From Buon Ma Thuot to Buon Ho
Conditions: sunny, high-70s, very windy
We looked forward to a rather short-mileage day. Sunday morning, we took a late breakfast at a cafe, met together for an hour of fellowship, and then hopped on our bikes for a relatively short jaunt to the next city on our route—Buon Ho. We’d be there in a couple of hours if we rode briskly, we thought.
But we weren’t counting on a 20-30-mile per hour headwind. As we left Buon Ma Thuot, following the mountain ridge that has taken us northeastward for several days, a strong wind hit us head-on. Typically, we ride at about 14-20 mph on gently rolling terrain. But though the terrain today was not too hilly, the headwind reduced our speed to 5-10 mph. It felt like the tougher hills we climbed in the middle of last week, except when we crested a hill we could enjoy the ride down. With this headwind, there was no resting, just grinding.About 5 miles from Buon Ho, the route shifted more directly northward and the impact of the headwind subsided. We rolled into this Central Highlands town by mid-afternoon, checked in at a local hotel and enjoyed dinner together at a restaurant our hosts selected for us (as we have encouraged them to do).
All along our route, we have encountered many rubber tree plantations. They are carefully platted and tended to. With careful cuts into the bark, sap is drawn to the surface and drips into a bowl that is attached to the tree. When the sap dries in the bowl it is a white substance that has the consistency of latex. This is harvested routinely. Vietnam is one of the leading international producers of rubber. Coffee and rubber are its two largest export products.
Tomorrow (Monday, January 10), we will be back to our 100+ kilometer per day routine. Our hoped-for destination on Monday is Chu Se, another Central Highlands town on Route 14.
FIFTH GRADERS AT SORENTO SCHOOL
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update on your adventure. We found the information about the rubber trees very interesting. We wonder if the Vietamese use the rubber to make anything in their country or do they just export it for a profit. The pictures of the elephant ride showed us how uncomfortable but fun that must've been. We thought in was humorous that sometimes elephants knock down trees to get to their leaves for a snack!! It is really cold here compared to what you are experiencing with our highs expected in the twenties this week. Snow is on the way too!! We look forward to reading your next entry.
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