I had to leave a meeting early yesterday, which made me feel awkward, because I'm sure that it wasn't a big deal, but it was really my first meeting with Tex, and I really did not want to upset him during my first week. Hopefully, I didn't. Guess I'll find out Monday. I had to leave early because I had an appointment with Seattle Apartment Finder to look at some places. I found one! It's on North Mercer Island, essentially half way between work and downtown Seattle. It's a pretty good size, and the rent is one of the lower rates of all of the places I looked at. I get the keys on August 1st, so there should be some moving excitement soon.

This is the third chapter of the middle grade novel I am writing. Chapters 1 and 2 have changed somewhat since I posted them here, but reading them will still help with the flow of the story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Aaron had never been awake at 5:00 in the morning on vacation before. The sounds and colors inside the house were reduced to a few snores, pale light filtering through the curtains, and some lonely piles of water shoes and life jackets on the porch. One of the lifejackets was moving.

“What was that?” Nora poked Aaron in the back. They were sneaking down to the water, where the skiff and Dutch Island lay waiting.

“Surprise!” Ollie shouted and the life jackets scattered all over.

“Shhh! You’re going to wake everyone up!” Aaron hissed.

“It looks like everyone’s already awake.” Ollie adjusted his baseball cap, which had apparently escaped the bushes and reattached itself to his head. “Where are you sneaking off to?”

“None of your business.” Nora made a face. “Did you sleep on the porch or something?”

“Maybe. You locked me out, remember?”

“Come on, someone let you back in.” Aaron turned to Nora. “I saw him inside when I went down late to get a snack.”

“Nooo, I slept out here cold and alone while you smooched upstairs!” Ollie’s voice went up several octaves in a whine that would have given Nora’s twin sisters (Aaron called them the little princesses) something to work towards.

“Shhh!” Nora grabbed for Ollie’s hat again, but he just ducked and started giggling.

“Come on, Nora, let’s get out of here.” Aaron started walking down the steps. Across the lawn and down another set of stairs, the ocean sparkled in the pink dawn light.

Ollie got up and trailed a few feet behind them.

“Go away,” Nora insisted.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No you’re not! You can’t come with us.”

“If I can’t come, I’m going to wake up your dad and tell him you’re sneaking down to the beach every morning and smooching.”

“That’s not true!”

“So?” a tear squeezed out of one squinty blue eye, “you never let me do anything fun!”

“I think we’d better let him come,” Aaron said, finally. Ollie had that look in his eyes. If they let him out of their sight, who knows what kind of trouble he’d get them into? Waking up Nora’s dad would only be the start.

“What?!” Nora somehow managed to shout and whisper at the same time.

Ollie wiped his eyes. “Really? Oh man, this’ll be great! Do you want to look for hermit crabs?”

“Shut up and you’ll be lucky if we let you live, Ollie,” Nora grumbled, and elbowed Aaron in the side. “He can’t come with us, you idiot!” she whispered.

“But we can’t leave him here, either.”

Aaron almost felt sorry for his youngest cousin. He did look as if he’d slept on a porch, maybe more than once. His black Iron Maiden t-shirt could have come straight out of a church basement give-away box, and he smelled funny.

Ollie stayed quiet as Aaron and Nora untied the skiff. He skipped rocks while Aaron ran back up to grab a few lifejackets. He even helped carry the skiff down to the water, and didn’t say a word the whole time. Aaron told himself they could have done it alone, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

When they pushed off, Ollie finally broke the silence. “So, do you know where you’re going?”

Nora didn’t say anything, so Aaron answered, “Dutch Island.” He was rowing, pulling the oars back like it was nothing.

“You know nobody’s allowed.” Ollie grinned.

