The end! I guess we're in the epilogue now.
Stats: 40.2 km, 51,539 steps, 551 minutes, 4.4 kph. I think my pedometer may be exaggerating the distance, but I definitely did at least 35K today. It was a beautiful day for the final segment; the going was almost totally flat, the weather was once again gorgeous, and while my feet were achy by the end, I finished my Jeju walk just fine.
The end of Course 21 came rather suddenly, and not quite where I expected it to end, i.e., pretty far from Seong-san, the mountain close to my motel from Day 1 (the one with the ilchul-bong, or sunrise peak). After reaching the end of the final course, I realized I still had to walk another 5K to be back where I started, at Mido Motel. I was feeling fairly energetic, though, so the final five kilometers went by pretty quickly, and there I was—once again in front of Mido. I had a good chuckle at that: I might not have followed the Olle-gil with any exactitude, but I had successfully circumnavigated the island via a crazy mixture of Olle and bike routes. As a side benefit of all this walking, I now know a heck of a lot more about Jeju—things I was too dumb to internalize when I was here as a high schooler in 1986.
I am currently in the Blue Mountain Hotel just up the street from Mido. W60,000 a night for three nights, then I leave on the 18th—a late flight back to Seoul. After that, I rest for a full day, then take a bus to Sangju City so I can do my four-day walk to the Andong Dam. I've long been looking forward to that segment of this journey, but now that I've done the Jeju walk, I must say that I'm going to miss this place. There's a lot to recommend the island, which in many ways is very different from the mainland, but I'll talk more about that in my wrap-up post.
Today's walk saw me communing with Mother Nature's ambassadors: I came across an injured snake, saw my first live praying mantis this trip (and it was huge), and even had a cat come begging for food which, alas, I didn't have. (Now that I think about it, I could've gone back into the convenience store I had just left and bought some tuna for the cat to eat. Silly me.)
When I got to the Blue Mountain Hotel, the front-desk guy was curious about my walk, so he peppered me with questions. He also suggested that I eat at a restaurant right next door to the hotel; it turned out to be a place frequented by local foreigners (possibly implying an arrangement between the restaurant and the hotel). I was alone when I got there, but while I was eating, a pair of blonde British girls came in, followed by a bunch of other foreigners. The dour, lumpish lady who took my order and cooked my food (I went for something vegetarian, and I still don't know why) didn't speak English, but later on, as the foreigners poured in, a male staffer appeared, and he could speak English, especially with the cute blondes. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes.
A long walk means a ton of photos, and it appears that I have 622 to share with you. I'm tired and might not caption many of the pics tonight, but once I'm settled back in Seoul, I plan to do more extensive captioning and to enlarge all the photos in every post so you don't just see thumbnails.
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started around 5:50 this morning |
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my pension |
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I started off by following the Olle |
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Not a translation. The Korean says: "I'm a Gimnyeong haenyeo." |
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The Korean says: "I am a Gimnyeong mother."
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first sight of those turbines |
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the covered beach |
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2 paths to 2 different farms |
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See the moon? |
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See it now? |
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What sad story is being told here? |
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farming the wind |
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a novel use for filled water bottles |
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one of many, many morning joggers |
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looks like spare blades |
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geological trail |
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asters |
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Cafe Delmoondo |
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No, thanks, Olle. Not going that way. |
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Definitely not going that way. |
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Korea Energy Technology Research Center |
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giant seen from a distance, 10X magnification |
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Don't get any funny ideas. |
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the giant, closer |
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"Transparent Kayak Here" |
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I want a turbine growing out of my home. |
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village of Weoljeong-ni |
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no escaping the wind farm |
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another crushed centipede |
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long time no see |
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darg thinks he's a Jindo, barking away |
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but he's cute |
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woof |
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Gotta get at least one more pic of a stone table and chairs. They're all over the place.
