(Cassie)
Today was the longest and one of the most interesting car rides I have ever taken. We left our hotel, made a quick stop at an ATM, and headed out to our first destination – the Stone Forest. The Stone Forest used to be part of the ocean around twenty-seven million years ago and were formed by tectonic movement and eroded by the ocean. What remains today are thousands of pillars of limestone ranging from about ten to fifty feet high. The park that houses the forest is run by the Yi people, the most populous minority in China’s Yunnan province. The Yi were everywhere in the park in their colorful cultural garb. The unmarried women wear unique hats that have two triangles (one on either side). According to Yi custom, if a boy wants to marry a Yi girl, he touches the triangles on her hat. He then proceeds to spend three years doing hard labor for her family. If she still wants to marry him at the end of the three years, the bride-to-be’s family throws the couple an engagement party and the wedding plans proceed from there.
The Yi, dressed in their brightly colored costumes, played the roles of tour guides and vendors at all of the little touristy shops surrounding the Stone Forest. The stones towered above us as we walked into the park. The sides of the rocks were striated by years of erosion from the wind and rain and the sea that once covered it. The stones were beautiful as the wonderful sun dappled their sides. It was hugely crowded, but every once in a while we would find ourselves isolated in a circle of majestic stones. At one point, there were two stones that each came to a point near one another and about five feet off the ground. Each person had to fit through the stones by fitting their neck in the space between them. It was fun to watch Alex awkwardly try to squeeze through the space, but eventually he managed. We all got through. After a lovely morning in the sun we piled back into the car for another five hours of driving. As the car rolled along the highway, honking and passing with abandon, red-soiled hills flowed into greener, taller mountains. It wasn’t as green as it usually is, as Yunnan is facing a drought, but as we continued southwestward the wildlife began to be more and more exotic. We passed palm trees, banana plants, and sugar cane. About an hour from Yuanyang we stopped at a small roadside produce stand run by a local branch of the Yi. It was a breath of fresh air to see members of a minority dressing in their cultural costume for themselves rather than to garner attention from tourists. After sampling some of the best pineapple I’ve ever eaten and waving to some adorable, barefoot children, we continued upward toward our final destination.
The van continued to climb upward throughout the rest of our trip, whipping around blind curves on the wrong side of the road. As we went higher, Alaina began to slightly hyperventilate. She was also suffering from a violent case of hiccups, which sent Alex into a fit of giggles that lasted for most of the rest of the ride. Finally we arrived in Yuanyang, which was larger than expected and precariously perched on the mountainside 1600 meters (just under a mile) above sea level. We ate dinner and proceeded to our hotel. We were really lucky to have wonderful weather (it was about 75 degrees during the middle of the day) and the sky was clear enough to reveal the moon for the first time since we arrived here about a week ago.
Until the next time…
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