Dutch Island lay in the middle of Conanicut Bay, a straight shot across from sentinel rock, near the Jamestown bridge. Even at five in the morning, the bay was full of boats. Most were moored at attention like flocks of long-necked birds resting on the waves, but a few sailed or motored between the pilings of the bridge or around the island. Aaron’s stomach fluttered as they pulled up to land. He was sure one of the boats would turn towards them, ask what they were doing, maybe even call the police. Did police pull over boats? He wasn’t sure. Maybe that was the Coast Guard. They tied up the skiff to a driftwood log, and nothing happened. No flashing red lights, and no strange blue lights, either. From the beach, a barricade of tangled vegetation completely blocked the wall of windows from view. A solitary yellow plastic sign at the edge of the woods read:

No Trespassing

by town ordinance

The small print was a little more specific. Absolutely no hiking, camping, fires. Violators subject to $500 fine. Asbestos and open cisterns. The sign had only been up since last year, and already the poison ivy had started to swallow it up. The land was its own barbed-wire fence, thought Aaron.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” he said.

“Aaron, come on. It’s only five o’clock in the morning. Who is going to come looking for trespassers at five AM? We’re just going to find that window and then leave before our parents wake up. It’s simple.”

“Yeah, simple! What window?” Ollie asked.

“Shut up,” said Nora.

“It’s not important,” Aaron added.

“Fine, don’t tell me anything,” Ollie grumbled. “I hope you both fall in a cistern filled with asbestos.”

They walked along the beach for a good ten minutes before finding a place where the weeds and branches were thin enough to let three kids worm their way through.

“This used to be a path,” Aaron said, trying to get his mind off the sign. “We used to come here all the time to explore, and this was a path. It’s amazing how fast things grow when there aren’t any people around. You know if everyone in the world disappeared tomorrow, it would only be a few years before New York City would start looking like this.”

“I bet the subways would make great caves. Maybe coyotes or bears would move in! And the birds would just take over all those skyscrapers.” Nora could see poison ivy and sumac growing out of abandoned taxis. “Did anyone survive, Aaron, or is this, like, total extinction of humanity? An asteroid collision? A flood?

“No, a plague,” Ollie said. “Probably the black death like what killed off half of Europe in the middle ages. It was the rats, they—“

“Geez, Ollie, Stop it with this plague stuff. I was just rambling.” Aaron paused. Blackberry prickers blocked their way like a thorny spider web. Nora knew this was the path they used to take to get to the wall of windows.

Aaron grabbed at the prickers with one hand, pulled back, tried to duck under, then exhaled in exasperation.

Ollie took a knife out of his pocket, flipped it open, and squeezed past his tall cousin. “You guys really didn’t think this through, did you?”

Aaron waited for Nora to make some sarcastic comment, or whack their little cousin across the head, but she was nowhere in sight.

“Nora?” He called.

Then he saw her blue hair, off to the left where the shade of a tall maple kept the weeds to a manageable height. She ducked under a low-hanging branch and whispered in her cousin’s ear.

“We’re not the only ones here.”

Here in Aruba, the building material of choice for most new homes is the concrete masonry unit, commonly referred to as the cement block. The ones shown below are solid, but the hollow core blocks are also manufactured on the island.

 For building foundations and walls in the United States, I would normally use hollow core blocks, employing the "dry stack" method. This method does not require as much skill as mortaring the joints. When the wall is stacked, lengths of reinforcing steel are inserted into the cores of the blocks and then concrete is poured in. When the concrete hardens the wall is a monolithic structure that is much stronger than one with mortared joints. Nonetheless, the blocks produced in Aruba and the people who work with them are not as familiar with this method. And so, we use solid blocks for the most part. They're easier to cut and more forgiving as the mortar joint enables more space for leveling each course.

Thus, the foundation of a house in Aruba is typically laid out according to the wall plan. The footer traces the wall plan, usually about 20" below grade. Then the first layers of blocks are built up over the footer to a foot or so above grade. It looks like this when finished.

Dirt or stone fills in the spaces between the walls. In the end these spaces will be covered with a poured concrete floor. Aruba has a standard for the footers and be sure to consult your local engineer before putting any concrete into the ground.

