We left Hanoi and traveled to Sapa via a sleeper bus. It was bumpy and rocky but we made it there safety around 6 am. Tired and a little groggy, we stumbled to a giant Catholic Church steps and waited for Mama Chu.
We called Mama Chu a few days previously and asked if it would be okay to stay with her family for a night. She is usually booked through a tour agency but we decided to call her directly so that her family would pay without the large and unfair cuts that the agents take out.
Mama Chu arrived shortly afterwards, dressed in traditional H'Mung attire. She was beautiful!! She was short, petite, had dark, tanned skin, and wore her long, black hair in a pony tail that wrapped around her head and was fastened by a small white comb. She took us to the market where we ate Phò. This is a rice noodle soup that I usually order with vegetables and tofu. Mama Chu was afraid we weren't eating enough so she kept telling us to keep eat more, eat more....I was pretty sure that I was going to have to be rolled out of the market. However, I now understand why she pushed us to fill our stomachs--- the rest of our meals were meager bowls of rice and bamboo.
After breakfast, we waited at the church to join some other families going mountain trekking. Once we all congregated, we put our water bottles in Mama Chu's wooden basket that she carried on her back, and hit the mountains.
We hiked the mountains for 4 1/2 hours! It was absolutely breathtaking. I came into the volunteer placement with the false thinking I was going to work outside of the city. I really wanted a cultural experience of the typical Vietnamese lifestyle so this trip did the trick. Here are some of the pictures that will describe my trip much better than words:
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