We were looking forward to a day in Miyakojima. After a week of hustle and bustle in Taiwan, the idyllic beaches, reefs, caves, and other exotic nature seemed like just the right thing. Excited, we left the ship and cleared Customs. Just as we got outside, my phone gave an Earthquake alert, centered not far from where we had left the night before in Taiwan! Shortly after the first notification, a second notification came up — this time a tsunami warning. About that time, one of the ship’s officers came up and told us it was real and that we needed to get to higher ground. This was reinforced by the fact that the Customs officers were quickly leaving the Customs Hall and were heading up the street. A few of the ship’s crew pointed us in the right direction, but the tsunami evacuation signs were pretty clear — and we know which way was up! We stayed in this little park for a couple of hours and the crew tried to stay in contact with the ship for updates. All the other ships had sortied out of the harbor and, ultimately, our ship did as well. For whatever reason, the tsunami wave was “late” in showing up, but there was still concern that we weren’t high enough. Consequently, a couple of buses took us up to one of the highest points on the island at a sports arena. We stayed there for a few more hours and, about halfway through, people started walking laps or kicking a soccer ball around. During this time, the wave passed (it was only about a foot high) and the ship started back to port. The rest of us ended up at a restaurant on the beach for some lunch and a beer. It was too late at that point to go on our excursion, so we headed back to the ship. Those people who hadn’t cleared Customs before the alarm went were now declared illegal aliens and had to go through Customs again. Quite an adventure!
This entry was posted in Cruising, Japan, Miyakojima, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
