Author Archives: jkmarsch

Sunset photos on Mui Ne sand dunes.

Of course we couldn’t just enjoy the sunset- we had to be doing something so Emerson started seeing how far she could jump. The sand is so fine that you sink way down into it. It is hard to get a running start- but once you gain speed and jump off- you can go pretty far. (I did not include the picture of me doing it. I have to blame my jumping inadequacies on my extremely short legs.) We did this so many times, we were exhausted. We slept real well that night.

This was a fun afternoon. We went there to check out the sunset and do some sand sledding. Sand sledding is fun, but (in my opinion) snow sledding is much better! That’s a shout out to all of our friends and family who are still dealing with snow!
Hey Sorbers! Thanks for the pictures of the kids’ igloo. So fun!!!! You guys are rockin’ it! I bet all of you are killer skiers at this point, too. Righteous! Stay warm. Love!

The kid behind Emerson followed us for about half of our hike. He started off in the beginning of the stream with a chalkboard sign that basically said that his mom and him would watch our shoes while we hiked in exchange for about a dollar. We thought ‘what a little entrepreneur’ and put our shoes on a shelf. He must have had us pegged for suckers because he caught up with us soon after we started and began trying to sell us a ride on an ostrich. What?! That’s weird. We said no, so he wanted to show us a special waterfall (if we paid him, he’d take us.) Actually, the stream dead-ended at the waterfall. It is safe to say we would have found it on our own. I asked the kid how old he was- he did the number sign for 15. I said, “If you’re 15, then I’m 25.” He smiled and said ‘yes!’ He started getting a bit mad that we weren’t falling for any of his scams and just outright asked Jesse to give him money. (Sometimes they ask for money from foreigners because it is considered lucky. Jesse said ‘isn’t all money considered lucky?’) Jesse told him to quit hustling and go to school. We needed to lose the kid- he was starting to take away from our enjoyment. Two of his friends came out of the trees and started asking him questions. I told everyone to run and don’t look back!!! We got back to our shoes and he magically appeared! He wanted us to pay him so we could get our shoes back! Just kidding- but I would not have been one bit surprised if he would have tried a scam like that. Some of these people are crafty!

Fairy Stream (Suoi Tien) is a stream in Mui Ne that flows through a patch of the dunes and rock formations. It is surreal- the red sand mixing with the white. Some of the sand and water come together to form a quicksand-like substance. It took us about 45 minutes to walk to the end where there was a waterfall, then we leisurely walked back. Maddux ended up in his undies at some point- but would prefer that I don’t post those pictures!

Hey P & R- we like making rock sculptures- they remind me of the bunker and all the fun stuff you’ve made with rocks, clothes pins, etc. Hope you guys are well. Why haven’t you commented lately?! Love!