Cuan Di Xia Day Two

We woke up well rested the next morning and surprisingly warm. The sun was up and I was looking forward to our hike. As we got dressed, the laoban, brought breakfast. It consisted of a few hardboiled farm fresh eggs, cornmeal soup, pickled radish, sprouts, and white buns with fermented tofu to spread on them. The fermented tofu was certainly a taste I had to get used to and so I used it sparingly on my bun. The cornmeal soup was so bland, so I began adding the pickled radish for better flavor. And the sprouts made me happy. This breakfast was definitely less satisfying than normal European fare but that was my first taste of a real Chinese breakfast so I enjoyed the opportunity.

We headed to the Dragonhead Mountain which shelters the village. The village faces it on the south (good fengshui) and the sun was just coming up over the mountain top. Fernando spotted this scorpion on the way. It was out even though the temp was only around 10 degrees celcius.

Chase and Fernando vetoed taking the normal route that everyone else takes to get to a viewing point. So we basically had to do a lot of scrambling off the beaten path. Several times Chase or Fernando had to pull BeiBei and I up rocky hillsides covered with slippery fall leaves. It was an adventure and I'm sure they were both yawning, but BeiBei and I were feeling the adrenaline. It was worth it. Here are some pictures of our time at the top....

Here we are at the summit of the Dragonhead Mountain.




You can see the village below.



A better view of the village.


We came down the mountain the normal way and by that time my ankle was feeling pretty wobbly. It's not completely healed. I have run twice on a treadmill and every time I do my ankle tightens up all around. It's amazing how much your body needs to be in tune. Chase and I went for massages yesterday and got foot massages as well as Japanese Shiatsu body massages and I must say my right foot had so much "junk" that needed to be worked out. Anyways back to the other point. We were famished and sat down for a meal at a hutong in the front of the village. The three meat-eaters ate this...
A WHOLE LEG OF "LAMB"



I sat as far away as I could and tried hard not to look at what they were doing. This picture still makes me queezy. Chase has been on a meat-eating phase since he moved to China. Mostly because there is so many ways the Chinese cook meat than what we are used to in America. And I think he's also enjoyed the seafood and the prices for this kind of food. But after this meal, he told me that he's been feeling bad about how much meat he's been eating.... mostly for the environmental reasons. He's switching back to more seafood he says.

We hired a car with a driver to take us back to Beijing and that was another adventure in itself. He was driving pretty fast... although only 60 kph it felt really fast as we are not used to moving more than 30-40 in the city. So I tried to stay awake for the ride just in case I had to hold on for my life. But I fell asleep for about 20 minutes. Chase and I used to joke about how easy it for Chinese people to fall asleep. They can nod off for a few minutes almost anywhere... on the bus, waiting in line, in the subway, sitting in a chair, etc. And so now I have adopted their ways. I love my sleep. Infact, it's time for that right now.

Will write more on Diwali tomorrow.