feeling up there: completely absurd, but set in a wonderful environment above the valley. So, I hate to say it, but it comes recommended!

The Waterfall.

Boating lake at the top of the waterfall.

Bye bye guys! (see you in Hong Kong)

Now, I need to get posting the other stuff, and exporting the photos of Linnéa … A.L.L. have been chasing me!