Green Island
Green Island lies in the Pacific Ocean 33 km east of Taidung City. The island is a mere 16.2 sq. km in size and has a top elevation of 281 meters. Formed by ancient volcanic activity, Green Island is surrounded by coral reefs, sedimentary rock and has rarely-seen underwater hot springs. Wind, tides and time have sculpted many interesting and imposing geological formations around the island. Apart from the outstanding natural scenic attractions, Green Island also has inhabitants enjoying their oceanic life and shows a history of prison culture.
In the early morning I went to Taidung Fugang Fishing Port with Chun-Bo and took a cruise ship to Green Island. It was my first time in a long time going to the outer island. As I Watched Dulan mountain graduately disappear from my sight with a comfortable breeze blowing on my face, my mind was excited. Chun-Bo and I took pictures and watched the beautiful views until the crew asked everyone to go into the cabin because of the big wave.
LOL
When we went into the cabin, we found that many people had vomited and the whole cabin was filled with the fetid smell. Fortunately, the ship arrived at Green Island soon.
The attendant from our B&B gave us a scooter. We went to the gas station to refuel, but there was a large crowded of people. Looking at our fuel gauge, we saw that the man who used this scooter before us had left some fuel for us; thus, we decided to leave our bags at theB&B and go on the round-the-island trip first, and to refuel after lauch. When arriving the B&B, the host gave us a room with two double beds. We were happy that we both had enough space to sleep.
The first view of round-the-island trip was Confucius Rock, the angle of the picture seems like Confucius is facing the cliff.
The next spot is the most famous scenic spot of Green Island---"Sleeping Beauty" and "Pug". I was touched by this spectacular view. Blue sea and sky with a fantastic rock, I feel relief everytime I watch the sea.
Pug Rock
Sleeping Beauty Rock
Then we went to the Human Rights Memorial Park
General Rock
We went to the main street for lunch and refueled after visiting the Park. I ate venison meal for lunch. In 1970, the island developed a booming industry of raising Sika deer(梅花鹿), and at one point there were more deer than people on the island. The deer-raising industry has been in decline since 1986. Most of them have been released to the wild now. Only some people still raise them, I saw a deer was chained like a dog and sitting by the door, it looked strange. Venison meal didn't taste special, just like beef or lamb.
venison meal
After lauch we took a short visit to "Brother Story" and then prepared to go snorkeling. This was the first time I went snorkeling; thus, I had to gasp for air frequently. That day the wave was a little high, so we didn't see many fish. However, some beautiful tropical fish impressed me deeply. Moreover, no matter how huge the wave above the sea was, it remained quiet below the sea, and I enjoyed this tranquil moment.
We took a shower after snorkeling. At about 4 p.m. we walked to the entrance of Guoshan Old Mountain Track. On the way to the entrance, we saw the sunshine glittering on the waves with the horizontal wind. The view seemed like a beautiful master piece, and strongly touched my heart. The indescribable beautiful view made me feel like was in paradise.
It took us about two and half hours to climb the mountain. We have seldom seen such a spectacular scene as we saw at Swinhoe's japalura(斯文豪氏攀蜥). After hiking on several mountains in Taidung, I was used to their sudden appearance and was not scared by them this time. The japalura are stupid; they think they can camouflage themselves if they stand still. Therefore, we caught them very often in the troop. Climbling this mountain exhausted us, so we were pooped when going back to the B&B.
Swinhoe's japalura
After taking a rest at the B&B, then we went to eat mutton pot at the restaurant next to the B&B. Compared to the famous restaurant last night we ate in Zhiben, it was delicious!! We didn't expect that such an unknown restaurant was better than the famous restaurant which was introduced by the travel brochure. I guessed the reason was that their goats were wild and exerciced more. When we wanted to pay the bill, the host said the dinner was included in the cost of the B&B. I felt it was well worth the money, because the cost of the B&B was very inexpensive, not to say it even included such a delicious dinner.
($1700 included the ship ticket, bed, scooter, snorkeling, the guided animals watch in the dark, dinner, and two days of breakfast)
After eating dinner, we started the guided animals watch in the dark at 8 p.m.. The host of the B&B hired a man to take us and a couple only. Compared to the other guided animals watch which consisted of ten or twenty people we saw on the road who seemed like gangsters gathered to fight, we felt the quality of our guided animals watch was better. The tour guide took us to find the wild Formosan sika deer and Tsudai stick insects.
Tsudai stick insects
Besides, he also introduced the history and the way they live on the Green Island. On the way of guided animals watch, I finally got to see what I dreamt to see for so long---a sky full of sparkling stars. Since I heard my friend mentioning the beautiful night sky on the Green Island, I have spent a year finding 44 constellations in the sky. I always dreamt that I could see other constellations by my naked eyes on Green Island that I had never seen in Taiwan. However, it was pity that when the guided animals watch ended, the sky was cloudy, and we could not recognize the constellations anymore. In the end of our guided animals watch , the tour guide took us to the Oasis Village and told us the stories about the political prisoners and ghost stories. At about 11 p.m., we bought some food at a convenience store and picked some souvenir in "Brother Story". Then we went back to the B&B.
