Green Island!!!

So it's taken me a long time to actually finish blogging about my trip, and I have a couple more that I need to get done as well. So here goes!

We got to Green Island when it was almost dark. We rented scooters, and by the time we got to our hostel, the only gas station on the island was closed. So we basically didn't have a way to get around the island.

Our first night we walked around, did the typical touristy thing, and went shopping. Boy did we go shopping. We ran into a lot of foreigners including three Frenchmen. It was kinda funny because we normally don't see anyone in our little town of Feng Yuan.

The next morning we got up at the crack of dawn and went snorkeling. It was apart of our package, so we went out to this little snorkel shop, got our gear, and then scootered back to the beach. It was overcast, and a bit cold. The water seemed pretty menacing, and not very pretty. Our guide didn't speak a lick of English, and when we first got to the beach he handed us these leaves. We had no clue what they were for. Well, supposedly they were to wipe off our goggles, so we didn't have to spit on them to keep them from fogging up. Snorkeling was fabulous. Even though it was cloudy outside, the colors under the water were brilliant. We saw all kinds of fish, eels, coral, etc. Our guide kept on diving down, killing the clams, and eating them. I have to admit that I got sea sick because they made us wear life jackets.

After our little jaunt at snorkeling, we rode around the island. It's tiny, so it took about 1/2 hour to do so. Rachelle, my scooter partner, and I had an exhilerating time. Here's a video to document part of our wild ride around the island: Just kidding. I didn't know I was recording sideways, so I'll post them as soon as I figure out how to rotate them. So be excited!

Anywho, Green Island is a bit like Alcatrez in that Taiwan used to ship all of their prisoners to the prison there. The whole prison theme is felt throughout the island with restaurants, shops, and a tour of the prison.

Other awesome things: petting a real deer and all of the amazing beaches!

The trip home on the barf barge wasn't nearly as terrible, but it was nice to finally be on solid ground again. It was an amazing trip!