The Secret Vacation Part 4: The Exploration of Yoron

This is another post by Amanda's husband, Matt. Amanda has been talking a lot about our surprise vacation, so I am going to talk about my favorite part wherever we travel: exploring. Amanda planned most of the vacation: where we were going, how we were getting there, where we would stay... But once we got there she left the schedule wide open for us to fill with whatever fun we found.

Yoron Island offered many things to do, but the resort itself offered a whole slew of awesome activities. Of course, with it being a tropical island surrounded by coral reefs and beautiful beaches there is always the option to lay out and enjoy the sun. My and Amanda's genetic disposition make this an option for about twenty minutes tops, so we had to get creative with our free time.

The first thing we did was get Thai massages. I've never had a massage before, but this was no average massage. Instead of laying there and getting rubbed on, the masseuse very actively contorts your body and stretches and pops thing you otherwise could not on your own. He was able to pop parts of my back that have been bothering me since Quantico.

That night Amanda and I went on a "twinkling night cruise." The language barrier sometimes makes it unclear what you're going to get, but we went for it anyways. It was a glass bottom boat night cruise which allowed you to see the bioluminescent plankton that live in the reef.

The second day we spent exploring Yoron Island outside of the resort. Pricia had a bank of rental scooters. The two-person 100 cc scooters were no longer available, and Amanda was uncomfortable with driving one herself. So we squeezed both of us on a one-person, very tiny, 50 cc scooter.

Fifty cubic centimeters of fury!

Using a map that was entirely in Japanese and translated by my understanding of pictures, we set about exploring the island at a roaring 13 kilometers per hour. Most of the attractions on the map were mom and pop tourist traps. For example, one thing we wanted to explore was a cave. When looking for it we drove past it three times before following signs we thought might have said cave into what was definitely somebody's backyard. We found a tool shed with a man in it who informed us that tickets to see the cave were 500 yen a piece. He then handed us a flashlight that would have made 1990 proud and pointed us to the cave. The cave was nice and cool, and interesting because instead of limestone it was made of clay. What was also interesting was the homemade wiring job on the lights. We explored  the cave until I came across the grounding system for the lights which was under three inches of water in a puddle that ran from one side of the cave to the other. For those not savvy on electrical wiring, just know that is bad. We decided that was enough spelunking for one day and made a hasty retreat back to the toolshed. We also used our trusty weed-eater powered scooter to visit a Shinto shrine, castle ruins, amd some beautiful beaches famous throughout Japan. And the island's only traffic light. It was one of those yellow blinking ones without the green or red options.

This cave seems totally legit and not scary at all!

All in all, exploring this quaint little island was quite the adventure. We had a map I couldn't read, a vehicle I'd never driven before, a pocket full of yen, and not enough sunscreen. It was a vacation to remember!