Day 15, Course 18

The Olle-gil and bike path intersected and coincided a lot today; in all, I'd say I did at least half of the Olle. Stats: 28.9 km, 36,477 steps, 392 minutes, 4.4 kph. I'm surprised I wasn't slower today, given how disastrously the day started.

Only a few minutes into the day (I was out the door by 5:25 a.m.), I found myself crossing the street when there was very little traffic. Nevertheless, a car sped toward where I was and honked as it approached. In truth, I had plenty of time to cross, and the driver really shouldn't have honked, but he did honk, and I instinctively tried to speed up. Bad move: I ended up hurting my left heel further—the same heel I'd been trying to rest for two days. The pain, as I sped up, was instantaneous and excruciating. I finished crossing the street and limped slowly to the nearest bench; lucky for me, there was one close by. I was annoyed by the impatient driver, and more annoyed at myself for even trying to speed up. But the damage was done, so I sat still on the bench for at least 20 minutes, occasionally massaging my heel and sole in an attempt to dissipate the pain. When I finally got up and started moving again, I could barely walk forward, but since I've made it my motto to walk off whatever agony comes my way, I took my own advice and kept walking. Things eventually started to get better although the process took a couple of hours.

The first part of my route took me past various ports dealing with cargo and ferry passengers. My path led up a local mountain (but I was following the bike trail, so I didn't mind the incline), giving me a much better view of the ship activity below. It was pretty impressive, I must say; I'm almost tempted to go back and take a more careful tour of the area.

With my heel still screaming, I decided I would follow only the bike path, but since the bike path and the Olle coincided several times, I ended up doing much of the Olle as well. I passed a few university campuses, neighborhoods, holy sites, and stoneworking places (stone/stonework is called seokjae/석재 in Korean). Plenty of artisanal craft on display today. One huge, temple-like site was devoted to hopes for reunification (I used to be a believer myself; these days, not so much). Another temple seemed more traditional in nature, but there was still something "off" about it. At one point toward the end of today's walk, I passed a property surrounded by huge stone tap—pagoda-like towers of stone. Earlier on, I passed the Jeju National Museum, which I might want to go back to, and lastly, I explored a memorial dedicated to the March 1st Independence Movement and the people who sacrificed their lives to make it happen. 

Terrain-wise, today's walk featured a few hills, but all in all, it wasn't bad. It would have been even better had I not had my heel-related setback, but I'm at the age where random pains are inevitable. Before I stepped out the door this morning, I merely leaned a certain way and caused a back spasm that brought me up short. That sort of thing is becoming more common these days—a sure sign of age. Ah, well.

I'm once again off book regarding my lodging. Instead of staying at my scheduled place, I'm at Yuseong Motel, in a run-down room (with bizarrely powerful WiFi) that set me back W50,000. The place has a certain musty funk about it that's somewhere between cigarette smoke and body odor. But this sort of place is more my speed, unlike the very nice Sky Hotel that JW found for us. Nevertheless, I'll be happy to move on, tomorrow, so I look forward to the pension I reserved a month or so ago. 

I've changed my mind about dividing the final walk into two segments: I'm going to do the whole thing in one day, but my strategy will be to take it slow since I'm going to be in my lodging for three nights—the 15th, 16th, and 17th—before returning to Seoul on the 18th. So maybe on the 16th, I'll visit the Jeju National Museum, and on the 17th, I'll visit that lovely bakery so as to get that awesome pizza and salt bread again. 

Anyway, let's move on to the photo essay:

on the street at 5:25

market, not open yet

I think this is a statue for local marines.

Not long after this, I hurt my heel.

where I was when my heel got hurt

ferry terminal

As cars exited this compound, their undercarriages got spritzed with water. 

We can't ship substandard tangerines. 

This path has an upward slope.

We continue up.

The shore is a hive of activity.

serenaded by arfer 

The view gets better as I climb.

better and better

incredible sky all throughout the day

yet more animal assholes

The bike trail leads through a mountain park.

old folks congregating in the early morning

down the other side

Borim Temple

looking off to the side

looking off to the side again

I might come back here before I leave.

distance back to Dragon Head Rock

sign for the bike trail

my ancient enemy... the sun

Jeju University, College of Education

Hwabuk Creek (ignore that "river" nonsense)

By this point, I had overshot a left turn.

coconut husks

back on track

whoa... is this statue...

