Days 11 - 14 ~ Road Trip South

Days 11 through 14 consisted of traveling down to the southern part of Taiwan, ending at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung.  We left Taipei the morning of day 11 and began our trip heading south and east along the coast.  Our first stop was Yeliu Limestone Geopark to explore the different varieties of rocks.  After driving for a few more hours we ended the day with a quick tour of a local whiskey brewery and a hot spring hotel in Yilan city on the northeast coast of Taiwan.  The second day was spent driving through the mountains heading south towards Hualien city.  Here, the roads became extremely windy and narrow, hugging the edge of the mountains.  There was no space between the mountains and the ocean here for a road, so the road simply followed the curves of the mountains along the entire drive.  We all became very carsick by the end of the day.  After a long day of driving, we ended up in Hualien city, specifically at the Buddhist University.  We were given a tour of the Buddhist temple on campus.  This building served as both an overview for visitors of the goals and outlooks of the university and Tzu Chi, the charitable foundation that is also directed by the same founder of the university.  Tzu Chi works to provide education, disaster relief, medical aid and development, and other society-enhancing features to any groups in need in any area of the world.  Day 13 was the longest day of driving.  We cut directly west across the island on the one central cross island highway.  This road passes through the mountains, and follows the curves and elevation of them.  Lunch was spent high up in the mountains at a small restaurant featuring a special, locally produced peach honey.  By the end of the evening, spent at a small hotel in a resort town high up in the mountains, we were all carsick and exhausted.  At this point, we were 3/4 of the way through the mountains.  The final day of the road trip began early with us finally coming out of the mountains and turning south towards Pingtung.  On the way we stopped at a local fresh fruit market and had excellent fresh fruit smoothies.  It was a refreshing stop.  We ended the day with our arrival at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in the city of Pingtung.  As a part of this program we were able to see behind the scenes and view the different behaviors of the fish and coral reefs at night versus during daytime.  We spent the night sleeping in the aquarium tunnels watching the fish swim above our heads, finally concluding our road trip south.