Once the foundations have hardened, you're ready to get some walls up. At this point, you're using all the common techniques found the world over when it comes to laying block and framing window and door spaces. It looks something like this.

Take a gander at those rebar cages on the left side of the frame. There's going to be a poured column there, which is formed up conventionally, like this:

Note that the floor has been poured but a ramp stands where steps will be placed.  Take the forms off, and it should looks something like this.

 The rebar sticking out of the top will be tied in to the ring beam which will be part of the discussion in the next post.

Well, this has been a first look at home construction here in Aruba. If you're thinking about building a new home, this is the most common method by which it will be built. The concrete blocks and form work give you plenty of options, allow for open spans (if engineered properly), and can last for many years with a minimum of maintenance. Maintenance is another subject for about 50 posts, but we'll leave that to some other time. Not very exciting.

So far, so good.

Testar bildstorlekar... har här laddat upp en 600px, få se vad det blev...

ok, den visas i 500px men går att trycka upp i 600px. Hm... då är det bättre att göra den i 500 från början så den ser ok i direkt. Bilderna behöver verkligen inte vara så stora på en blogg ;)

There is a true story that is not well known in the world about a hero.  He was a member of the clergy who served his ministry in a remote part of the world. His heroism came about because of his integrity during a period of extraordinary circumstances.  His name was Jesus Baza Duenas.  He was known in the island of Guam simply as Father Duenas.

Born on the island of Guam in 1914, young Jesus grew up under a very Roman Catholic Spanish tradition.  Like many young native Chamorro boys in Guam, the enjoyed the carefree island lifestyle with the strong extended family culture. It was an idyllic setting away from the troubles of the world.

When he completed elementary school, he was sent to the Philippines where he entered the seminary to study for the Priesthood. This was a great honor for his family and for Guam. He became the second native Chamorro to be ordained a Catholic Priest.

After his ordination, he was assigned to Guam under the direction of Bishop Miguel Olano, the last Spanish Bishop of Guam.  Duenas was posted in the village of Inarajan at St Joseph’s Church.

He quickly gained a reputation as a priest known for his kindness and love for the people in his parish and in southern Guam.

His popularity and independence were so strong that when the Japanese invaded Guam in 1941, they saw him as a threat and put him under constant surveillance. He was made Pro-Vicar of the church when Bishop Olano was removed to Japan as a prisoner of war.  Olano had instructed  Duenas to defend the Chamorros against the Japanese.

Father Duenas was determined to advocate the needs of the local people in terms of food, shelter and medicines.  He would meet often with the Japanese military to negotiate items.

Behind the scenes he did what he could do to destabilize the Japanese by encouraging the native people to disobey the Japanese wherever possible. Duenas knew the United States would be back to reclaim its territory one day.

More significant than all of this effort was how Father Duenas was fearless in keeping faith alive among the people.  He would often ride his famous white horse to remote areas of the jungles and other areas to hold masses, bless people, babies, crops.

"There was a time when one of the Japanese soldiers told him, ‘You know there is no way you can leave this place,’ and he said ‘I want you to move.’ He was almost beheaded at that time and he said ‘Just move, please, because I need to do what I need to do.’ And the soldier didn’t want to. He got down and he just scuffed the guy away, and he got up on his horse and he went on."  (http://www.pacificworlds.com/guam/memories/memory3.cfm)

The Japanese were so paranoid of his power, that sometimes they would hold a gun to his head throughout an entire mass.  They even brought two Japanese Catholic priests into Guam to try to lessen his influence.

His popularity grew stronger.

Finally, the Japanese started accusing Father Duenas of assisting in hiding a U.S. Navy man on island named George Tweed  (  who hid in Guam for nearly two years). These accusations led them to take Duenas through several series of public beatings.

These beatings did not break the Chamorro spirit.  It strengthened it and made them loved their priest even more.

