Happy Halloween

10/31
Happy Halloween
Saturday, October 31

The Long Drive
We began the day with a traditional breakfast of rice porridge, hard boiled egg, pickled, salty vegetables and of course, tea.

Edie says goodbye to the bunnies

We did a little birdwatching, said goodbye to the bunnies, and off we went. As we drove along we just had to stop for photos of terraced farm fields, water buffalo carts, drying crops, and interesting scenery.

The Action Comes to Us
Always on the lookout for interesting subjects, we noticed several farm carts and people carrying overstuffed baskets in one small town so we asked for a photo stop. Just standing on the street corner several more people carrying immense loads of crops and more carts passed by.

We watched a poor old female pig being stuffed into a tiny cage so she could be weighed. We watched with fascination and horror as she struggled against five people pushing her into the cage, grunting and squealing. Finally, they muscled her in and set the cage onto a scale. Meanwhile, another pig watched uneasily from the back of a nearby pickup truck. She was then driven and prodded onto the truck with the first pig. All we had to do was stand there and the action came to us.

 The Market
One of our favorite photo opportunities on the last China trip were the markets. As we pulled into one small town, the traffic came to a standstill as the street was virtually impassable between people milling around, baskets of chickens and piglets and goods for sale.  Of course, we couldn't pass this up.


From Rooster to Capon
After getting out of the car my first sight was a rooster laid out on a small table on the sidewalk. Its legs were tied down spread eagled, the head held to the side by a man and its insides cut open and exposed. A young woman was cutting and spooning out the gonads, then placing then into a small metal bowl almost filled.

She proudly showed me what she was doing.  Next to the table in a basket were several more roosters awaiting their fate. Nearby in the back of a flatbed truck were four limp roosters barely alive in a heap - recuperating from their recent surgery. As we returned to the car another victim was being tied down and slit open. Little tough to watch!

The Dilemma
Between the piglets crammed into the market baskets, the poor old pig being weighed and the slit open roosters, I had to keep a strict control of my feelings of sadness and pity for the animals, and remind myself that raising animals for food is very different than having them for pets. Furthermore, if  I'm going to eat meat, I need to face these realities.

This Little Piggie Went to Market...
We continued on past baskets crammed with piglets for sale, squealing and oinking. Further on were young cows, heifers, tied to several trucks. Everywhere were baskets of chickens and roosters. The vendors stood under bright red and orange umbrellas chatting with the crowd. Being the only non-Chinese we got plenty of stares, and even people following us. We took plenty of photos; women with colorful baskets strapped to their backs, babies in backpacks sleeping through the commotion, old wizened faces, Yi women in traditional ornately embroidered costumes, vendors and shoppers.

Fresh from the hive, wriggling bee larvae

It was quite a chaotic scene, especially when a vehicle would try to pass through. We declined all the vendors offers except for purchasing  a portion of a honey bee hive containing the larvae.

The "Truck Stop" and Bee Babies
The car was left at a nearby "car wash" for a shampoo - really two women with a hose, a bucket and some rags, while we visited a market followed by lunch at the local truck stop. Again, another hidden gem.

The "truck stop"

Along an industrial road, we walked through an enclosed parking garage into a courtyard with a delightful restaurant. Although there were several private dining rooms, we chose to eat outside among the fish ponds and bushes. The owners fussed over us and cooked us a delicious meal of fresh vegetables, ham, soup, chicken and of course, tea. One of the women picked out all of the still wriggling bee larvae, then fried them for a snack. Everyone claimed they were delicious. Before leaving we took some photos of all of us with the women. What fun!

Keep on Truckin'
Back in the car we followed narrow country roads, often dodging water buffalo, goats, farm carts and even a couple of "taxis,"really carts carrying about eight people pulled by several water buffalo.

The roads followed wide river valleys comprised of small fields of rice, corn and other crops creating a colorful mosaic. Farmers, men and women, could be seen picking, hoeing, and planting, sometimes accompanied by their water buffalo or mules grazing peacefully next to them. Bundles of corn and rice stalks lay in the fields and courtyards of the farms, while rows of corn ears tied together hung from rooftops and rafters to dry.

Going Up
As the road began to climb up into the mountains, we could look down at the terraced fields perched on impossibly steep inclines. Almost every inch of the mountainsides were terraced for crops, or crisscrossed with tracks from grazing animals. The vistas were incredible. Looking down into the fields and villages below, or looking up to more mountains towering above us. The road, although paved, had plenty of small landslide areas and potholes, as well as steep inclines and switchbacks to make it a challenging ride for driver and passenger.

Often we would slow down to a crawl behind a small motorcycle or truck struggling its way uphill, which made the going slow. Finally, in late afternoon we reached the Red Earth Land, a scenic area of deep red earth eroded into dramatic formations.

The Red Earth Land
With only an hour to go before dusk, we entered the Wumao Earth Forest, where we stayed overnight. We briefly explored the entrance to the park before dinner, and packed in early after a full day.