Swimming in the Pacific

 Tim in the Charming City Hotel lobby in Hualien - ready for a day at the beach to the south.

 I tried to get photos from the taxi window, but only got the top of this shrine.

 This is a large high school near Hualien.  Notice all the granite boulders - they were all over the countryside.

 This is the beach where we spent the afternoon - right down under one of those blue umbrellas!

 We set up camp under the right-side umbrella.  Good thing, because it rained later, so everything stayed dry while we were swimming.  We rented plastic chairs so nothing got sandy either.   :-)

 The coastline.

 Heading back after our day at the beach.  (We bought the lime green beach towels in Taipei!)

 Such a fun time swimming in the Pacific!!

 Fun day!!

 Rainy views out of the taxi window on the way back to Hualien.

 Pretty clouds!!

 Sunshine on shore, clouds off shore.

 This is a famous landmark - it looks like a turtle lifting its head out of the water.

 The turtle landmark - the hill is its shell, and the rock is its head.

 I tried to get the vegetation along the road too.

 The views were amazing all along the way.

 this was a little driftwood tunnel built along a trail overlooking the beach.

 This is Hualien.

 Walking to the train station to travel back to Sanxia.

 In front of the train station in the foothills of the mountains.

 Paul got a 10 minute massage from a blind masseuse at the train station for 100 NT (Taiwanese Dollars0 which is a little over $3.  He said it was great!!

 She got done right before we boarded our train!

 Tim and Alana waiting for the train.

I may bring back some small denominations of $$, but not $1000 NT - that's about $30 US dollars.  The money is a little bigger than ours, and very beautifully decorated.  




This post will have to be another quick one, until later in the day.  We will leave the hotel here in Sanxia soon to take the bus to Uncle Sam American School, where we have been granted the opportunity to observe as visiting teachers.  There was some uncertainty as to whether or not we'd be allowed to observe classes, but the stipulation is that we will meet with the director of the school afterwards to give recommendations about the school.  Translation = we will say only positive things about the school so that the Taiwanese "save face".  We are very excited about seeing where P/A work!!

Yesterday we got to swim in the Pacific at a beautiful beach south of Hualien.  So much fun playing in the waves!!

We need to go catch our bus now!!  More later!!!
Love,
-M & T-