Day 13 walk

Day 13: Sunday, April 10th, Suao to Dongao. 6hrs (With Greg)

We took the usual train down, the old Chu Kuang, and got to Suao about 12. We went for lunch at the same place Jerry and I had been last time. We then set off along the harbour road, and came to a pleasant area with a big bridge, Nanfangao. The bridge led to one side of a peninsula, allowing people access without stopping shipping from passing underneath. Following the road, we came to what was obviously the tourist restaurant street, then a small, lovely beach. Following the beach, and then the seaside road, we came to a small village at the end of it. Alas, there was no way onwards from this place that we could see. There was a rough path beside a small stream, but it looked slippery and uncertain. A mellow-looking foreigner that seemed to live there told us that is was also a bit snake-infested. We went back through the village and found some stairs that lead us up to the highway above. The rest of our walk was along this highway. It climbed up the seaside mountains, and then passed through green, hilly country a bit inland from the coast. Greg, being quite light on his feet, bounded ahead like Tigger. We passed one path down, which tempted us, but we passed it by. Later, we could see where the path had led, down the steep cliffs to the lip of the land, before the ocean! Too bad we hadn’t taken it, but later we noticed that, although it stretched for kilometers, going south about 40 meters above sea level, it stopped abruptly, never reconnecting to the main road. Greg and I arrived in sleepy little Dongao, grabbed some water and beer, and caught the train. Starting with Suao, there are a number of “ao’s”, namely Dongao and Nanao, and Aohua. They are all similar, in that they are areas of flat land facing onto the oceansurrounded by steep hills and mountains. They appear to have been formed by build-up of rock particles washed down by the river that each town has.