Father Duenas never wavered in his commitment to not give any information to the enemy.  Then the following happen: 

“On July 8, 1944, the Japanese police went to Inarajan and arrested Father Dueñas and his nephew, Attorney Edwardo Dueñas, for not informing them about Tweed's whereabouts.  They were interrogated and tortured. After three days of torture, Father Dueñas was offered a possible chance to escape.  He refused, telling the men who hoped to aid him, "You must know what would happen to our families if we escape. I'm positive the Japanese will retaliate against them. Go look after you families. God will look after me. I have done no wrong."

In the late hours of July 11, the police gave up and put Father Dueñas and his nephew in the hands of the Kaikuntai--the execution squad.  Father and his nephew were taken to Tai in Chalan Pago.  Minutes before sunrise, Father Jesus Baza Dueñas was beheaded.  He was 30 years old.” (http://www.fatherduenas.com/history.htm)

On the site that Father Duenas was beheaded there now stands an All male Catholic High School named in his honor.  That school has produced many of Guam’s Governors, Congressmen, and business leaders.

His martyrdom is more than one of faith; it was one for the people- his people- the Chamorros.  Against a powerful enemy, he stood up armed only with faith and conviction. 

This hero from Guam is really a hero for the world.  He is Father Jesus Baza Duenas.

For privacy reasons this post will be edited at the end of the weekend so that peoples addresses are not left on the web.

Happy Garage Selling :)

SOUTH WHIDBEY

CLINTON
HUGE COMMUNITY Garage sale. Tons of stuff. Saturday July 19 9am-3pm. Sunlight Shores Community's clubhouse lawn. Take Bayview Rd, past Casey's and follow the signs.

Same place different stuff. Still cleaning out garage. Clinton Cattron Rd.Off Cultus Bay July 19th 9am-6

SAT JULY 19TH 8am-3 framed art, house hold items. New dog crate, oriental rug, games, plus size clothing, baskets, books and much more. 2527 Sunlight Beach Rd.

July 19^th 9:30-4PM 3383 Dorothys Lane, Clinton. Lots of good stuff. No early birds!

LANGLEY
HUGE SALE; Tons of stuff. 7/18-7/19. 7am-1pm. 4881 Maple Cove; Signs from Fairgrounds

FREELAND
Multi-Family Barn/Porch Sale July 19^th 8am-4pm 1762 Lancaster Rd

CENTRAL WHIDBEY

GREENBANK
Big sale lots of stuff and bargins!!! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday July 18,19, and 20 9am-4pm 3312 old county rd. Greenbank, 98253

COUPEVILLE
LIVING HOPE Foursquare Church annual mega Garage sale. 105 N.E Broadway. July 19th 9-3. Donations will be accepted on Fri. July 18th 10am-6. Items must be clean & in good working order. No clothing or electronics. Please no early bird call 360-678-669 www.livinghopeonwhidbey.org

NORTH WHIDBEY

OUTSIDE OF TOWN
GARAGE SALE: Sat July 19 from 9am-2pm. 307 Azalea Place (off of Monkey Hill Road), white house at top of driveway. Lane sofa, Lazy Boy recliner, boys bike, collectibles, computer, lots of Home Interior & Gifts floral and candle, movies, suitcases, end table, dryer, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, board games and lots more!

MOVING / ESTATE SALE Household goods, camping gear, furniture, 30 years worth of stuff. No early sales. Friday and Saturday, July 18th & 19th. 9am to 4pm. 1450 North View Rd Oak Harbor

SAT & SUN, 9 to ?. 1024 Diane Ave. Rolling Hills. Mexican Lunch avail. All to go.

Sat. 7/19, 9-3pm. Good stuff, Collectibles, plus size clothes, kitchenware, etc. 1336 W Swantown.

YARD SALE: Sat-Sun July 19th & 20th. 9am-?. 2365 W Hastie Lake Rd, O.H. NEB

MARINER HEIGHTS community sale on Saturday, July 19th, 9am-4pm. Clothing, tools, furniture, electronics. 31080 SR 20.

