Some fish cannot be contained, because they belong to the sky - "Big Fish and Begonia" ▲The lighthouse in the waters of Guishan Island. The never-ending volcano: I remember when I was watching "Big Fish and Begonia" that year, there was a line that said: Some fish cannot be conta

Some fish cannot be contained, because they belong to the sky - "Big Fish and Begonia"

▲The lighthouse in the waters of Guishan Island.

The never-ending volcano:

I remember when I was watching "Big Fish and Begonia" that year, there was a line like this: Some fish cannot be contained, because they belong to the sky.

is right, dolphins should soar in the vast sea and sky instead of in an aquarium. When you go to see it, you have to be sincere. Whether it will come or not will definitely depend on God’s will.

▲Toucheng Port.

This time we are going to Guishan Island in Yilan, Taiwan to look for wild whales and dolphins. Some babies may say that Guishan Island is an island, and there are many beautiful outlying islands and mainlands, such as Wuzhizhou Island, Weizhou Island . But this perception was overturned after I visited Guishan Island. Because this is an active volcanic island, you can often see huge groups of cruising wild dolphins here.

▲Toucheng Port.

Dr. Tao and I were waiting to board the ship at the port. The search for cetaceans is like a pilgrimage to us. We should be the ones trekking through the mountains and rivers with a pious heart, rather than them being kept in captivity waiting for our visit.

▲Toucheng Port.

Guishan Island is located in the eastern waters of Taiwan Province, China, on the rough Western Pacific about 12 kilometers east of Yilan County. It is administratively affiliated with Toucheng Town, Yilan County. There are two round peaks on the island. The small peak in the east is like a turtle head, and the large peak in the west is like a turtle tail, so people call it "Guishan Island". Like Weizhou Island in Guangxi, Guishan Island is a volcanic island. The only difference is that Weizhou Island is an extinct volcanic island (no volcanic activity anymore), while Guishan Island is an active volcano that often spews smoke, but is in a dormant period.

▲There are volcanic hot springs under the seabed of the turtle head, so the sea water is milky white.

As he talked, the boat reached the turtle's feet. The original blue and clear sea surface was obviously not right here. It turned into a milk blue sea with some milky white substance. It turns out that this is the famous landscape of Guishan Island, the "Yin Yang Sea". Underneath this sea area is a strong acid hot spring with sea water temperatures as high as 110 degrees Celsius. Although the milk sea looks very tempting, it is definitely not for humans to enjoy. It is simply a big boiling pot.

▲There are volcanic hot springs under the seabed where the turtle head is located, so the sea water is milky white. Why is

like this? Because there is a volcanic caldera at the head of the turtle, which is the former caldera. Today's Guishan Island volcano is also frequently active, and the sulfur vents in the crater still erupt from time to time, forming a puff of smoke in the air. I could smell a strong smell of sulfur as the boat approached. I heard from Chuandao that there is indeed a submarine hot spring under the turtle head. The sea water temperature is very high and the heat energy is constantly leaking out. There is a cold spring at Gumi. It is actually quite rare for such a combination of hot and cold hot springs to appear at the same time on a small island. Of course, we don’t have to worry too much when we go to play, because the last eruption of the Guishan Island volcano was more than 5,000 BC, and the island is equipped with volcanic movement detection equipment. If anything goes wrong, the equipment will give an early warning and notify the island. Residents were evacuated.

▲The exposed mountains of Guishan Island are rich in sulfur.

We saw yellow exposed mountains, rich in sulfur. When the boat arrived here, the smell of sulfur was already quite obvious. The water temperature of the "Yin Yang Sea" below is very high, like a big boiling pot, and our boat cannot get very close.

▲Turtle head part.

We did not go to the island this time, but we can actually go to the island by making a reservation. Because there is a limit of 100 people per day, it takes roughly 1706 steps to climb to the top. Since the highest peak of Guishan Island is 398 meters high, plus the 3-meter viewing platform, the total is 401 meters. Therefore, Guishan Island is actually also called Highland 401 by Taiwanese.

▲Looking at the turtle head from the other side.

In addition, during the Japanese occupation, this place was the Japanese army's venomous snake research center. When the Japanese army hurriedly evacuated Taiwan, they hastily "released" all the venomous snakes. So for a time there were venomous snakes running around on the island.You can still see many "Beware of Poisonous Snakes" warning signs on the island. This isn't just a gimmick. If you land on the island, try not to run around for safety first.

