Welcome to Yilan, What's not there to do here?

I updated this section as of June 2016 to add links to other trails, waterfalls, we since have explored.

Nanao Township, Yilan

I've been living in Yilan now for two months and am loving it here. My friend from Tainan came up to visit his wife's family in Yilan and of course we met up. Our biggest obstacle was figuring out which beach, mountain, hot springs, river, lake to spend the day with our kids.

I have a nice map from the very reliable, efficient, English speaking Tourist info center outside the Yilan train station and I've been studying it, ticking off places as I go, asking my new workers their recommendations  and enjoying the pristine outdoors.

Beaches:
I already went to Wulai Beach (see previous post Little Gems) and have been so busy exploring Yilan county, I haven't time to return except last Sunday to see how the coming typhoon was affecting the waves. (The beach patrol wouldn't let us on the beach, so we just admired from afar.)

Yongzhen Park and Trail

Having come from Anping and living literally a two minute scooter ride from the beach, I had to go to the closest beach to me. Its called Yongzhen Seaside Park and its just a 5 minute drive from my work here in  Zhuangwei. There is a nice bike path that goes along the beach. The sand was nice, grey and surprisingly clean. There were breakers that ruined the views down the beach that stretched out into forever in both directions, but this area gets hit pretty hard by typhoons.The beach was empty as it was ghost month when I went. There was a beach patrol station that was probably on freak out mode because we seemed to go far into the waves, but the water was quite shallow. I need to go back and see if people use it since ghost month, bring our bikes and explore that path.

Neipei Beach from the Suhua Highway

I was not expecting Neipei Beach outside Suao to be so stunning. There is no sand, just small pebbles and stones, but the surrounding rocks are gorgeous and the beach is  long enough for us to find some quiet alone time far from the crowds. There are cafes and simple restaurants are on one end for a quick pick me up. The other end has rocks and places to picnic in the shade of a cliff. On a holiday weekend, we had the entire Pacific, at least this bit to ourselves.

My beach list includes is returning to Wulai for surfing and sunrise yoga and to explore Beigan Tidal Park and the Wushibi coast.

Trails
There is a trail outside Nanfang'ao. Just park your car across from the massive pool. At the top are amazing views of the Yilan coast, picnic tables, hammocks. I am thinking it would make a great camping spot.

Yilan Coast view from a hike

The Linmei Shihpan Trail (林美石磐薄荷烤雞餐廳) is simple, about an hour loop with a pretty little waterfall. There is one set of verticle trails, but other than that is a perfect trail for young children.

There is also the Caoling Historic Trail,  various trails in Taipingshan National Park (behind Taroko), and in Yuanshan Township.

Gardens:

View from Renshan Gardens

Between Loudong and Suao is the Renshan Botanic Garden (宜蘭仁山植物園). It was nothing what I expected. I expected something like the Botanic Gardens in Taipei or Denver, but this place was huge. I think we entered it wrong and before we knew it, we were doing some hardcore hiking with little water or preparation, The grounds are massive.

We didnt see a single soul for hours until the end. The French and English style gardens were in the bare minimalist style, nothing was in bloom, but we saw macaques,and  alien looking spiders. The view from Renshan to Turtle island with the verdant, fertile valley of the Yilan plain is the quintessential picture of Yilan.

On my garden list to do is explore the Fushan Botanical Gardens west of Yilan City in Yuanshan, which requires a special permit.

Waterfalls:
I went twice to the famous Wufongqi waterfalls and returned to that area and hiked another trail to the more impressive, hard to get to Yuemeikeng Waterfalls.

Outside Loudong there are two waterfalls the upkept Xinliao Waterfalls down the road from the Renshan Botanic Gardens.

Xinliao Waterfalls

Down the road is the less impressive Jiulio Waterfalls, but because they were empty and we were the only ones there, I liked having it all to myself. The trail hasnt been taken care of, but its a nice path, overgrown and neglected. The pool is shallow but enjoyable enough for kids. Standing under the falls for a neck massage is a nice treat.

