Wondering and Wandering

On day three of the five day road trip, we made our way to Gushan which was less than an hour from Qingdui. There are several 1300 year old Taoist temples at Dagu Shan (Lonely Mountain) near Gushan. There are temples at the bottom of the mountain that are an intricate maze of buildings. There are still chanting services that are held at various parts of these temples and we stood for a while listening to a service that was being held. At another shrine a family was having a private chant done for a relative. The buildings are remarkable for their intricate roof ornaments, doorways and gargoyle type ornaments as well as the statuary that mark the various shrines. There were numerous places for me to light incense and I did with love, grief and strength all intertwined.

A short hike up the mountain takes you to another 1300 year group of buildings that are sheltered by a 1200 year old tree. The buildings and statuary are remarkable and I could only sit and contemplate the ages of people making their way to these places to make offerings, seek comfort, honor the ancestors and pray for the good of the universe.

The day ended in an small town that hosts an abundance of hotels. The town has a hot springs and hence the hotels each hotel offers spa treatments. After 3 days of hiking, Leslie, Becky and I celebrated with long soaking showers and luxurious body scrubs that soothed the aching calf and shoulder muscles. Back in our hotel room ,we continued the decadance with Great Wall red wine and a taste test of the various chocolates that a hole in the wall grocery had to offer.... thank goodness for Dove bars.... the other chocolates were waxy and tastless. Decadance is sometimes not all it is cracked up to be.