Jun 20 - Unlike the main island of Taiwan, Green Island is volcanic. It formed as a volcano in the Pliocene and Pleistocene, so at a maximum age of about 5 million years. It is part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc, so includes the islands between here and the Philippines.
This morning we troop to another hotel where they are serving breakfast for various homestays in the immediate area. After this, we pack and are taken down to the ferry dock at 11:00 by the hotel owner. It is oppressively hot again, as we stand around on the docks along with masses of people waiting for the ferry back to Taitung. The seas are placid today, nothing like what we had on the way here yesterday.
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At Fugang Harbor on the mainland, we get a bus out to the Taitung train station and are off to Hualien. Only get into town at 16:30, and it takes nearly an hour to sort out the bus system for a ride to our hotel.
There are some particularities I notice straight away in Hualien. The sidewalks are the typical uneven surfaces, clogged with parked scooters and such, but here they are artistically tiled, usually with angular black and white tiles. There are even a few with bits of granite inlay.
Our hotel is tidy and very well-decorated. The manager speaks no English at all, so we communicate by phone translator. He has a thousand details he wants to make clear about the room and common area.
Taiwan (ROC)