Backtracking Again: To Tianhetan National Cave/Forest

Gentle Reader,

Yes, indeed... this is a continued attempt to update the blog.

I want to share our experiences at Tianhetan national Cave/Forest.  This, too, was an incredibly beautiful site.  We boarded a very small boat and then entered the mouth of a cave.  I wasn't even remotely prepared for what we would experience inside.  I thought perhaps a little passage, perhaps lighted by the rather garrish lights the Chinese like to plant inside their caverns.  What we experienced was entirely different.  The journey inside the cave was long, lighted here and there by simple white lights, mostly.  We could touch the sides of the cave, and the water dripping sounds permeated the journey.  It was a haunting journey, in some ways.

Then we floated out into the light.  This was after a morning of pouring rain at the Dong/Miao Village marketplace.  We had been scheduled to go to the cave first, but a decision was made to delay the cave... in the hopes of better afternoon weather. Well, the wait was certainly worth it.  The ride down the river was filled with graceful bamboo trees that barely touched the water.  The light playing on the many hues of green was simply lovely.  All was quiet, peaceful...  just rollin' down the river...

Oh yes... prior to our entering the cave, we were once again inundated by people who wanted to practice their English on us.  We also had numerous people who wanted to be photographed with "the foreigners." 

Scott and I with our wonderful monitors, Leon and Kathy

Here I am with Lisa, the wonderfully sincere and hard-working monitor from my classroom

Deanna, Lisa, and Clarence

A group of visitors who wanted a picture with "the foreigner"

Admiring the "awe" of this place...

Doc Scott with his feet up and relaxed on a lovely afternoon...

Scott and Li in the cave

Our partners, Deanna and Clarence

The whole travelling crew!

Li and Scott on the Zipline

The Fearless Duo, right after emerging from the zipline

The last two photos above are both of Li and Scott... they had accepted the challenge of going across the zipline.  This was basically a rope harness.  The Chinese are not known for their attention to safety details, so my heart was way in the pit of my stomach as I watched the two of them zoom across the sky in this makeshift zipline.  I didn't have my best lens with me at the time, but in two pics up, you can see a little blotch of red:  that's Scott on the zipline.  Both he and Li were absolutely invigorated after flying across the sky.  Scott talked about how free he felt up there, with no barriers between himself and the earth and sky.  Several "gambay" toasts were issued by the Chinese officials at dinner that night... all to the "heroes" of the day who braved the sky!