Flavor of Narnia!

(Ms. Luskin)

It was a relief to turn the calendar page to a new day today! Nick’s feeling ever so much better, and we could actually focus on the expedition from Guangzhou to Guilin. Our guide swept us along to the airport quite expeditiously, and moved us from the end of one check-in line to the very front of another – there is clearly some arcane airport wisdom that only guides are privy to!

A smooth flight, and we were met by Rico, the guide who arranged last year’s travel in Guilin and Yangshuo. He’s a young fellow not long out of university, easy-going and quite knowledgeable. Fubo Hill was our first stop after lunch: one of the limestone hills that tower so precipitously above the Li river plain. (I’d thought that hill images like these in Chinese paintings were idealized, based far more in fantasy than reality – and here was one rising up in front of us, exactly as pictured!) The surface was craggy, punctuated with greenery, and laced with the most remarkable switchback of stone steps; we agreed that this had such a flavor of Narnia! The small stone parapet at the top gave a fantastic view for miles in all directions.

From the great heights on to great depths: Reed Flute Cave was an extensive cave system with stalactites meeting stalagmites along a winding path, with moody lighting and occasional audio to help us visualize some folk-tale scenarios: a mirror covered with a drape to frighten a bad centipede away was not least among them! The students sang their way along quite merrily as we went!

A quick and chilly trip to Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of Guilin, and now we’re hoping to try acupressure foot massages before we pack it in for the day!