FRIDAY APRIL 23RD, 2021.
The one where we get to the Easternmost Point.
Our plan today was to get out to Cape Santiago Lighthouse (aka Sandiaojiao Lighthouse), Taiwan’s Easternmost point, and finish up the day at Wai’ao Beach. However, we didn’t want to walk all the way, partly because we’d already covered a lot of this area when we did the Caoling Trail on Day 10 but mainly due to the fact that for large sections the only place to walk is right next to an extremely busy road, which is both tedious and dangerous. Therefore, we decided to do as we did on Day 8 and walk the most scenic places and drive the rest of the way. Elaine’s youngest son, Oliver, had very kindly volunteered to be our driver and Ron once again joined us, as we set off from Taipei at 7:30am under gloomy skies.
As a starting point, we’d picked a spot about 45 minutes away from the Lighthouse, at what I thought from a quick glance at Google Maps was a nature reserve. In fact, it was a fishing research institute belonging to National Taiwan Ocean University. As we were pottering around the tanks of cuttlefish, we were told politely we were on private property, so we promptly set off along the bike path conveniently located alongside the property. It was cloudy overhead but a very pleasant temperature for walking, as we strolled along with the sea views on our left. We passed the deserted-looking Fulian Elementary School and, after taking a side path that didn’t seem to lead anywhere, we came to the very pretty Mao’ao Fishing Village and Port. There, a very friendly local told us that the local school was still operating, but it currently only had ten pupils of which four were due to graduate in June, so the school didn’t look to have a long-term future. Sadly, the same could be said for the village itself because, despite the inhabitants’ best efforts to paint and prettify the place, a lot of the houses were empty and there are now only 30 people living there. Apparently, the village was holding a lunch-time event (to which we were cordially invited) but given our schedule we had to press on towards the Lighthouse.
We were now following a neatly paved path by the coast and were just congratulating ourselves on not having to walk next to the noisy road when the path abruptly ran out at a boulder-strewn beach. With no obvious way forward, we had to retrace our steps. Fortunately, we were able to keep to the bike path with ocean views to enjoy to our left for a while longer. Eventually the bike path too gave out and we had to walk a short distance right next to the main road before arriving at the side road up the hill to the Lighthouse. At this point, our way was blocked by a friendly, but determined, middle-aged lady who told us the road was closed, even to pedestrians, due to a crane operating at the top that might fall over. We were told to carry on for another ten minutes to reach another path up the hill and despite Elaine pointing out in Mandarin and Taiwanese that walking on a road with no sidewalk and large trucks thundering past was even more dangerous, she refused to budge and on we went.
In hindsight, the path up the hill turned out to be much nicer than walking up the side road anyway. After helping an elderly couple take a photo, we reached the top and saw the dangerous crane, which seemed to be employed in repairing the roof of the Observatory. It was rather mystifying that the road had been completely closed when it looked easier to simply cordon off the area around the crane but given Taiwan’s woeful public safety record, it would have been churlish to complain about an excess of caution. The lighthouse itself was built in 1935 when Taiwan was under Japanese occupation and stands 16.5m tall. The long-threatened rain had now arrived accompanied by a stiff breeze, and we were looking suitably windswept when we posed for photos outside. It was more welcoming inside the lighthouse, where we were able to shelter and look at various navigational equipment and maps from the lighthouse’s past. In the building next to the lighthouse, rather strangely, a mini film studio had been set up and you could film yourself for five seconds in front of a green screen and then swipe a QR code to open a browser and see yourself on the deck of a boat. Super cheesy of course but, encouraged by the couple in front of us, all 3 of us had to give it a go!
To wrap up our tour of the lighthouse area, we took the short path to the Easternmost Point Observation Desk for some dramatic views of the Pacific and some more windswept photos. Further up the hill, we could see rows and rows of graves (it’s normal practice in Chinese culture for one’s ancestors to be given the best views), while down below we could see a couple of fishermen toughing it out against the elements. Lovely as the scenery was, the weather wasn’t enticing us to stay, so we took the path back down the hill to meet Oliver and press on to Daxi.
