Taipei Heatwave

 Scents of Star Anise and Garlic

[ Dadaocheng Neighborhood ]

Norah and I arrived in Taipei City last night to a wall of heat at the top of the subway steps, plonked into the Ximending Walking District just a few blocks from our accommodations. Without realizing it, I had booked us into a hotel in one of the busiest nightlife areas of the city. It was a little jarring after the idyllic week in Miyakojima that we had just left.

[ just steps from our accoms ]

We wound our way through the busy streets to our hotel, a nondescript high rise with the only noticeable feature from the street: a pink neon stripe shaped into a heart. We walked into a dark glass and marble lobby that gave us both love hotel vibes. As it was eight o’clock at night we had no choice but to proceed…

[ the eclectic lobby ]

We took a black mirrored elevator up to our floor 😳. Our room was spotlessly clean, with every amenity present, yet the presence of Chiang Kai-shek did not really assuage our fears.

[ just say no to communism ]

We fell asleep wondering where we had landed. 

To our relief, the hotel breakfast the next morning was spectacular and we were in the company of Taiwanese parents, children, and grandparents on vacation. We decided it was all on the up and up.

[ Bangka Longshan Temple ]

We spent the morning today at the Bangka Longshan Temple in the Wanhua District. The temple was built during the Qing Dynasty in 1738 by Chinese Buddhists from Fujian who had settled in Taipei.

Our other goal for the day was to make our way to the Dadaocheng neighborhood where some of the red brick buildings from the Qing Dynasty can be found. We had to catch a bus to get to the neighborhood and once we found our stop and watched what everyone else did, Norah stepped out and waved down our bus like a local. 

[ Norah’s got this ]

[ okay, truth be told, this guy stole her thunder ]

The neighborhood streets in Dadaocheng are lined with small shops where all sorts of food and goods can be found. There were stalls selling tea, dried fruit, garlic, dried mushrooms, and fish. The scent of star anise and garlic filled the air.

For lunch, Norah found a delightful little vegan restaurant, Mukuchi Kitchen, tucked away on a side street. We ordered an oat milk ramen bowl and an asparagus bean curd roll. Lucky for us, the shop was air-conditioned and the warm ramen was a mouthful of flavours. The bean curd roll was like nothing I have ever tasted, it was grilled with a carmelized soy sauce glaze.

[ a tiny and delectable kitchen ]

[ vegan oat milk ramen and bean curd roll ]

We found a sweet bookstore housed in one of the historic buildings. Even though I could not read any of the books, I enjoyed the quiet respite from the street in cool air-conditioning amongst the beautiful books.

[ Kuo’s Astral Bookshop ]

I liked this self help series. I could not read the text but the pictures were informative. I am pretty sure that the page below is explaining that hammocks are really good for relaxing…

[ time to get out the hammock ]

🪭

Beach Finale

Ikema Island

 [ heading to Kaginmi Beach ]

Norah and I headed out to Ikema Island today to try out the last of the beaches in this beautiful place. We followed the single road that circled the island to reach Kaginmi Beach on the northern side of the island. I had read that the locals called this beach “rope” beach and I had no idea why. The only parking was at the side of the road and the only other vehicle there was a bicycle. We stepped through the rhododendron grove along the path and discovered the reason for the beach’s name.

[ aka “Rope” Beach ]

The path was a straight drop with a rope, that was tied to a tree, dangling down the ravine. As we stood there contemplating our rappelling skills, Norah pointed out that her foot was still in recovery and more importantly, could I haul myself back up the rope if we went down! I shudder to visualize this scenario. We decided to pass and instead headed to another beach just down the cove.

[ Take Two: Funakusu Beach ]

This beach had several small reefs right in the shallows and a handful of swimmers with snorkels were quietly drifting in the water. This was a great location for our final Okinawa swim. 

[ settling in for a swim ]

There was a dive shop at the top of the path and the guy running it seemed to have the unofficial role of lifeguard. Every once in awhile he would walk out to the rocks overlooking the cove and speak to us through a yellow megaphone. I do not know what he was saying. He also stood on a ladder on top of the dive shop and used the megaphone to call down to the swimmers on the beach. No one seemed to be heeding his words.

