The last few days

We have been to China for a little over a week now and Maya's family for five days. We left the city of Nanning, here in the Guangxi province and took an almost five hour bus trip to Guilin, also in the same province of Maya's birth. Guilin in a small city situated along the Li River. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations here in China and is absolutely beautiful. I feel so fortunate that we were able to come here.

Our first full day here we visited the Seven Star Park. We spent about an hour wandering around and checking out all the scenery. They even had a small zoo in the park with a panda. Also, we were able to burn incense as part of a baby blessing in the Buddhist temple area of the park.

The following day we took a boat tour of the Li River. The tour itself lasted about four hours and was very relaxing. We were able to catch glimpses of farmers and water buffalo, caves and the gorgeous scenery that this region is famous for.

Today we ventured to the Reed Flute Cave, one of the larges of the over three thousand caves in this region. It was used by the local Chinese as a hiding place from the Japanese during the war. We then headed to the South River Pearl Company where we learned how they cultivate pearls.

All throughout the trip in Guilin, along with our adoption agencies representative, we have had two wonderful guides who have made this trip very enjoyable. The more I see of this country the more I fall in love with the culture, food and people. It really has been a pleasure. Leah, for a five year old, has been an exceptional traveler. I am so glad that we bought her with us.

Anyway, tomorrow we will leave for Guangzhou to finalize the adoption and then in a few days head down to Hong Kong to visit family. More pictures of the baby coming soon!