The kids were fighting over who would go with Roman -the young Russian guy. Finally I told Maddux and Em they had to work together to kayak and I would go with Roman. Him and I talked a lot about the relationship between Russia and the US. He said Russians started not liking us when George Bush Sr. called Russian people evil. I don’t remember that. I told him that I thought he was nice and he felt the same about me- so that was that. Maybe I should go into foreign diplomacy!
A guide led us through a cave that was magical. It felt like we were on another planet. The pictures don’t really do it justice because some of the colors and crystallized rock formations looked surreal up close.
I used to have a bit of claustrophobia when I was younger- but there is no room for any phobias when you’re trusting strangers taking you through dark enclosed areas. Jesse barely fit into one of the entrances to a cave.
There was a Vietnamese soldier hat and a gun at the entrance to the cave and people were taking turns having their photo taken. I said I wasn’t going to do it. Jesse asked me why, the guard was laughing and said “you think you won the war!” (It is good to know that there are comedians around the globe!)
I personally don’t think anyone “won” the war. It was a brutal, sad time for all involved, but the boys like hats and are intrigued by guns so they took their turn for a photo.
This cave was insane! Walking up to it was no big deal- you walked a little off the road, climbed a tall ladder and were left standing in a cave with a high ceiling. A guy came up and opened a small steal door that you had to crouch down to enter. Inside was jaw dropping- during the war, a three story hospital was built inside the cave to care for Vietnamese soldiers. It had patient rooms, operating rooms and a generator supplied electricity when it was a working hospital. It also had a movie theater next to a training area to practice running under and hiding in cave holes. A small pool off to the side served as a therapeutic pool. Another smaller pool on the lower level helped to break the fall of soldiers needing to evacuate quickly. They could jump straight down three floors and head out to the jungle. The cave was always a comfortable temperature staying warm in the cooler months and cooler during the hot, muggy summer.
If American soldiers tried to get close by foot- they would have been shot by one of the many guards surrounding the two entrances. They would have easily been spotted if they ever got close enough to climbing the steep open terrain at the front and back of the cave.
A karst is a limestone region with caves, caverns, underground streams, huge boulder like masses with sheer sides that seem to jut up and out of the ocean randomly. Incredible! Everywhere you look is picture worthy.
Sometimes we don’t eat as much as we want or when we we would like to, but when we do eat- it gets really quiet for awhile. That is quite strange for our group. In Vietnam, we are loving their pancakes and pho ga (which is a really yummy chicken noodle soup concoction.)
During the rainy season- the water rises about 9 feet. This is the post office!!
We met two great women in Cat Ba on a boat ride. Meredith is American and Lexi is from England. They were traveling separately but met while on the boat- I love how people do that. You start talking and all of a sudden you’re friends!
The following day, we were going on a hike so we hopped in a mini-van. The driver said we had to stop to pick up two more people. It was the girls! So fun. We had a great day hiking to an incredibly high tower that overlooked the jungle. We also went to a place called Hospital Cave used in the war- I’ll post more about that soon.
M and L- wherever your paths take you, have fun and be safe! Love!
We stayed on an island called Cat Ba in Vietnam. While we were sitting down for dinner we made a little friend who loved having her picture taken. She usually kept her mouth shut for photos, though. Her teeth were black and chipped off from decay- so sad. I told the kids “that is why we’re always on your butts to brush your teeth!!!”
Jesse and I also got some massages while waiting for our food. I was so jealous of him because his guy was way better! It seemed like my guy was copying his guy’s moves. Half way through I started to wonder if my guy wasn’t just some random dude walking by who stopped to make a few bucks off me. For the finale, he had me draped over his back to crack mine. The picture Jesse took of that scene is way too inappropriate for this family friendly blog- but it is hilarious!!!
marschmadness 