IN TOWN (city limits)
NW
Multi Family Yard Sale! Saturday 9-3pm. Sunday 10-2pm at 644 NW 1st Ave. Furniture, etc.

SATURDAY 7/19, 9am-3pm. Oak Harbor Lutheran Church. 1253 NW 2nd Ave. Benefits African Mission.

SE

NE

SW

OAK HARBOR - 61 SW Discovery St. Huge multifamily garage sale!! Friday7/18 & Saturday 7/19, 8am-3pm. Many items for sale, household items, furniture, items for the yard, etc. Rain or Shine!!

MULTI FAMILY Saturday 8-? 2074 SW Rockrose Swantown to Ft. Nugent turn into fireside on Union. Furniture, gas dryer, DVD movies, x-box & games, fish tank, hamster cages, 37" TV, Nike shoes & apparel, 32" flat screen TV, microwave, computer, monitor, books. Quality Country home decor, collector plates, fairy tales & nursery rhymes, M&M memorabilia. Boys clothing, ladies size XL, girls sizes 8-12 Harley motorcycle.

Huge Multi Family Sale! New Parents/Grandparents come find all you need for baby for 1st 2 years. Cribs with mattress, themed nursery, baby carriers, Pack & Play, Jumpers, bouncers, strollers, Play mats, Tons of toys and tons of clothes and more! All excellent condition. Also household goods, maternity clothes, adult clothes, furniture, TV's, pet supplies. July 19th, 8-2pm. No Early Sales! 1680 SW Victory St. in Fireside. Don't Miss It!

HUGE SALE! Saturday only at 691 SW Barrington Dr. 7am start time. Clothes, furniture & boat equipment.

BIG MULTI-FAMILY YARD SALECLOTHING-FURNITURE, END TABLES, ANTIQUES ECT.- ELECTONICS, NINTENDO GAMECUBE W/2 GAMES, ECT.-HOME DECOR- COLLECTIBLES- CRITTER CAGE- 10 GALLON AQUARIUM- DVD MUSIC CD'S MOVIES, GENTLY USED COUCH HANDBAGS, TOYS AND MUCH MUCH MORE. When: Saturday July 19th 8:00am - 2:00pm Where: 2074 SW Rock rose Drive Oak Harbor

We are moving in 2 weeks and having a yard sale! Here are the details: Date: Saturday, July 19 Time: 8 am - 1 pm Where: 550 SW Erie Street, Oak Harbor What: We have tools, craft items, misc household items  All must go, come and make an offer and we'll probably take it! Have a great day!

Neighborhood YARD SALE IN OH Saturday 9AM to 3PM or ??? Crosswoods West We are at 2160 Colonial Way and a few of our neighbors should be joining in too! Bedroom set, rocker/glider w/ ottoman, Computer Armoire, Household items, decorations, clothing and shoes for kids and adults (plus sizes too), linens, toys and games, books, chairs, gift items plus so much more. Free stuff too. LOTS & LOTS of things that need to go

CRESCENT HARBOR & CAPEHART HOUSING

SARATOGA & VICTORY PARK HOUSING
Fri-Sat- Sun You don't want to miss this one... So many to list... Shoes and Clothing for men, women, baby girl, toddler girl, kitchen appliances, furniture, furnishings, decorations work out equipment, office equipment, tools, toys, games, PS3 games, DVDs, bedding, baby jumper, household products and appliances...We have a lot of items that are brand spankin new with tags, not opened, etc. Address is 2215E Osprey St. From Regatta, turn Right on Heron, then Right on Osprey.. See you then =)

ON BASE

]]> http://villebergqvist.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/island-i-var/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:10:19 +0000 villebergqvist http://villebergqvist.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/island-i-var/ Ska åka och jobba på en isländsk bondgånd under ett halvår i vår. Det kommer att bli så grymt kul! Ser så fram emot resan. Jag kommer att jobba på ett stället inte allt för långt ifrån Reykjavik och så ska jag få tillgång till bil så jag kan åka in till stan och åka runt och kolla på sevärdheter. Jag är mycket spänd på hur det kommer att vara, tänk att för bada i någon av Islands många varma källor, helt underbart! På gården ska jag hjälpa till att ta hand om djuren och mocka och sånt som man gör på en gård.

