Yehliu-stone National Park

On the second day of the dragon boat festival, I decided it might be worth a trip down to Ilan to check out the aboriginal races. However, by the time I got to the train station, it was already 1:30 and I wouldn't pull into Jiaosi until well past 3:30. By then, I had assumed, the races would be over so I needed to plan my day accordingly.

Last week, my trip up to Yehliu had been canceled due to inclement weather (that, and I forgot to bring my camera) so I decided why not give it a second go. Yehliu is on the north coast of Taiwan, and the only public access to this scenic spot is through a port city called Keelung. Luckily, I had already visited this city once before so getting there would be easy. And what's more, the bus there is out of the same terminal to the airport bus! Yet for some reason, I spent about an hour walking aimlessly around Taipei Main Station looking for that blasted terminal. Eventually, I found it, but I was already tired, sweaty, and in a foul mood.

The bus was quick and air conditioned- two things I like very much about buses. Keelung is a smelly harbor and one you wouldn't want to hang around unless forced to. The odor reminded me of Gloucester, but for some reason, much much more rank. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait a single moment for my bus to Yehliu and with that, I was off again on another fast and air conditioned bus.


By the time I reached Yehliu, however, the skies opened up and the plum rains began to pour down. That's what I hate most about plum rains: the day always starts deceptively sunny, and stays that way just long enough to lure you out without rain protection, only to trap you in a monster downpour. But the plum rains are never long, surely no more than one hour, and in this case, the sun was back out in fifteen minutes.

I followed the path down to the harbor and was struck by the most intriguing set of fishing boats. Well, the boats themselves were nothing special, but hanging on each boats were a few dozen enormous lightbulbs, the likes of which I had never seen. I stopped briefly to capture these unique vessels only to discover that these boats also serve as open markets and restaurants to the throngs of tourists that descend upon Yehliu each weekend. I'm not sure why my arrival didn't warrant a red carpet ceremony, or at least a fish.


I try my best each blog posting to provide you with accurate descriptions of my journey's in Taiwan. However, for the first time I find myself without words to describe just what Yehliu is (perhaps that's because I rely too heavily on mashed up cliches in my writing, but then again, it makes it easier to read).

Yehliu is a geologist's playground. Around each bend there are new and absurdly strange twists of geological formations. Upon first glance, you are presented with what look like for all the world to be ten foot mushrooms growing out of the rock formations. Clearly, little imagination was at work here when these rocks were title "mushroom rocks."


Some areas looked like marshmallow strands swirled on a dessert while other parts looked like runny ice cream marbleized on the stone. Some rocks resembled tofu jutting out of the water while others looked like honeycombs waiting for the worker bees to return home. One of the most intriguing points of this tour came with these enormous boulders that looked as if they were launched out of a canon and smashed into gelatinous goo. But that putty like clay was harder than your head. On only a stone's throw away, literally, were prehistoric fossils perfectly preserved in the cliffs of Yehliu. Here are some of the more interesting rock formations discovered on the peninsula.

A View of the Ocean from Yehliu Peninsula

Cliffside

Natural Rock Formations

Rocks of Twenty-four Filial Piety

Lover's Cave- But only is you love bugs

Fossils were prevalent on the peninsula

Tofu Rocks

Yehliu Rock Formations

Outstretched Hand and Snake

Honeycomb Rock

Melted Ice Cream Designs

Canon ball Rocks

Enjoying the Rocks

Dragon Rock

But perhaps the title for the most famous of all the rock formations must be given to the Queen's Head Rock which, I will give it to them, has a perfectly silhouetted resemblance of an ancient Egyptian queen. She has been the topic of recent conversation, due to the alarming rate at which she is eroding away. So best get your butts to Yehliu now before it's too late!


When the tour of Yeliu came to a close, I hopped back onto the bus and continued along the winding coast to Chinsan. Getting off in the city square, I made my way to the Old Street where some of the coasts traditional eateries are nicely preserved. Delicate sea fare, sweetened plum tea, and snacks and noodles enough to feed the royal navy, this port street is not one to be missed. However, I had limited time in this street because my daylight hours were reducing and I still had a great deal to cover before my time was finished.


I walked down to the seashore and climbed over the sea wall to meander along the rosy rocks near the tide. The sea was calm and gently, and made a perfect outing for dozens of families joining one another for a soft, quiet evening along the sea. I continued past these munchers down to the end of the point where I was presented with a magnificent view of the famed candlestick rocks out in the middle of the ocean. Only our imaginations can guide us as to the years of erosion and sculpting that formed the vast geological treasures that make up Chinshan and Yehliu.



Through an old army barracks went I and down to what I call the Disney Land of hot springs. Below a series of blue pyramid roof tops lay the Chinsan Hot Spring Pools. Inside are many shallow pools with waterfalls, spas, hot and cold springs, lazy rivers meander inside and outside, through caves and around gazebos, and surprisingly enough: water slides (which, yes, I did go down several times since I was the ONLY person there!!!)


After a fine soak in the warm tubs, I dried off and went back to Chinshan center where I caught a bus back to Keelung and then transfered back to Taipei. And although it wasn't the aboriginal dragon boats of Ilan, this little traveler isn't complaining!


From your recent graduate of Paleontology and Geology from the University of Yehliu, Michael.