There hasn't even been much marine life to divert his attention, aside from some sea turtles and a few flying fish on the east coast. He had yet to see the whales and dolphins that people travel to Hualien to see.
As for the west coast, "the water is brackish, brown and really polluted. There's really very few places I'd want to spend time [on the west coast]. There are huge areas with break walls and stones and very few areas with access to the beach."
This is a situation that the two beneficiary NGOs of the project -- the Society of Wilderness and the Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation -- seek to change. Donated funds will go toward seminars, open workshops, educational materials and beach clean-up activities that will initiate a debris monitoring system to identify and hopefully stop the source of pollution that washes onto Taiwan's beaches.
"I'm actually not a big environmental activist. I'm more of an outdoors person. Conservation of the coastline is just an issue that I think needs more attention in Taiwan."
Conservation isn't quite incidental to the project, but Western's single-minded pursuit of adventure inevitably dominates his experience. "I'm a very goal-oriented person. Once I get an idea, it's hard for me to put it aside." That's why he thinks his wife has encouraged him in the project. "She supports me because she knows that if I didn't do it, I'd be harder to live with. But she worries about my safety and the fact that I've taken a month off to play."
So, even after almost a month of agonizing paddling, he can still bring himself to say the tour of Taiwan on kayak is fun.
As of press time, Western was north of Hualien making good time for a final landing point at Baishawan next week. Donations for the Paddle Taiwan Project can be made through its Web site.
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