Liuqiu

Swimming with the turtles

No problem getting a Jonno out of bed early this morning.  In our travels yesterday, he had found a place to rent free-diving gear and was up and out first thing to get it.  As Si and I were having breakfast I spotted someone cycling past with panniers. I commented on this unusual sight and then realised it was actually G, up and out getting her rental gear.  G advised that the place we had planned to rent from didn’t rent wetsuits and went in search of somewhere that did.  G soon messaged to advise where to go and Jonno let us know that he was at Shanfu Fishing Harbour.

We finally got moving a little before 10 and headed to G’s suggested rental place.  We were soon outfitted with wetsuits, flippers, snorkels and masks and advised to go to Dafu Harbour.  It was closer, so we thought we would try there first,  Lots of people were in the water, which we took to be a positive sign.  The water was crystal clear and we were soon on the lookout for turtles. We ventured out a little way and soon spotted one which we followed for a while. But there was nothing else to see, so we decided to head back in and find the kids.

We stripped out of our wetsuits and piled our wet gear on the back of our bikes before heading over to the other side of the island and down to Shanfu Harbour.  We found the kids in a beautiful spot with big coral rocks and a pristine bay next to a breakwater.  This time there was lots to see, with interesting rock formations and beautifully coloured fish.  I watched Jonno free diving annd then we soon spotted an enormous turtle.  We watched it for sometime as it nibbled away at the algae on the rocks before we drifted away in search of other aquatic life.

We saw lots of fish but no more turtles and were heading back to shore when we spotted another, then two more.  They were so close you had to be careful not to touch them, which is illegal and subject to massive fines.  Then another even more enormous turtle appeared and I swam alongside it for a while, totally mesmerised.

We were all really happy with our multiple turtle sightings and decided it was time for lunch.  We stripped off our gear, and I had one final swim in the beautiful, balmy water.

I’d identified a nearby restaurant which sounded good for lunch and we were the only people there, though they seemed to be doing a good trade in takeaway.  We ordered some prawn, squid and swordfish belly stir fries as well as fish cakes and prawn rolls.  The first dish to arrive had us rather bemused.  It has an unusual and unpleasant texture though the sauce was quite nice.  Through a process of elimination we deduced that it was swordfish belly, or rather swordfish intestines.  We focused of attention on the other dishes that were all very nice, especially the prawn stir fry and fish cakes (that were like a tasty fish nugget).

I was keen to find some icecream for dessert, and we tried two dessert places but they were both closed.  Jonno headed off to return his diving gear and we cycled back to town to drop off ours.  I’d spotted a dessert cafe near our accommodation but it was closed.  However, nearby Marianne’s offered shaved ice desserts and was open.

Jonno joined us and advised that if we ordered a strawberry dessert, the second one was half price so he and Si went with those whilst G and I shared a Black Forest dessert mix.  The serves were enormous. The black forest dessert included a chocolate shaved ice, turtle jelly, creamy iced tea and cornflakes and little jellies to add to the shaved ice.  They were all delicious and the shaved ice was surprisingly light and creamy.

We had a couple of hours to relax and Si and I enjoyed our little balcony with its harbour views, and a late afternoon beverage or two. G bought herself a plush turtle as a souvenir whilst Jonno  walked 3.5 kilometres back to his rental shop as he had forgotten to return the weights. 

I found a nearby seafood restaurant for dinner.  Some of the reviews said you had to book weeks in advance, but the island seemed quiet and it turned out that they did have a table.  We ordered a cabbage and shrimp dish, which was very tasty, as well as kung pao chicken, prawns with XO sauce, the same fish cakes we’d had at lunch but in a plum sauce, and a squid dish.  All very tasty. Jonno bought some lemon ice blocks from the 7-11 for dessert. A nice end to an actually restful rest day.

Prev entry - Home - Next entry