During the winter, Turtle Island is closed to tourists. Only one boat comes every 6 days or so, depending on the weather. It is an old fishing boat, still strung with some of the giant light bulbs squid fishermen use to lure their catch. The boat delivers fresh food and water to the soldiers on the island, as well as about 20 jugs of diesel to power the generators. And me.
Everything comes off the prow of the boat, which they pad with a tattered bundled mass of rags and foam. The boat nudges the dock perpendicularly, bumping along with the waves that gradually push the boat parallel, and the captain circles around and starts over again until everything is unloaded. The soldiers drive a little truck up to the dock, which they usually start by pumping a crank inserted in the front like the old cartoon cars. This has broken down, so now they cart the diesel back to the barracks on little trolleys. The going is slow over the cobblestone walkway leading to the barracks, only three or four jugs at a time, lest they fall off.
Empty jugs are sent back to Taiwan on the boat, along with empty water bottles, to be refilled and returned in another 6 days. The caps don't always fit on either bottles. You often see the "new" bottled water with various colored caps, from tea and sports drink bottles. The diesel jugs have saucer-sized caps that are more or less kept in place by a layer of shrink wrap over the opening. This doesn't keep the diesel in. We all get off the boat smelling a little of diesel.
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