Anthems of Noll

We arrived in Taipei after a 18-hour flight, during which time I slept a total of 0 minutes. We'd left Mexico City 2 days earlier and spent less than 24 hours exploring Vancouver and you'd think I'd be too tired to stay awake. But the excitement was stronger than my desire to sleep, so I spent the entire plane ride watching movies and imagining the 8 month adventure we had now embarked on. We spent very little time in Taipei before making our way to Alishan National Park, a picturesque place high up in the mountains, surrounded by clouds, fog and the famous tea plantations. We walked through the paths of what felt like an enchanted forest on a cool misty day and saw trees that were thousands of years old. We discovered a small stall with delicious dumplings and noodles for dinner.  The next morning, we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to hike up to the summit to see the sunrise. The view at the top was breathtaking and we felt a sense of pride knowing that we&

Exactly a year ago, I was on my way to Guanajuato, Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead - El dia de los muertos, as they say. We drove through picturesque scenery of mountains, arriving at this colonial town (known as one of the pueblo magico -magical town- of the region) through a dark tunnel, only to come out on the other side to a whole other view. A pueblo magico is a town known for being picturesque, with rich architecture, legends, history, traditions and customs. Guanajuato is definitely a magical town. One of the first buildings that caught our eye was a bright yellow church with dark red trims, Parroquia de Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato, as well as the entourage of colourful houses stacked on the hills like lego. We visited the mummy museum, where we saw the carefully preserved bodies of inhabitants, including a fetus. Many were still wearing the same clothes as the day they met their fate, hair and jewelry intact and most had a hollow, sunken face wit