from Jeju International Airport to my yeogwan

Though it was expensive since I was riding across half the island, I took a taxi from Jeju International Airport to where I had elected to stay: Mido Motel, which is in Seogwipo City on the east coast. As we drove along, Jeju's many famous sights unfurled before me. I saw quite a few of the things Jeju is famous for: horses, low stone walls made of volcanic rocks (including an impressive burial mound surrounded by such a wall), stands selling Jeju oranges and tangerines, restaurants offering the local 흑돼지/heuk-dwaeji or black pig, and more palm trees. As we drove, I managed to take only one decent picture of a chunky-looking mountain or promontory that probably has a name and a history. 

The cabbie seemed sleepy. He kept straying over the road's center line, which was bumpy for just that reason: to wake up sleepy drivers. Still, he was awake enough to avoid oncoming traffic and get me to my destination alive, so here I am.

Arriving at certain motels and yeogwans in the daytime can sometimes be a dicey proposition because the owner/manager is often either out or asleep. I saw an older guy puttering around at Mido Motel's entrance and asked him about lodging; he told me he wasn't the manager, and that I needed to call a certain cell number written on a sign. I did so; the manager said I should wait for him to show up, and I could pay him then. As I waited, I took in the motel's vibe: cheap and seedy. I can really pick 'em. Over the phone, the guy said a room would cost me W30,000, even though the lobby sign said W20,000. This felt like a foreigner's tax, but the room I ended up with, despite having no real facilities to speak of (no sheets on the bed, no soap or shampoo or toilet paper in the bathroom—good thing I brought my own for just such emergencies), nevertheless had two beds in it, so I'm not going to complain about the extra W10,000. I still think, though, that W30,000 is a bit steep for what's on offer here. 

Another way to know a place is cheap is that you're told to just go pick a room, and you're not immediately given a key. This sort of thing happens all the time along the Four Rivers path, and it happened today, too. I had to ask repeatedly for a key, and I finally got one. While he seemed a bit brusque, the manager was, nonetheless, nice enough to invite me to a rooftop barbecue, but I declined. I told him I was tired, but the real reason would have been harder to explain with a straight face: I know my bowels well enough to know that, when I'm in distance-walking mode, I can't eat too late, or I'll end up getting the shits while I'm on the trail. Hiker's worst nightmare. I am, in fact, a bit worried about whether I'll be able to take the usual liberties on the Jeju Olle trail—stuff like taking a random piss without worrying about people rounding the bend, or cutting lusty farts without anyone being within earshot. Or, yes, taking an emergency dump, if needed, without being caught out by fellow hikers. That's the problem, you see: I suspect that all the segments of the Olle trail are going to be rife with hikers, walkers, tourists—you name it. And I'm not looking forward to that. 

But tonight, I'm just going to settle in and deal with the mosquito in my room. I might have to do what I've done before and buy some quick-dry hairspray, which causes mosquito wings to seize up: the little bastards drop to the floor, and you just squish 'em.

Meanwhile, here's my final batch of pics for the day. Tomorrow, I'm up at 4:30 a.m. to do nearly 40K. Day 1 promises to be an ass- kicker in terms of distance. Day 2 will be shorter, but it's rated "difficult"—the first of six difficult-level segments. No rest for the weary, and I've given myself no "break" days this time, trusting to my improved health to carry me through this trek.

the one shot out the taxi's window: chunky mountain

Mido Motel front

a look off to the side; see the seedy neighborhood for yourself

a wider angle on my motel

I'm in Room 301. Come get me, suckaz!

Using the "0.5 zoom" function, I can get a wide shot of my lodgings.

crazy-cheap price at the convenience store up the street (in Seoul, I pay W900)

that chunky mountain again

As a self-disciplinary measure, I removed the YouTube icon from my phone's main menu to keep me from addictively watching YouTube at night. So far, the measure seems to be working, and I look forward to nearly a month without YouTube. It's unhealthy to be too plugged in. I've got things I can read in the meantime. For example, I'm working on the latest Will Jordan novel, Dark Harvest, and I'm still making my way through my friend Neil's hilarious book, This Gangster Is One of Your Own. These stories will be my travel companions over the course of these walks, both Jeju and Andong. 

Righto—more tomorrow. From now on, I'll be writing only one entry per day as I've done the last few walks. Today was a bit of a muddle simply because the Jeju experience is so new to me. I really don't remember much about the island from my 1986 trip. I vaguely recall 외돌개/Oedolgae and the Seven Fairies Bridge—not much else. So I'll be learning as I go. Maybe relearning as well, as with thinker Paul Ricoeur's notion of the second naiveté.

ADDENDUM: Mido Motel is definitely a yeogwan, not a motel. 

ADDENDUM 2: I took a walk outside to the shore, which is very close (I'm on a tiny peninsula), and couldn't help myself: I started shutterbugging. Very last pic dump, now—promise. 

 black-pig restaurant in the neighborhood

You might see those lights and be reminded of the squid boats from last year's walk, but that's some sort of man-made structure, like a causeway.

nifty—a dolmen-like table

It was sprinkling out, and this shwimteo isn't designed to protect people from the rain. 

Fron this angle, two buildings look like one.

Lovers' Leap? Seems a bit low.

those pesky palm trees

So I discovered the mountain is called Seong-san (Holy Mountain?), and there's a "sunrise peak" called Seong-san Ilchul-bong (ilchul = sunrise; bong = peak).

broken bench for weary asses

menu: broth ddeokbokgi, broth chicken's feet, fried shrimp, cheese sticks, thin dried anju (beer sides), budae-jjigae, odaeng stew, beer, coffee, and other drinks

rocks and coral, artistically assembled

Don't touch the larva!

the sign for my yeogwan, Mido Motel

Right—definitely done, now. I've got a 4.5K walk just to teach the trailhead in the morning, hence the 4 a.m. start. The trail itself is actually two trails: Courses 1 and 2 stitched together. Off to bed now. Pray for me.