Jiulio Falls

Aohua Falls

There are so many waterfalls in the area, I'm learning about more all the time. The most impressive were south of Nan-ao called the Aohua Waterfalls outside the little aboriginal village of the same name. The pool is massive, the falls are massive. The brave can climb the slippery wall and jump into the cold, mineral abyss.

Linmei Shipah Waterfall

Lakes:
The first lake I went to here was Longtan Lake. It was recommended by my coworker Steve who helped me get a job and my first apartment in Yilan. This lake is conveniently close to Yilan, we went by scooter. We rented bikes, it was casual. Unfortunately cars can drive around the one lane which is dangerous and noisy, especially with so many bikers, joggers and walkers. I've been meaning to return with a yoga mat and a picnic basket.

Longtan Lake

The second lake I went to also conveniently close to Yilan City is Plum Blossom (Mei Hua) Lake. Its more crowded with numerous bike outfitters to rent the most outrageous bikes. There were side by side 2 and 4 seaters, of course electric bikes. I saw a bike with  4-5 seats in the shape of a Cinderella carriage.

Meihua Lake

There are many lakes I hope to check out, some include difficult hikes. I'm still working on a list. Yuanshan has several lakes with hikes and fishing.

Meihua Lake

Parks:
Conveniently right by my home is the massive Yilan Sport's Park. There is a track, Olympic size outdoor pool, weight room, rollerblading track and outside gymnasium. Not to mention fireflies at night. Loudong's Sports Park is supposedly better, but I'm satisfied with the one outside my front door.

Yilan Sport Park

We thoroughly are enjoying Yilan on our weekends. There is plenty to do. Did I mention the mineral springs? Yilan has both cold and hot springs. That will have to be another post.

Balance is in the Air

Today its like someone turned on a switch and summer was gone. I was chilly for the first time since spring today during my lunch scramble to pay bills, buy lunch and stock up on groceries before I returned to work.

This has been a difficult summer for me, well difficult as in I was working off high levels of energy and am just now feeling I might have the space to rest.   While still in Tainan, my gym went out of business which was a dampener to my energy even tho I worked out at the park with friends or did yoga twice a week.

Also, this was the first summer in six years, we did not go somewhere. I find travel exhilarating, thrilling, it restores my energy not depletes it.This time I didn't have the money or time for it. I needed my money entertaining my family, moving, paying for a deposit on a new apartment and a car.

This summer I was mostly packing, looking for apartments online, getting rid of books, clothes and more packing. My folks came to visit, and that took a lot of energy. I ate out a lot, and worked out less. Working out also gives me tons of energy.

After I moved to Yilan, it was a week off to move in and then I was teaching the summer program for my new school. Its a big learning curve for me, teaching Junior High all levels, elementary and kindergarten. I am teaching 26 classes a week and am breaking all my ingrained Tainan rules: no skipping lunch breaks,  bringing work home or over-time. I'm bone tired! Evidence of just how busy I've been is I hadn't the time to go shopping at the traditional morning market on Saturday until last Saturday-I've been in Yialn since July. On the plus side, weekends in Yilan in summer have been amazing. There is always something wonderful outdoorsy to do to enjoy the fresh air. Now that the rain has started....

Yilan Sports Park last weekend, a perfect October day

I noticed this week that the ever so slightly cooler temperature invites me to slow down. It was 70 degrees Fahrenheit at 6 am, which felt chilly. I'm telling myself I need to be balanced. I started working out for ten minutes (all flat out, no rests like Zuzka's or the 12 Minute Athlete) before breakfast, I have a new yoga buddy for Saturday mornings, and started getting into my neglected TRX again 3x during the week. I am going to make an effort to  breakaway from my school during my lunch break and hit Yilan Sports Park, which is a million times better than any gym. But now the rain has started.

I came home from work yesterday and it was dark. The days and night seems to be evenly the same-another sign of balance. Heaven is a sunny day in Yilan in October. October grounds me.

Finding the balance in Svarga Dvidasana, Sunday at Yilan Sports Park