Phoenix Mountain, a la Darwin

I've decided who my hero is. Charles Darwin, Naturalist.
And, with the recent 150 year anniversary of his The Origin of Species, I just might be his reincarnation.

My conclusion arose as I tramped through what could only be described as dense southern China jungle. My party had not encountered any snakes, yet, and I was regretting having worn only shorts. Bamboo shoots reached more than twenty feet into the sky, as leafy vines crept slowly upward, gently approaching a stranglehold. Black burs resembling scorpion stings clung to my shirt.

There were lizards, and there were ants. Gary (pictured above) found a praying mantis, about eight inches in length.


(this seems like a bad place to put it, but Gary owns an iguana back at his home, and he let me pick it up. Here I am preparing to kiss it.)


The vegetation was incredibly lush and exotic. I came upon some of the coolest plants I've never seen before, and a small waterfall near the beginning of the mountain's slope.


The next picture is of a plant I happened upon that I almost missed. It was covered in ants and sandy dirt, but looked similar in comparison with the so called 'corpse plant' that reaches an immense size and smell. This was not, but seemed very peculiar. Wide and corrugated leaves protruded from the ground, as did a stalk (of palm tree nature) that had attached to it at the top a large, purple acorn shaped flower, with yellow smaller flowers around it. If it stood, which I'm guessing it did at one time, it would've been just over a foot tall. There was no overpowering smell.

If you know what this plant is, please let me know. I'm very curious, and could not find it on the internet.

As we continued on, hopping over small ponds and perhaps quicksand, we encountered a steep cliff unexpectedly.
"There's a simple path up the mountain," my friend explained. "No steep cliffs to expect."

I went first, scaling the first 20 feet easily. As I neared the top it grew steeper, and I could only grasp ropey vines and old tree limbs that jutted out. My foothold in some animal's nest broke apart, spilling dirt everywhere, and throwing me swinging along the cliff.

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Earlier in the day I met up with some friends I met through TPR, the school where I work. From the top is George, Gary, and I-ping. American, British, Chinese.

They live outside the main Zhuhai districts, and have a more peaceful sense of life, albeit surrounded by more slum. I would prefer to live out here to be closer to nature, and to not feel the hurried mindset of a downtown. Since I'd not been to this part of town before, Gary showed me a garden store, the biggest I've seen here.

Here I-ping and Gary look at small banana plants. There were a few exotic plants here, and some rather large palms and tropical bushes.
I think this is a chocolate lab, the only one I've seen here. Colby :)


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There I was, hanging from vines hundreds of feet in the sky, the only thing stopping me from plummeting a thin rope-like vine I had managed to hang on to. Nevermind Charles Darwin, this was more like Indian Jones, also my hero. I managed to get a firmer grip with my dusty shoes and pull myself up the last few feet of the cliff. I clambered up the side, and stood, arms at my side... as I reached into my bookbag to grab my camera, and take photos of the scenery.



We had left quite late in the day, and unfortunately could not make it to the peak with enough sunlight to spare.
(Yes, that's a golf course you see in the background)
We headed back down to the long walk home, and an evening at BBQ. Not a better ending.

Astrology Mountain

Made a trip to another, smaller mountain today, that I like to call Astrology Mountain (Makes it sound like wizards are involved). Steep paths rise and twist up the front of it, periodically sporting larger-than-life-sized members of the Chinese Zodiac. Accompanied alongside are blurbs that tell of lucky numbers and fortunes for the reader... in Chinese. Good thing I don't believe in luck.
In the distance you can see a radio antennae atop the tallest peak. That's where I climbed two days ago, listed in the previous post.

The view looking southwest, to Macao:


The chinese call the giant boulders that sit atop these small mountains 'rocks from the sky'. They must have small imaginations...


Looking north: (my apartment is just beyond what you can see in the photo)




As I write this I sit with my lap top warming my feet with its acidic warmth, as this apartment has no heater, nor do any buildings in Zhuhai, that I know about. Luckily I am Ukranian, and I take my garlic pills.

I took a bus this morning from Wan Zi Sha, where I live, around to the Jida and Gongbei side of Jida Mtn. Macao is south of Zhuhai. There is a tunnel linking the two areas. There are some cutback trails leading up to the top of the mountain, where 'microwave emitting towers hold their presence over the city. Finally there was a clear but cold day. Apparently, we even hit a record low of 10 degrees, something that had never happened in Zhuhai in November. Maybe that movie 2012 did have something right in it...





The area here, mostly in these small mountains, contains lots of this quartz looking rock. I had a bag full by the time I went back to my apartment.



Gnarled trees frame a shot of mostly Macao, and a trail that led off somewhere that seemed a lot steeper than in the photo.



This is the panoramic of the Jida-Gongbei districts, and Macao. To the right are the Lisboa Casino, and Macao Tower.



When I arrived at the top, I walked along the crest of the mountain and saw four or five radio towers. It was much more windy and chilly. Men were working on something up there, and had closed off access to the other side of the mountain. I met a man in military uniform, though the Chinese like to dress up like that here, regardless of status. He mentioned something about police as he walked toward me, so I assumed he was escorting me back down. His name was Wong, and through broken english (I'm starting to think there's no other kind here) he told me he wants to learn better English, and that the mountain was closed to visitors.
Halfway down we parted, and I found out he was not police, or any sort of worker. There was another way up the other side of the mountain, and I took it. I came along a local worker, renovating some of the buildings.



Toward the top is an old well. I'm not sure how, or how long it took them, but there were a handful of old ladies filling up 20L jugs with the water. On my way down I helped one lady, but not ten minutes in she demanded I put down what I was carrying so that she could carry it the rest of the way.

I got a nicely posed shot of an eagle flying, but it was really far away.



I walked a few blocks near to the TPR where I sometimes teach in Gongbei. Along the way I encountered a rat that had fallen onto the sidewalk. He was an excitable little fella, and acted like more of a kangaroo. Two girls happening by sounded like they were giving birth at the mere sight of it, but honestly I was more scared of their screams.



I bought two ro sham mos (pork and lettuce in pita) for lunch on walking street and bused home.


A few days ago there was no haze in the crystal clear blue sky, and I found out that Hong Kong is visible from Zhuhai. You can make out a mountain famous there that has an airport and three chemical stacks. Tonight there are too many clouds to view the meteor shower, so I'm doubtful 4am will fly.



Usually these are the only islands that are visible.