Tomb Sweeping Day

After all of our visits we spent a week resting and getting back into the normal groove of things.... and wow we slept a lot... almost embarassing how much we slept.. Finally after a long weekend vacation we are back into our old habits of working out for 2 hours every morning.. This past weekend was a holiday called Tomb Sweeping Day and Jay and I both were off work Friday and Saturday and of course we took advantage of that. First let me explain the holiday in short... the name pretty much sums it up but families get together and go to their ancestors tombs to clean them... maybe plant flowers and sweep them. We were happy that the Taiwanese were celebrating their ancestors deaths because that meant we were able to explore a new part of Taiwan. There was a big music festival that was going on down at the bottom of the island (where we have already been) and Jay and I didn't want to fight the crowds and spend too much money so we steered away from that and we are so lucky we did. We left late Thursday night and went down to Kaoihsiung to stay with our friends Mike and Miranda the next morning we all set off to go the a small island called Little Liuichiu, only 9km all the way around.. We took a fairy outside the polluted city air and found oursleves which seemed an almost forgotten island. Don't get me wrong there were people there but we were all amazed that it wasn't packed because it was so peaceful and beauitiful. We camped of course and at probably one of the nicest and comfortable campgrounds we have experienced yet here in Taiwan. Our fee included a continental breakfast in the morning that had scrambled eggs to die for. We made friends with other foreigners who were staying at the campsite and we grilled out and had a fire both nights that Jay and I stayed there.... it was proper camping. One night we had some of the best steaks that we have had since we have moved here... a typical New York stip.... and we were lucky enough to get it for free, some girls had some extra... Jay and I have learned to mooch off people fairly well since we are on such a tight budget. It was about 90 degrees on the island and because we were on such a tight budget we didn't rent a scooter and walked everywhere. I know I only said it was 9km around but it is not a flat 9km... so we were scorching in the spring sun. But fortunatley where we walked to we were able to enjoy swimming in the water and we were lucky enough to make friends with a local who hooked us up with some snorkeling equipment where we then proceeded to snorkle 4 times... great things to see lots of colorful fish and beautiful coral. It was great to be by the ocean and see the stars at night which we haven't realized how much we have missed. It seems it is never truely night time in Taiwan because there are so many city lights that the stars are non existent but on this little island it was clear and we layed there and soaked in the view. We had a great weekend and of course back to normal teaching now. We are trying to save more money because we have lot of plans for vacations after our contract is up and maybe one to the Phillippines before the year is up. We will write again after a fun filled weekend of hash running.