Guest Blogger, Nanputo

Well today Mark went to back work. Actually, I think he needed a break. Our day started with breakfast out. Young mother 'Hubbard's' cupboard was bare. Today, we visit Nanputo Temple. What an incredible area. It has the sea in the front and the mountains in the back. For me it what I had wanted to see. Although it was very touristy and many people praying, it was an interesting combination of peace and beauty. The blending of the natural scenery and cultural heritage creates such an inviting peace, its no wonder the Monks still live and pray there. We stayed around taking picture upon pictures.




We left the temple and wandered over to the Xiamen university. This area is another picturesque part of Xiamen. We spent about a couple of hours and Tina shows us where she studied. You can't help but feel a bit of the young in your spirit. I was able to find the books I was looking for (patience is definitely a virtue). At this point, the crew was getting restless and needed a break ( man, was it hot!) We went to a small cafe and enjoyed some refreshments and Dad met a new friend. A cat. This kept him occupied for awhile. We slowly made our way back and rode in a local bus back to the market to pick up some fruits and go home. We made it home and got to rest which was good because I needed a shower bad! I mean everyone got to rest except me, the blogger. I did manage to take a shower between picture inserts which is Tina's job.



Dinner was in downtown Xiamen where it looks like a new metropolis. I enjoy the dinners here where the tables have a large turntable for the plates of food. It works out well as you order each item separately and are able to take what you want. Dinner usually takes awhile and the conversation is always going. You know.... there is beer! Part of our meal included the hair crab. A crab whose appendages are hairy. A ugly little bugger, but tasty. We also tried jellyfish, a good taste, but a little crunchy. (The jury is still out on this) Dinner was a quiet one, we were tired. In fact this became an earlier night as Mark had a conference call and we called it a night.