We disembarked just past Daxi Train Station and strolled along the embankment behind Daxi Elementary School, which has an amazing location overlooking the ocean with mountains rising steeply right behind it. The school’s basketball court was located only a few metres from the ocean so we wondered how many times an errant free throw had ended up in the water. As the rain cleared, we could now easily see Turtle Island, and eventually, we hit the beach on the completely deserted Honeymoon Bay. Despite its name, there’s nothing particularly romantic about it and it’s mainly used by surfers. No one was in the water today, although, as we left, we did see a few lads contemplating risking the rather rough waves.
Back at the main road, Oliver ferried us the short way to our next stop, Beiguan Tidal Park (北關海潮公園), a new destination for us all. And a very nice destination it turned out to be as well, helped immeasurably by the sudden appearance of the sun, which meant we could discard our rain jackets. A couple of centuries ago, Beiguan was a garrison offering protection from pirates and bandits, and you can still see the spot where two ancient cannons were deployed. Add in tree lined boardwalks, weird rock formations, views of Turtle Island, waves crashing against the rocks plus the greenery of the mountains behind, and all in all, it’s a very lovely spot. However, we were shocked to find it’s also an incredibly dangerous location; between 2000 and 2015, 207 freak waves struck the area, and 360 people were washed into the sea (241 dead or missing, 119 injured and rescued). That’s a quite staggering figure and ties in with the earlier comments on Taiwan’s somewhat lamentable public safety record. With those rather sobering thoughts in mind, we got back in the SUV and Oliver dropped us at our final destination, Wai’ao Beach.
The Northern end of Wai’ao Beach is home to some distinctly unusual architecture, starting with a bed & breakfast establishment used by the local surfers, that wouldn’t look out of place on a Greek isle. Next to that was the even more unexpected sight of a structure in the style of an Arabian palace, the point of which left Ron & I scratching our heads in bewilderment. Elaine, as ever, was able to provide some background, as her sons know some of the younger members of the family who own the building. At one time, the original owner had a series of successful restaurants in Saudi Arabia and brought Saudi builders and craftsman to Taiwan to construct his “palace” in a traditional Arab style. It was certainly eye catching and to complete the set, it was flanked by a Japanese style mansion – just what’s needed.
The sun was now getting very hot as we tramped along the beach, down the boardwalk and then back across the mostly deserted beach until we reached the Toucheng end. Liquid refreshment was now urgently needed, so we ducked into the nearest surf shop for a drink, while we considered our lunch options. A quick Google search unearthed the “Timu Bar”: good reviews and only 30m away. One minute later we were walking into a delightfully laidback place selling delectable pizzas and cold beers – what could be better? We were further surprised when we recognised the Italian owner as Andrea, who along with his father, Giorgio, runs the excellent Cantina del Gio and Botega del Vin restaurants in Taipei. Andrea and his staff made us very welcome and gave us the back story on the two huskies with their two puppies that were hiding from the sun under the tables. Andrea, clearly an animal lover, had taken over the care of the two adult dogs after a family in Kaohsiung didn’t want them any longer. The climate in Taiwan really isn’t that suitable for huskies but Andrea and his staff lavished love and attention on them and they certainly seemed a lot happier than the huskies I saw in Greenland a couple of years back. As for the story of the pups, one of the adult dogs had disappeared for a day or two last year and came back pregnant; father and breed unknown. The pups are very cute though! Having slaked our thirsts and sated our appetites with the mouth-watering pizzas, we were contemplating whether to take a train or a bus back to Taipei when Andrea mentioned he would shortly be driving back to open the Taipei restaurants and kindly offered us a lift – sorted! So, let’s conclude by offering a big thanks to Andrea; if you’re out at Wai’ao beach, please check out the wonderful Timu Bar, while both the Taipei restaurants also serve delicious Italian food and wines and are well worth visiting.
End of Day 12: 12.5km walked. Richie Rich.