Turning back down the mountain, we stopped a few kilometres further on for the drop off point for our trek. The Silvergate Love waterfall beckoned through the forest. Along the way we saw water buffalo, dragonflies, fireflies and the most exquisite green millipede. There was some beautiful wildflowers and we learned what a cardamom plant looked like. And the waterfall was a spectacular 60 m cascade over black rock into an even darker pool.
As it transpired, we were more of an attraction than than the attraction itself. Or more precisely, Harper was. Everytime a hiking group passed us, the girls would point, wave at or touch Harper. Some insisted on a photograph. At this rate, he will be the most liked kid on Facebook this month.
Harper got into the swing of the trek the further we went on and we finished off by racing up the last set of rocky stairs. He might make a mountain climber yet.
Later in the day, Lisa took us to the Sapa markets tucked away in one of the narrow laneways in town. All the produce, crafts and cheap Chinese goods of every kind was truly overwhelming.
We then stumbled on a place we'd read about called 'Sapa Rooms' - another business inspired by the cause of the Hmong people and dedicated to helping them. Amongst other things, they operate a series of boutique hotels and trekking adventures. Their place in Sapa is totally charming and food was great. We sat for hours over early dinner and played games with a Vietnamese (we presume) set of ceramic character pieces. Harper invented a memory game which was just perfect for the situation.
Somewhere along the way a herd of water buffalo sauntered past in the Main Street and we rushed out for a photo. It was a scene that looked like the running of the bulls but without the running and the panic!
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