Temples and Turtles

There's a lot more to see and do than just sit on a beach when visiting Little Okinawa!

We took chairs, beach towels, and novels planning to park ourselves in sand and relax.

But, that never happened. 

Armed with a scooter and a map, we decided to do a little exploring before settling down into relax mode.

We found this century old banyan tree.

Obviously when someone built the nearby structure, they didn't account for growth!

Nearby was a small lighthouse used to help guide ships through the Taiwan Strait.

We had multiple opportunities to hike among the island fauna.

As well as climb into, under, and through many coral caves.

Between the climbing, walking, and gazing our eyes also feasted on the architectural beauty of the plethora of temples.

 As you can tell some were big, some were small. Some were in back alleys, while others stood overlooking the ocean. Some were located in highly trafficked areas, while others were tucked away far from peering eyes. Some were plain, while others were beyond ornate. I lost count of how many temples are on the island, but for only being only 9 kilometers around, there's a lot!

But, among all the main roads, side roads, and back alleys we traveled, Carl and I never saw evidence of a church. Or at least a church building. There well may be an active, established body of believers or there could not.

While having temples, Xiaoliuchiu is also well known for its sea turtles.

Since we had decided to explore instead of snorkeling, I didn't think we would get to see any.

But, I was wrong.

After climbing to the top floor of this pavilion, we were able to see some onf the coral surrounding the island.

From all the way up there, we were able to see several huge sea turtles swimming among the coral.

If I could see him from that far away, he must have been huge!

And as all adventures must come to an end, so did this one. But, we left in awe of God's beauty and humans' ability to communicate even without the same language!

While we enjoyed being just the two of us, we can't wait to bring the kids to do some above water and under water exploring!