It was a very hot afternoon, about 90°F, in San Pedro but at Point Fermin, it was about 20° cooler. No matter how often I took pictures of the scenery before, it never ceases to amaze and inspire me. On the mainland, the sun is bright and hot while the yonder town Avalon like the namesake of the Arthurian legends, is always shrouded in mists; reminding me of Liu Yuxi's poem, “…東邊日出西邊雨，道是無晴卻有晴”.

1 晴天風微皺銀波 Gentle breeze on a sunny day knitting the silvery waves in frown,
2 遙遠蓬萊雲烟鎖 Far away are the Immortals Isles and shrouded in mists as always.
3 仙島雖隔今夜逢 This fairyland, separated we may be but tonight in dreams twain shall meet,
4 觀景莫歎紅塵錯 Enjoy this view of now and sigh not due to wrongs of this mundane realm.

2. The Isles of Penglai in the Eastern Ocean. It is believed that Earth immortals took up residence there. Legend has it that the First Emperor, on the advice of a magician, had himself sent with 500 virgin boys and 500 virgin girls to seek the immortality pills. It is also the Chinese version of how Japan was founded. In Japanese, these islands are known as Horai but quite different from the Chinese version. To them, these islands are west of them, naturally.

Saturday, 2 October 2021