Day 1 Kuibishan Geopark Guanyin Pavilion
Magong Xiying Rainbow Bridge
Guoye Sunrise Observatory
I was
part of a group of four friends, on a threeday trip. Days 1 and 2 were to be spent traveling the sleepy roads of the three bridge-connected main islands, Penghu, Baisha, and Xiyu, in the quintessential local manner – by scooter. Day 3 would begin with a ferry ride to one of the many outlying islands, Wang’an, where we’d travel the sleepy roads in, yes, the same quintessential local manner. We’d return to Magong by ferry, then fly out back to Taipei.
the plaza before it – the “village mayor,” said one local – and I was fascinated by a blue lorry that stopped here and at other village points. This was the “village store,” the locals reported, sounding its arrival via mounted loudspeakers, canopied truck bed piled high with racks themselves piled high with spices, cleaners, and myriad other household necessities. My European buddies said these are still common enough in rural Europe, but I, a North American, had never before heard of or seen such a thing.
Within 15 minutes of sitting down at the Magong Airport car/scooter rental counter, we were breezing down open road. A reminder: Penghu has limited tree cover, so good sunblock is a must.
Our next stop was Kuibishan Geopark, in Penghu’s northeast corner. A long coraland-rock pathway, exposed at low tide, leads to a small island, where we had our first close-up inspection of the archipelago’s famed basalt columns. Almost all of its scores of islands have basalt-column bases, created between 17 and 8 million years ago when lava shot through seabed faults as the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plates fought for dominance (the fight continues today, though things are quiet here). As the lava blasted up through seawater and air it was super-cooled, quickly drying and cracking into columns.
Our first day’s destinations were all on Penghu island, the largest of the archipelago. Our first stop was Guoye Sunrise Observatory, on Penghu’s easternmost edge. The tide was out, and we inspected the many types of small crabs and other inter-tidal marine life. While inspecting the unusually colorful Daoist temple in the sleepy village behind, we were watched intently by a large rooster in
Kuibishan Geopark
E xploring the rock s in Kuibishan’s tidal zone
PENGHU
Penghu Ocean Fireworks Festival In the evening of Day One, a Monday, we headed to Magong’s harbor area by two wellknown tourist attractions, Xiying Rainbow Bridge and Guanyin Pavilion, for a grand fireworks-fest, standing amidst hundreds of locals and tourists from mainland Taiwan and abroad. The Penghu Ocean Fireworks Festival is staged each summer, with spectacular fireworks shows over harbor and bridge every Monday and Thursday night, preceded by stage shows featuring Taiwan pop music. These events have been incorporated into this year’s first-ever national-scope Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer summerfest campaign, with extra events added (see article on page 22).
Travel in Taiwan
13