Caotun to Ita Thao

Special Ice Cream Delivery

After a good night’s sleep, we were down for breakfast just after 7am.  There were various dishes available but the fried eggs on white bread toast were the winner.  We took our AeroPress coffee down in the thermos so could enjoy a nice coffee with hot milk. We had a long, uphill cycle today so needed to be well fueled.

By 8:15 we were packing our bikes and stocking up on bread products from the FM Station next door - though the range was quite limited.  According to G there were lots of empty baskets, so it would be interesting to see what they usually stocked.  It was very quiet cycling out of town and we were pleased to make the most of the quiet roads as we climbed the two-lane hill towards Guoxing.  It was a gentle slope largely following a river.

We passed a couple of stalls selling strawberries, and one smelt to good, that I had to stop and buy some. We were near a Cycle Rest area, though faciities were limited.  Coincidentally, Jonno had also stopped there and we shared our strawberries which didn’t taste as good as they looked or smelt,  Rather disappointing. Jonno left after he’d had a few strawberries whilst we finished them off as we knew from experience that strawberries do not travel well on bicycles.  Back on the bikes we continued another few kilometres, until I spotted a cafe with an espresso machine.  Time for a second morning tea.  The owner spoke good English and made a decent cup of coffee.  She was a former piano teacher and a grand piano took pride of place at the back of the cafe.  She asked to take our photo around the piano and her husband took one for us as well.

Jonno messaged to say he was waiting near PaperDome ecological park and we were still some 7kms or so away, delayed by our leisurely coffee stop.  We passed some ant and caterpillar sculptures made from stones and continued through the outskirts of Puli, which Jonno had described as a loud and boring town as he passed through in search of a lunch spot.  We soon found him, and parked our bikes and went in search of a suitable restaurant from the little cluster of eateries.  We chose one that was full of Taiwanese and picked up the order sheet.  The owner called for someone to help us and two young lads obliged.  They made some recommendations and we enjoyed our pork noodles and pork with rice.  Most of the menu seemed to revolve around the pork that was simmering away in an enormous pan.

We decided to visit the nearby Cona Castle in search of ice cream but it turned out that there as a $220 NTD entry fee which covered a range of tours, tastings and workshops.  We were only interested in buying icecream, so I asked the girl at the ticket counter whether this was possible.  She wasn’t sure and made some calls.  I chatted to the family waiting behind me and their little boys showed me their trucks.  Eventually I received the good news that it was possible to just buy ice creams and she brought up the menu on her phone.  Soon another assistant arrived and she helped take our order.  It was the equivalent of $9AUD for a single scoop or $20 for three scoops, so we decided to go with the trio.  She dissuaded me from the Belgian flavour saying it was white chocolate and too sweet, and recommended the Uganda (dark chocolate) to to with our Ghana (turned out to be milk chocolate) and strawberry raspberry.  We paid for our ice creams and she disappeared into the castle returning a few minutes later with our ice creams in a big cup and waffle cone together with a bonus kiwi and green tea scoop.  We were highly delighted and thoroughly enjoyed our special ice cream delivery. 

Then came the 11km hill - it was long and tedious along the main road, but not too challenging.  A few kms before the end, G suggested a detour onto a quieter backroad and this was much more pleasant, dropping us back on the main road just a few hundred metres before the top and the view down to Sun Moon Lake.  We picked up the bikeway around the lake which whilst hilly, was less steep than the road.  We stopped just near the steps to Wenwu Temple. These steps were once the only way to get to the temple as you had to travel by boat. There are now 366 steps, one for each day of the year (plus an extra day for a leap year).  We started our climb in mid-July and were soon at the temple with its pair of guardian lions. We found a picnic table in front of the temple and enjoyed an afternoon tea snack.

We continued along the bikeway and turned onto the road for a couple of kilometres.  Jonno messaged to say that he had arrived at Ita Thao and checked into the Suan Yu BnB.  He also advised that it was possible to take the path to the 9 Frogs Stack, though you couldn’t ride it and to keep to the left side as there was no fence. We set off behind a couple of Taiwanese girls on their bikes and before long we were pushing the bikes down the multiple ramps that accompanied each flight of steps. The 500 metre trail seemed interminable and a few German tourists passed and helpfully made comments about how difficult it looked and should we try the other side (which worked even less well as the pedals kept hitting the fence posts).

The Nine Frogs Stack gives an indication of the current water level of the lake, which must have been exceptionally low as they were all high and dry.  We picked up the bike way again, passed the Rope Way and were soon in Ita Thao.  We found the B and B and were guided to the back of the hotel to park our bikes.  The rooms were large and comfortable and ours had a glimpse of the lake behind an imposing hotel. 

I knew that the town closed up relatively early, so we headed out for dinner about 6:30. The Main Street had lots of little restaurants and we found one which seemed to offer a few local dishes. We enjoyed sun moon lake whole fish in a sweet and sour sauce, wild boar stirfry, venison stir fry, the local specialty bamboo rice and something called delicious bracken which was a tasty green dish.  The fish was the pick of the meals though the wild boar was also very good. We then picked up some egg tarts (which loooked like Portugeuse tarts) to enjoy back in our rooms with a cup of tea. 

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