...anatomically correct?

stone and wood and the Oreum Olle

those roofs

ships are always passing to and fro

I rested here a moment and took some pain pills.

saw this and had to take a few shots
(temp and humidity)

regular level of ozone

microfine dust

dust level is normal

condition is good

Somewhere around this area, I got accosted by an old man. He was very cheerful, even when he was being rude. At one point, he asked, "How old are you?" I said I was 53. "Oh, fifty-five!" he exclaimed. I said no—53. He then said, "Can you guess how old am I?" I said I couldn't guess. Then the old man produced three rapidfire non sequiturs: "I'm 86! You are fat! Have a good day!" All of this was in loud, carefully pronounced English, of course. Jesus Christ. But you haven't had a proper day in Korea until someone impolitely gives you shit about your body. And what am I supposed to do when an 86-year-old man pulls such a stunt? Punch his head inside-out? No; I simply grinned and took the cheerful abuse. I'm sure that, from his point of view, he was being helpful.

chill dawg

Google Translate is saying this has something to do with North Korea friendship.

Walking on rough surfaces like this was extremely painful.

Weon Shin Restaurant
serving a variety of stews, noodles, etc.

The distant signs of industry give me an unpleasant, Pohang-y vibe.

Is it Hwari or Hwaro? Decide, already!

If your vehicle is yellow, it may park here.

nice property

no escaping the Lions Club

men at work

somehow reminds me of the dentist-wannabe elf from that old, animated Christmas story about Rudolph

"Peace Villege"

a stonework shop

What the hell is going on with these plants?

right down to the scrote and hemorrhoidal asshole

With an inflamed asshole like that, no wonder he's bucking and leaping.

looks like a science-fiction beast

As usual, the arfers don't notice me until it's too late. Terrible watchdogs.

dead mantis

"We want to fill you up." Sounds a bit naughty.

what happens to bad gloves

New Village Town

reunification temple coming up

Peaceful Reunification Temple of Buddha's Relics

temple guardian

another guardian

Most of this does not look like a standard Korean Buddhist temple.

The winged, lion-like creatures evoke Middle Eastern religions.

holy ground for Buddhist martyrs

dharma hall, 3rd floor

Let's throw in a little Christianity.

That church is far away.

old arfer

no escaping the Lions Club

In French, suer = "to sweat."

sign for Hyojeong Temple

These tap are crazy.

The sheer amount of physical labor needed is hard to imagine.

house across the street

Jocheon athletic area

monument

remembering the martyrs of the 3/1 movement

faceless statues

statues with faces

end of the line

friendship trail with Australia

end of Course 18

beginning of Course 19

If I'm not mistaken, this is shin-to bul-i, literally, "body-ground-not-two," which is remarkably similar to the old Nazi-era notion of Blut und Boden, i.e., blood and soil (you and the nation are inseparable). Koreans mean this as a patriotic way of saying, for example, that a certain product was made entirely in Korea, by Koreans, and with Korean materials. 

another nearby temple

I note a lack of Chinese script. Strange.

the sacred leaf blower

note the Korean writing, not Chinese

the holy "Om" at the top, center

Hyeonji Temple

local fire department

Their mascot is a stone grandfather.

Western-looking building is a church.

gallery

I was tempted to buy something here.

much of this is typical, though 

This Turkish-style meat pizza looked good. 

fig pound cake

Brotmeister (100% organic wheat)

Seongdeok-li, i.e., Attain-virtue Town

another stonework place

Christian things as well

Seong Deok Seok Chon: Attain-virtue Stone Village

demonic-looking turtle

see?

from the side

frowning frawgz

a third stoneworker's shop

Is the bench for sitting or for keeping the gate closed?

I'm guessing hoddeok bang-jip, a place that sells hoddeok pancakes filled with cinnamon and sugar. 

more black pig

where I'm not staying

even more animal assholes

another glance sideways

my motel: Yuseong

Clean yourself of sand before entering.

I ate lunch here.

another mu-in ordering device, another staffer switching everything to English for my "benefit"

burger, fries, shrimp poppers

pineapple burger, with the pineapple barely registering

shrimp poppers came with tartar-like sauce

this trip, just relax

Miss Hamdeok (the name of this area)

Mister Hamdeok

Mr.

Miss

Ebenezer is "eh-ben-eh-sel" in Korean

rickety shwimteo

Here endeth the day. Course 19 tomorrow. I'm actually located partway along that course right now, so tomorrow's walk will be a little truncated. As I said above, I'll be sticking to the original schedule, which means tomorrow is the second-to-last day of walking, and the final day will involve 30K-plus of trail. Here's hoping the weather holds up. Currently, the forecast is for warm, clear weather tomorrow and the next day, but we know better than to trust such a forecast. Still, a man can hope.