Climbing on Cat Ba Island so far

A thirty minute power outage on the island delayed this post a little, but it was cool to see the streets and the bay in the dark; normally there are artificial and neon lights everywhere.

So here are some pictures of where I've been climbing the last few days. It's a 10-15 minute scooter ride through the countryside from the town I'm staying, and is called Butterfly Valley.

Unsurprisingly given the name there are a ton of butterflies. You can see in the lower photo how the cliffs back onto the farmland surrounding a very small village. You pay $2.50 if you come without a guide from the climbing company on the island and that money goes to the family who owns the land. They also make money by selling water and other drinks to the climbers, enough so that they're currently building a new and much bigger house. Luckily for me all 3 days I've climbed so far I've been with guides on their day off so climbing has been free. It's really interesting to see a part of the island and a village you wouldn't normally visit, and the scooter ride (I managed to get a lift on the back of a guides scooter the first day and today but the second day I rented one and drove myself) is a very good way to see the island. Riding one is definitely part of the Vietnam experience :).

As to what I've climbed I got on a 12c yesterday that climbed diagonally through a 45 degree overhang to a pumpy (endurance intensive) face. Really cool route, got through the crux (hardest part) relatively easily but after the roof I was so tired because of my total lack of endurance I had to go bolt-to-bolt (climbing from each spot I could rest on the rope to the next) for the second half on the climb. That's what I get for bouldering too much I guess haha. It'll be cool to see what I can do on ropes if I do start to work endurance again. 

Other than that the only other noteworthy climb was an 11d I got on today. I onsighted it (climbed it first try with no falls), but close to the top I honestly wasn't sure of I'd make. It was a continuous overhanging dihedral (corner) that went on for over 25 meters, with a really good rest spot in the middle.