Green Island: Jurassic Park Redux

So where were we? :) Ah yes, a rough start on Green Island... but with a bit of sun, my dad and I found the place immediately transformed into what seemed like a real life Jurassic Park! The island's colors were sooooo incredibly vibrant under the sun, and we found ourselves having the time of our lives exploring this island's nooks and crannies. 

[Btw, all the pictures below are with my dad's camera, also a Canon Powershot G11. He likes to include the time/date in his photos because he'll forget when he took the pictures otherwise. For me this is a complete faux pas, but what can I do... we had completely used up my memory card when he spent it on a 17 minute video of our scuba dive!!! So I took pictures keeping in mind that the date would show up on the bottom, hoping that I could crop it out when I got home. Some failed, some succeeded. Just wanted to put it out there. I don't like dates. :p]

I forgot to mention in the last post that we had soaked in the sea salt hot springs (Zhaori Hot Springs 朝日温泉) the night after we went diving... I can't tell you how perfect the temperature was, and I could feel every muscle going "ahhhhhh..." even my scalp! :p The area was unisex and people had bathing suits on, so even the shy can participate. We bumped into only ~10 other bathers through the entire night because it was off-season, but after our hostel host told us that it's common to have 6,000+ tourists land on the island per day during high-season, I imagine that this place would be utter chaos then. I would not like that. 

We had also gone to the hot springs at night, so we couldn't see the ocean, but we could hear the waves crashing onshore. It was like having one of those ambiance sleep machines lulling you into la-la-land. I'm not sure what health benefits soaking in saltwater has vs. freshwater, but I imagine that it's mostly sanitary (and it probably turns you into a pickle). Entrance tickets were 200 NTD (around $6-7 USD) for one full-day use. We had also brought a few eggs to cook in the "super-hot" pool, which obviously are not meant for human soaking! I hate hard-boiled eggs by the way, with a passion. Anyway, the hot springs lived up to the hype, and is a must-go if you ever travel to Green Island. Multiple times!!!!!!!!!

Not my photo since I didn't bring a camera with me, but here it is in daylight.

We woke up at 7am in the morning to go on a hike through the island's "Ancient Path", where we encountered at least 3 giant spiders spinning webs that completely blocked the road. I almost face-planted straight into these creepers a few times. NOT. AMUSING. They are as big as your palm and are truly scary ugly motherfuckers. After Googling "Green Island spiders" I found out that they're called Golden Orb Spiders and are among the largest kinds to build aerial webs (hence faceplant close call... -_-;;;).

"[Their size] is probably a reflection of the large size of much of the prey they capture, for even the remains of birds have been recorded in their webs (Raven 2000)."

GROSS. I'm so disgusted... yet weirdly fascinated. BUT YEA GROSS.

After hiking through the mountains, my dad and I went to explore the shoreline. The hostel provided us with a scooter to ride around the island, which was just basically one road circling the perimeter and no traffic lights. Great for noobies (me)! I looked so badass scooting at 5mph (with my dad hanging on for dear life?). Bad to to the bone!!! :D

Nothing but you and the road.

You have to love the low-season.

Simply gorgeous.

This is exactly what I was hoping to see, and I am so grateful that the sun finally came out the last day.

Self-shot, because Dad happily pranced off somewhere like a kid in a candy store.

When the low tide exposed the shoreline, we were able to see a ton of creatures just doing their thang. Fish, slugs, crabs... it was like an animal treasure hunt. I like saying hello [poking] to them. :)

[top] Hermit crab in shell -- This dude got the right idea.

[bottom] Hermit crab in floating plastic cap??? -- FAIL. Darwin will come and claim you, little fella.

[top] Super large seaslug very actively munching on seaweed. Was about 7-8 inches long, and surprisingly not that easy to flip over. It also kind of didn't give a shit when I kept on poking it (to test its density, obviously). 

[bottom] Super adorable baby seaslug doing something cute like pooping little pellets probably.

Crab that attacked my dad. o_o

Would a Chinese person eat this crab? Most likely.

Green Island has a prehistoric and raw undeveloped landscape due to its lava formations and petrified coral sediment. It is truly amazing, one that feels magical. I felt transported into another world, and I imagine that adventurers in the past must have had this same feeling when they stumbled upon an environment that exceeded their imagination. It was the perfect playground and I highly recommend you all to go explore this place if given the chance. :)

Don't mind me, I'm just harassing some sea residents.

(Poor starfish rather give up 2 of its arms than play with me!)

Petrified fossilized coral. This stuff was everywhere.

Just freaking mind-blowing. You feel real teeny tiny when you think about the "circle of life". How old do you think it is? I'd like to say AGE OF DINOSAURS!!!! 

The last day passed real quick, and made the whole trip to Green Island a major WIN despite the initial troubles. The most important thing though is that Dad and I got to spend quality time with each other, and that we had the opportunity to create some wonderful memories that will make us smile even when we're far apart. It's definitely okay to travel alone, and it's easier too most of the time, but this Cap'n always needs her trusty mates... and for this leg of my journey I couldn't find a better one than my dad. :) 爸爸，我爱你！