Aracnaphobia

After a long first week of teaching (I think that's what I'm doing anyway) children English, I finally got some time to explore the surrounding mountains of Sansia. On Saturday I went for a great day hike up the nearest mountain to my house who's name I am not sure of. The trail to the top was basically straight up with hints of switchbacks here and there but it made the elevation gain quick and straightforward. Once I reached the top of the ridge line I was greeted to panoramic views of my own city and all the surrounding topographical features.

At one point along the trail I saw a little offshoot into the brush that looked interesting and decided to see where it led. This was the the point when my childlike exuberance was taught a quick lesson in the dangers of the jungle. As i was walking through the thick greenery, I got caught up in a spider web, which normally wouldn't bother me, but this was no ordinary web. It was home to the most massively scary spider I've ever seen. I won't go into too much detail because I want people to be able to sleep tonight, but Let's just say that it was the size of my fist and had a look about it that said: "I could kill you in the time it takes you to scream for help." It was terrifying, and after that I took the jungle more seriously.

I got another lesson from the wild a few hundred meters up the road where I decided, again, to branch off into what looked like a lovely clearing. I was greeted by many, many more of those gigantic spiders and had now armed myself with a three foot length of bamboo which I waved furiously in front of me at all times to break any spider webs before I got to them. Upon entering the clearing I was given a heart stopping fright by a small, harmless bunny rabbit that bounded into the bush. The moment I saw it leap into the bush, however, it was unmistakably a rabid monkey with super-rabies and a nasty case of swine flu. I got over the fright though, and moved forward. It was at this point that I noticed a dragonfly on the ground, flitting it's wings haphazardly and not getting anywhere. "Strange," I thought, and I poked it with my stick. That's when I realized it was in the pincers of a Preying Mantis! This was the single most exciting discovery of my entire hike, and quite possibly my time in Taiwan thus far. You see Preying mantis' on National Geographic or a behind the glass at the insect section of the zoo, but nothing can really prepare you for the sight of what looks like a viscious leaf devouring a dragonfly by chewing it in half. I oggled at this sight for over 15 minutes, watching as the dragonfly's wing beats grew fewer and fewer, before stopping completely. Morbid, perhaps, but it was quite fascinating watching an evolutionary wonder like a Preying Mantis feed and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

After this, I felt that nothing else on the hike could possibly excite me more and sighed comfortably with the knowledge that I had seen the most interesting thing going on in the world that day. With a smile on my face, I continued up the mountain until I saw another turn off that looked promising.

After about thirty meters of winding trail I came upon an absolutely idyllic spot. Imagine a small pool of rock lined water roughly thirty feet wide the color of jade, with beautiful green grass surrounding it on all sides, backed sharply by rising cliffs topped with lush vegetation. Whatever you are imagining, this was something like that, but better. I sat here in utter seclusion, with nothing but the sounds of strange birds which I've never heard before and the low, everpresent, din of insects flying about or rubbing their legs together or whatever they do to make noise.

I walked over to a sun drenched rock and set down my bag, had a drink from my water bottle, then pulled out my copy of "The Hobbit" and read for an hour in the sunshine. I couldn't picture a better way to spend a lazy afternoon.

After my brief intermission, I summited the mighty peak and stood about a large square containing a massive red bell that had a lovely description carved into a marble placard that was in Chinese and therefore unintelligible. But from what I could gather, it went something like: "This here is the giant bell, It's been here for a really long time, and will continue to be here long after your mortal remains have been swept from the Earth. Give it the due respect it deserves and take a photo in front of it holding up a peace sign." I tried, but i no longer have a camera, so I bowed to it and kept on up the trail.

The last viewpoint that I found before turning around, as the sun was getting low in the sky and it wouldn't be light for much longer, was the most beautiful of the entire hike and is hard to describe. All the trees around this outcrop of rocks are swathed in Buddhist prayer flags, waving gently in the breeze and dancing about the canopy and in your face. They have been tied to every branch capable of holding their string and create a truly serene atmosphere at the silent top of the mountain. The rock outcrop juts slightly out past the plants and affords you an uninterrupted view for miles in every direction. Below is the large river which runs through Sansia who's name I also do not know, though I admit that i should. At it's mouth is a massive delta where the water waits patiently to creep through the dam and trickle through the city. Beyond the river is miles of city-scape and further on are more lush mountains. It's breathtaking.

That's all I can bear to put down at the moment, though I could go on for plenty more self indulgent paragraphs, but I won't put you all through that.