Meet you in Taitung!

Alex and Melanie are HERE! And, by here, of course, I mean in Taitung. With me. And Rachel. So that's what I did today!

After a morning of dying eggs with my 6th graders at Hanmin, I had time for a quick stop at my apartment before setting out for the train station. And, with the train leaving at 2pm, I was finally able to catch a sight of the famed Eastern coastline on the trip--until it disappeared in the mist of the mountains and a heavy wind, that is.

Fortunately, by the time we got here the wind had mostly subsided and, the overcast sky notwithstanding, pretty warm. We happened upon a WONDERFUL cabbie who was actually pretty widely traveled and with whom we had a nice long chat with in Chinese with spots of English on our long drive to our bed and breakfast.

Which is GORGEOUS! Can't wait to see it in the sunlight.

But of course the real story is that, a few hours after we got here, ALEX AND MELANIE DID! Our bed and breakfast owner called a cab for us--not as nice as the last guy and apparently partially blind, but the lady rigged a great deal for us for a round trip ride, plus a wait at the train station and a stop at 7-11, since I hadn't eaten since we left Kaohsiung.

We met Alex and Mel at the station, and after much hugging, set back out along a winding and sketchy shortcut back to the B&B, where we settled into our rooms to sleep early while hoping we were right about the ferry times tomorrow.

And we're still hoping, though Fonda's expert intervention seems to have confirmed that we're right on the times.

Tomorrow: pristine beaches, snorkeling, swimming, and Green Island!