▲Wu Mu who lost her sight during the September 21 earthquake in Taiwan.

Let’s look at the picture above. This is the mother turtle’s head raised.

In fact, a long time ago, the mother turtle not only had a turtle head, a turtle shell and a turtle tail, but also had two eyes and some turtle eggs. There were originally two natural stones on both sides of the turtle's head, shaped like two eyes. But it is a pity that during the September 21 earthquake in Taiwan, the turtle mother sensed that the world was unknown, and the stone on the right was shaken loose and fell to the bottom of the cliff. We can still see a huge boulder at the bottom of the cliff to the right of the turtle head. These are the eyes of the turtle mother back then.

▲Tail of the turtle.

And the turtle eggs of the mother turtle were not spared. Originally there was a small island next to Guishan Island, which looked like a turtle egg laid by a mother turtle. So it was named Turtle Egg Island. But now we can no longer find this island in our sight. It is said that the US military mistook the island for a warship and bombed it decisively and accurately. Then there was no more.

Fish that cannot be contained:

▲There are a huge group of whales and dolphins in front of you.

After finishing around Guishan Island, our ship continued to sail on the sea. About 7 or 8 minutes later, a sailor on the first floor came to report that a large pod of dolphins was found in the right front of the ship. After receiving the report, the captain quickly turned the ship's bow and sailed straight to the direction where the report was received.

▲ group of whales and dolphins.

Not long after, we were pleasantly surprised to find that as far as our eyes could see, there were musical notes beating in the blue sea. And, more and more! The smart little black dots, following the rhythm, appear and disappear between the sea and the sky one after another. The boat guide explained to us that because this place is located at the junction of two ocean currents, and dolphins naturally love to chase waves, they will frequent here.

▲Family of three.

When our boat approached, the boat guide directed us to clap our hands together to cheer for this jumping elf. They don't seem to be afraid of humans, and some of them keep moving close to the side of our boat. Hearing our cheers, these little babies became even more excited. The jumps are more frequent and the rhythm is better. Funajima said that dolphins are very intelligent mammals, with an IQ equivalent to that of a 6 or 7-year-old human child. They understand our expressions and know that we have no intention of harming them, so they approach boldly.

▲ group of whales and dolphins.

Each group of dolphins will have a leader, leading a large group of dolphins to cruise in the whitecaps. The crew members appear in this sea area every day and have become very good friends with them.

▲Ah, this one is alone.

The boat guide introduced us that this group belongs to spinner dolphins (scientific name: long-beaked dolphins). The group we encountered has about 1,000 people. Although only about 300 can be seen on the surface of the sea, the number under the sea is more than twice that of the sea. Because dolphins can dive for about two hours just to take a breath. So many shy babies may not jump out of the water.

▲ group of whales and dolphins.

Spinner dolphins like to travel in groups. Generally, there are more than 200 animals in a group, and large groups of more than 1,000 animals are also common. Moreover, they have strong social skills and have a wide range of contacts. Often accompanied by melon-headed whales, small killer whales, yellowfin tuna, bonito and other fish schools. This little baby swims quickly, has a lively temperament, and is good at diving. His whole body can jump out of the water to a height of 1 to 2 meters with various changes. After jumping out of the water, he can rotate several times around the body axis before entering the water again, so he is known as the "spinner dolphin" ( The nickname of Spinner Dolphin. And they are not afraid of ships. They often follow the bows of ships and jump and play on the waves.

▲Local residents are fishing in the sea.

spent about 20 minutes with the dolphins. We reluctantly returned home. Even though we are very reluctant to leave, the boat guide said that we cannot disturb the babies for too long, as it will affect their lives. Moreover, the shipping company has also signed a marine protection agreement, which stipulates escort time. For the healthy growth of our little babies, we are also very willing to cooperate with the marine protection agreement.Well, see you next time~

Xixi’s journey is coming to an end.

speaks Spanish. Take pictures of the beautiful mountains and rivers, and write about the emotions of people.

I am Mini West, I am on the road, I speak for myself.

2018/06/05

#The pictures involved in this article were all taken by Xixi in Yilan, Taiwan. Please respect the original pictures and texts.