[ swimmers! Take care!! ]

Besides floating and swimming all morning at this beautiful beach, my favorite moment of the day was stopping to buy a ripe mango …

from this roadside stand…

from this friendly Okinawan farmer 

who has mango trees behind his house…

I so enjoyed this moment talking with this man. He was friendly and kind. Norah had stayed in the car and he insisted that I take a sample of mango to her on a toothpick skewer. When we got back to our room, Norah and I devoured the entire mango. It was so delicious and brought my memory back to Puerto Rico once again. Mangoes are life!!

[ sunset event ]

On our final evening Norah and I cruised over to “sunset  beach” near the bridge to Irabu Island to watch the sunset and we found ourselves amongst, I think, every tourist currently visiting these islands. There was a flurry of excitement in the air as people gathered along the park railing above the sea.

Together, we watched the sun go down from the edge of Miyakojima; reminding me of our shared humanity at the end of these beautiful travels around Okinawa. 

🌴

 

Sea Life Magic

 Norah’s Scuba Day

[ looking at me, looking at you ]

Norah and I met up with Joe, the owner of Penguin Divers, yesterday to learn how to snorkel. Joe is a friendly, athletic Fijian man who has lived in Okinawa with his wife Yumi (also a diver) for fifteen years. We met him at a quiet cove early in the morning where after a short lesson he took us out to explore some of Irabu’s coral reef from a snorkeling vantage point.

[ Norah and Joe suiting up ]

[ Nakanoshima Cove, Irabu Island ]

It was an absolutely beautiful day and we saw beautiful colorful fish and amazing coral within minutes of entering the water. I really could not believe what I was seeing. It was magical. The coral reef around Okinawa, called the Yabiji Reef, stretches 17 kilometers north and south of the islands. Our morning of snorkeling  was enough to prepare Norah for scuba diving with Joe the following day (today).

[ Shiratori Cove, Irabu Island ]

We met Joe early this morning at Shiratori beach on Irabu Island and Norah followed him down the hill to a beautiful cove for a scuba lesson before heading out to a deep underwater reef. I followed along to watch them depart as I was feeling nervous for Norah.

[ scuba lesson in the cove ]

[ thank you Polly for the beach bag ]

I pretended I was reading but really I was watching everything that was going on with the training. With Joe’s confident instruction, Norah practiced with all of her equipment and then they headed out to the dive spot on a kayak. The morning light and the peaceful cove was just magical.

[ kayaking out to the dive spot ]

Joe left me with a snorkel and mask and as soon as they left I swam out to a reef at the end of the cove. I was entertained by clown fish, a school of electric blue fish and many other varieties of colorful fish that were swimming around within easy reach. It was spectacular. 

Norah and Joe safely returned about two hours later. I could not wait to see the photos from Norah’s dive. Joe took a huge camera with him…

Norah saw two turtles while diving, including this one who looked right at her. This was a fabulous day. 

[ ❤️ ]

Kei Van & Sugar Cane

Miyakojima Island

 

[ Sunayama Beach ]

This morning Norah and I packed the cooler with ice, water, and onigiri (two with salmon and two with tuna/mayo) and drove our kei van to the first beach on our list. I did not know for sure what to expect but the magnitude of beauty that we found at this beach was beyond words. 

[ An unassuming marker ]

Sunayama Beach was a 10-minute drive from our residence and was marked by a small sign in the middle of the road. Just beyond the sign was a small parking lot with showers and a sandy trail leading through the island forest. After a short walk the path opened up to a magnificent view of the water. There were a handful of people there already tucking their towels in shady areas along the rocks lining the cove.

[ emerald water ]

[ irresistible ]

Norah and I floated and swam all morning. The water was calm and crystal clear and just gorgeous. I honestly could not believe the color of the water. 

[ that’s Norah floating in the water ]

After a midday sun break we toured the eastern end of the island. We drove through sugar cane fields which cover 65% of the island. Gorgeous. 

[ the soil on the island is red ]

[ fields of sugar cane ]

I had a delightful afternoon just driving through these fields, looking at the neighborhood hamlets clustered across the island, and enjoying the company of my daughter. I plan to do a little reading about the agriculture and the eco-farming that is happening here. Some of the sugar cane by-product is used to produce bio fuels. 

[ just me and my kei van ]