Views from our Hotel:

Photos from the Harbor Cruise:

I'll write more about our San Antonio adventure later!

linkage: see part 1 here, see part 2 here, main photography page

7 Seconds of Separation by
Bowie Leung, Lindsay Terry and Sigmundur Halldorsson is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

But home I must go.....my work here, for the time being anyway, is done (finally!) and I badly need some rest and recuperation. I must also see my family before they forget what I look like!

It has been a long arduous journey. Maddeningly frustrating at times, when, for every step forward. I seemed to be taking three steps back but that said, as I look around now at all we've managed to complete in such a relatively short time, I feel a huge sense of achievement. From this:

To this:

The villa, the pool, the studio, the landscaping are all but finished - though there's still much planting to do - and though I say so myself, I think it all looks pretty amazing!

The island has proved a wonderful place to be and the friends I have made along the way, with their constant, all-embacing support and encouragement have shown me that Skiathos is indeed a very special place and one that I feel very privileged to be able to live in.

I shall return after a month or so, ready to start the art classes and painting holidays in earnest with a (hopefully!) new-found energy and fresh enthusiasm and this time without the distraction of cement-mixers and builders rubble! I look forward to meeting new artists (and would-be ones) and to continuing my love affair with this magical part of the world and it's generously welcoming people.

I hope you've enjoyed my week by week account of my new venture and that you've been sufficiently inspired so that one day you may decide this is somewhere you would like to visit (and paint!) too. A warm welcome awaits you at Villa Nicara.

I've been busy working on a couple of new paintings. These are two I've just completed which I'll add to the current exhibition on the Bourtzi (to replace the ones that have been sold):

'Skiathos Dancers in Traditional Dress'

oil on canvas, size 1m10 x 76cm

'Skiathos Dancers' Detail 1

'Skiathos Dancers' Detail 2

'Olive Tree' oil on canvas 60 x 80cm - SOLD

'Olive Tree' Detail 1

'Olive Tree' Detail 2

'Olive Tree' Detail 3

I now feel my own stand better lives up to the exhibition title of ''COLOURS OF SKIATHOS'

If you're visiting the island do try to visit - it will run till the end of August - and new works are added all the time.

Also, fellow English artisit Gail Stathakis is holding her first solo exhibition; 'The Skiathos Dream' at the 'Archipelagos Gallery' (newly acquired by the charming Tassos Bifkinis and his delightful wife, ViVi) in Skiathos town. Be sure not to miss it - It is a wonderful opportunity to see Gail's exquisite pastel drawings of Skiathos landscapes. Earlier in the week I attended her opening night. here are some photos of the event:

There's another general exhibition of Skiathos artists work being planned for mid August (this time at Evangelistria Monastery, hopefully ) so I have lots of painting to do...not to mention a new website to build....

But for now, I'm ready to get on that plane, leave the sunshine, beaches, olive groves all behind, head for home....and get some SLEEP!

(back soon!)

Blundering blearily

into the kitchen.

Boiling briefly,

my start to the day.

My thoughts wandered quick

away from the chicken

to places intriguing

and far away.

The world laid out

on the breakfast table

showed an island,

yellow and flat.

The urban yoke could

be dumped if I'm able,

for a solitary world

with just me and the cat.

I recall the people

of Eigg bought their island.

Egocentrically,

I am one of those folk.

But the mark on the map

was a splash, not a new land.

And sadly my island

was just a yolk.

Wiping my dream

with a wilting soldier,

I savoured the taste

of the final dreg.

New life must wait

until I am older.

Now off I go,

to work, on my egg.