The next day at about 4 a.m., we got up early for sunrise. We went to Jhaorih Hot Spring with the tickets the host bought for us, and thought about soaking in the hot spring to wait for the sunrise. However, we could not go into the pool becauce we didn't have bring our caps and trunks. In fact, we didn't want to soak in the hot spring that much, so we sat on rocks near the sea.
After seeing the sunrise, we climbed on the the Fanchuanbi Prairie next to the Jhaorih Hot Spring. The view here was better and we felt it was not worth paying the ticket to Jhaorih Hot Spring for watching the sunrise. The sunrise was more beautiful at Fanchuanbi Prairie.
After seeing the sunrise, we were tired and hungry and decided to eat breakfast. On our way to main street, we watched the splendid waves and enjoyed the gentle breeze at the Mati Bridge.
I ordered seaweed egg cake for breakfast which I can not find in Taiwan and it tasted good. We decided to take a nap after breakfast. But when we were at Guangyin Cave and Haisenping Coast on the way to the B&B, I thought it would be a waste of time to visit after a nap. However, we visited Guangyin Cave and Haisenping Coast even though we were very tired.
Inside the Guangyin Cave there are small-scale stalagmites and stalactites. One of the stalagmites looks like a seated Guangyin(a Buddist god) statue. This place has become an important religious center for local people. Legend has it that about 100 years ago, a fisherman lost at sea saw a strange light emanating from the hillside near Guanyin Cave. This light enabled him to safely reach shore. When the fisherman recounted his tale, the locals searched the area and discovered the cave and a statue-like stone inside.
Guangyin Statue
Then we went to the pavilion on the hill of Haisenping Coast. This time the sun rose only for few hours, so the gentle oblique sunshine glittered on the Pacific Ocean, brightening our 270 degrees view. I felt the scene here was the most beautiful in this time.
A steep 400-meter path, known as the Little Great Wall, leads from the roadside up to a small pavilion that provides the best vantage of the interesting geological formations around the island.
We took a nap to 10 a.m. and went to Youzih Lake. It sits within a natural basin on the eastern side of the mountain beside a deserted aboriginal village. Ruins of early stone dwellings with their vacant fields bring about a sense of vicissitude and uncertainty. Looking down at it from the high point of the entrance road, you can see randomly scattered stone houses with mottled brick walls nestling close to the mountains, which is a picturesque addition to this site.
The seashore near the tribe is embraced by the rock, so the sea is quiet. It is very suitable for snorkeling. Next time if I have the chance to go there again, I will bring my snorkeling devices.
We were at one end of the beach, and we walked along the beach to the other end. We found an eroded cave at the other end. There is a plate which introduces the cave called "Wangong Cave", but I didn't see it when I found the travelling information. Maybe it is not a well known scenic spot.
Wangong(Bow) Arch: This natural arch, eroded from Amei Hill's volcanic breccia by the ocean. It is the largest sea arch on the island. It's a restful place with a comfortable summer breeze.
I think the Youzih Lake is the most beautiful place to swim and play. We stayed there for two hours and it was hard to leave there. Anyway, we had to leave, and I took the last lingering picture while we were leaving.
We then visited the Oasis Village which was built in 1972. In the past, it accommodated inmates sentenced for political reasons in the past. Looking at those small and inhumane prisons and thinking about the introduction from our tour guide last night, a sad emotion suddenly came to my mind. In White-Terror period, many innocent people were separated from their family just because of "incorrect" thought aganist the government. Their family could not find out whether their family member was dead or not. If the prisoners' emotion was not stable or went crazy, they would be sent to the separated room which was pitch-dark. It's hard to image how terrible the situation was.
The soft pad in a separated room was used to prevent suicide.
Among the prisoners, there were many people who fought and made efforts for the democracy we now have in Taiwan. We have to treasure the hard earned democracy and not let some politician end our freedom anymore. After visiting the Oasis Village, we went to the Human Rights Memorial Park beside the Oasis Village. It is full of aggrieved peoples' name on the walls and I estimated the names on the walls to be about 6000. One of the aggrieved people Bo Yang(a litterateur) left some words on the wall, and it made me feel sad about them.
"In that period(White-Terror)
How many mothers
cried at midnight
for their
child who was imprisoned on the island."---Bo Yang
The next scenic spot is the Green Island Lighthouse~the lighthouse looks so beautiful on a sunny day.
The final scenic spot was the Swellow Cave. Rumor has it that this place was an execution spot, but it was not. However, in the period without freezers, the dark and damp character of Swellow Cave made it become the mortuary for the corpse of a person who accidentally died and was waiting for an autopsy or for the corpse to be deliverer to Taiwan. The cave prevented the corpse from rotting too quickly in the hot weather of Green Island.
In the White-Terror period, the Swallow Cave was an important spot to handle new political prisoners. They rehearsed the dramas and drew the posters here. A stage made from rocks was where they rehearsed for dramas.
If you want to see more pictures about Green Island,
Click on: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98586&id=697191847&l=f75d1dd563
special thanks: Elizabeth Leston and Grace Chen
