i have just returned from a whirlwind weekend, which included giving a guest lecture about community health nursing in the u.s.a. at jishou university in hunan (i do not, in fact, suffer from the delusion that i am an expert in the subject, or an effective speaker!), followed by tours of the south great wall and a riverside town, fenghuang. after these outings, i was invited to "go look at some mountains". well. i had *no idea* i would find myself in a Chinese national park, and a world heritage site to boot. so, imagine my surprise to find myself in a place of such natural beauty, i felt as though i was dreaming the entire time. the cloudy weather today contributed to this ethereal feeling, as you'll see in some of the photos. yesterday's weather was dry, but humid, so i looked and felt like a drowned rat for most of the day, soaked in sweat from hiking to and fro amongst these peaks. but it was worth it. so worth it.
did i mention there are monkeys living in this park?! i kept my eyes peeled all day yesterday on the trail, hoping to spot a tailed local within the trees. no one showed, until this morning, when a bold individual joined us on the stairway down from the mountain tram. i was so pleased that i couldn't manage my camera and my excitement simultaneously, and managed to take blurry photos only of the monkey's backside (which did not make the cut here, sorry to say). though he wasn't especially cooperative, either. while i was just gaping in glee at him, he was happy to stay put. as soon as i remembered i had a camera and began pursuing my new friend, the furry one scampered further up the stairs. cheeky little blighter.
i have done my utmost to edit these images first, rather than enthusiastically and hastily post them for your viewing pleasure. hopefully, these images will do a bit of justice to the actual landscape.
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