Von mir ausgewählte Rezensionen:

• Ásmegin (Viking Metal aus Norwegen)
• Darkthrone (Black Metal aus Norwegen)
• Deathstars (Industrial Metal aus Schweden)
• Eläkeläiset (Humppa aus Finnland)
• Emperor (Black Metal aus Norwegen)
• Ensiferum (Folk Metal aus Finnland mit Einfluss aus Melodic Death Metal)
• Finntroll (Folk Metal aus Finnland mit starkem Black-Metal-Einfluss); Interview
• Kaizers Orchestra (Alternative Rock aus Norwegen)
• Lumsk (Folk Metal aus Norwegen)
• Månegarm (Viking Metal aus Schweden)
• Marduk (Black Metal aus Schweden)
• Mayhem (Black Metal aus Norwegen)
• Meshuggah (Progressive Metal aus Schweden)
• Mortiis (Industrial Rock aus Norwegen)
• Moonsorrow (Pagan Metal aus Finnland)
• :Of The Wand & The Moon: (Neofolk aus Dänemark)
• Opeth (Progressive Death Metal aus Schweden)
• Satyricon (Black Metal aus Norwegen)
• Sigur Rós (Post-Rock aus Island)
• Storm (Folk Metal aus Norwegen)
• Troll (früher Black Metal, heute Industrial Metal; aus Norwegen)
• Turisas (Viking Metal aus Finnland)
• Týr (Viking/Folk Metal von den Färöern)
• Ulver (früher Black Metal, dann Industrial Metal, heute Trip Hop und Ambient; aus Norwegen)
• Vintersorg (Folk Metal und Progressive Metal aus Schweden)

Alle letzter Zugriff: 2008-07-17

Putuoshan is an island off the coast of Shanghai. You can reach it by an overnight ferry or you can catch the train down south a bit and then a speed boat, which only takes about 5 hrs all up.
The island is like one big and beautiful manicured garden filled with ponds, temples and statues. This is a living Buddhist community and tourists would be evenly matched by the number of Buddhist monks and other Buddhists paying respect in the temples.
The temples themselves along with the giant Buddhist statues are really inspiring. This is a little picture of what I imagine China was like centuries ago. It's a mountainous place with lots of little trails and steps, very like the scenes in every Kung Fu movie where the pupil is learning their trade from the master.
I didn't book a hotel before hand and had no trouble finding a place. Like everwhere else I like to avoid tours and I wouldn't worry about organising anything before arriving. (Of course I don't know what its like at different times of year and I have throughout my carrer as a tourist slept on the odd beach)
The natural beauty of Putuoshan is such a relief after Shanghai, paricularly the yellow sandy beaches. And the food, oh my god that incredible seafood; well yeh it's really good! Such a cliche that, for instance, the Indian food we get here is nothing like the food in India etc. But the Chinese we get here is closer to McDonalds than the stuff they serve up in China. Imagine a little pet shop out the front of every restaurant you go to. You can't speak to the people, because NO ONE in China speaks English, so you just point at the animal you want and half an hour later it turns up on your table cooked the chefs favourite way.
In Putuoshan the restaurants are filled with aquariams. A lot of the fish or water bugs in there I could only recognise again by their taste. I love this kind of eating except that it is really hard to ever have the same dish twice.
The difference between Putuoshan and the rest of China is brought into stark juxtoposition when you round the final bend at the north of the island and are brought face to face with one of China's lagest navel bases. Super techno machines like destroyers and submarines and aircraft carriers sit only a mile away from Buddhist statues. Signs all over the place warn you that your camera will be taken and possibly even worse things will happen if you photograph it.
Really gets you thinking. The Buddah and the missile. Like the art of kung fu vs the Chinese army. I'd back Bruce Lee..

Check out my review of Putuoshan - I am gotiges7 - on Qype

How many more demons must we slay tonight?

How much love or blood can spill over before dawn breaks?

Tune in next week to television and watch your miserable species soil itself as the live audience laughs on cue. Leave us alone and take a vacation. We really don’t wish for more than complete annihilation of the rest of you. If you can’t afford to let go off your meaningless lives, then at least give us an island.