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This turned out to be a very glove-y day. |
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tall, with a tiny footprint |
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a headstone for whom? |
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You see rabbit-shaped ice cream. I see a creature that has found a new toilet. |
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another haenyeo resto |
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the classic Asian squat, which I can't do |
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white-sand beach |
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kitteh at the convenience store |
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coming to beg for food |
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Groot and Grootling |
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the village or town of Haengweon-ni |
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cramped-looking pensions |
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The tongue is everywhere. |
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ad for the resto across the street |
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the resto in question |
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Jeju has an algae problem. |
The next few photos are of a strange little café/shrine that apparently offers libations and fortune-telling. You'd think this would be a place of quiet serenity, but it was guarded by two loud, little puffball dogs, one of which became friendly after a while, the other of which remained angry and growly to the end. The lady running the place heard the dogs yipping and growling at me as I tried to photograph the artwork on the outside of her building; she came out and asked me why I had come. I told her I was interested in the exterior artwork; she said that that was okay to photograph, but I couldn't photograph anything inside her building. Below are the results. I made sure to get at least one pic of the puffballs.
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"shamanism café" |
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image of Korean mudang (shaman) plus two guardian puffballs |
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This sure looks like Dalma-daesa (Bodhidharma) wrestling a giant carp. |
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puffball who turned out to be friendly |
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vicious, evil-tempered puffball |
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so many little inlets and tidal pools |
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mysterious machinery, chugging away |
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a very tall tower |
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Carbon-free Island Energy Future Hall |
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such an advanced place with ironically bad sidewalks |
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injured snake |
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A stream pushes fresh water into the sea. |
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This really looks like "brisket fisheries." |
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I think this is warning you not to fish for mullet. |
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It really has been a glove-y day. |
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more moon for you lunatics |
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There's a profusion of ducks, but not many duck restaurants. |
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capsule hotels? |
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half cultivated, half fallow? |
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Look closely, and you'll see more ducks. |
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independent dawg |
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The sign is a pun: either "If you're an idiot" or "Beach-view ramyeon." |
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Handong-ni |
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Go Tae-moon, Korean hero |
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his life story |
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"Come on in—the water's fine" or something like that, I think. |
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something like, "Area residents! Brighten the day!" |
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These roads leading out to the water must serve some purpose. But what? |
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I rested here a while and let my phone battery charge. |
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Granny strikes a pose. |
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a blast of asters |
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Shouldn't it be "Sunshine Over the Sea"? |
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signs for carrot juice and carrot cake |
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a tiny lighthouse |
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Not sure what this means. |
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really rough-hewn stone grandfather |
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his even rougher-looking brother |
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Do Ggae Dong San |
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전복/jeonbok means "abalone," and that's something I've been meaning to try here. |
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I actually like this octopus drawing. |
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saw this and thought, "Necropolis" |
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Is this saying it's a fresh-hair beach? |
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something about a dragon king and protection from harm |
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fishy, fishy, fishy fish that went wherever I did go |
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섬나라/seom-nara = island nation |
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market |
This area was crowded and filled with cars, but everyone was driving slowly, so there was never a question of safety.
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Ta-dah: the end of Course 20! That lady at the stamp station took fucking forever. |
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I think this is related to rainwater collection. |
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Anyone else see a map of Jeju? |
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run-down minbak (lodging) |
I actually hate seagulls. Horrible little beasts that will steal your food in a heartbeat. They're dirty and noisy and a general nuisance.
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temple devoted to Gwaneum, bodhisattva of compassion |
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Yongmun-sa, Dragon Gate Temple |
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one of only a few proper Buddhist temples I've seen on Jeju |
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Gwaneum herself |
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temple bell (note the cute little swastikas) |
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three-dot symbol representing the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the teacher (buddha, 불/bul), the teaching (dharma, 법/beop), and the religious community (sangha, seung/승) |
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a place for haenyeo to change into their work clothes and to discuss work with each other while they rested |
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a fortress-like area |
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I guess we're in the Hado region. |
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halfway marker for Course 21 |
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This was the most of seen of hang-drying squid on Jeju. And more to come! |
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Yeongdong Beach |
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the island of U-do |
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as confirmed on this map |
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photo spot |
With all the dangerous offshore rocks, surfing is a dicey prospect on Jeju. But determined people find a way, as always.
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the Joker goes apple-bobbing |
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speedboat ad |
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transparent kayak, speedboat, pedal boat |
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I guess you can camp here. |
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Hado Beach |
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Guidepost horses need their rest. |
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"Your kung fu is good." "My master was Chao Chi." "Ha! I killed Chao Chi!" |
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Insert your hopes in the little slot. Slot, I said! Not slut! |
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dried, crunchy seaweed |
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10X digital zoom of Seong-san, the mountain at my Day 1 starting point |
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Jongdam Port |
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view of the final stretch from a convenience store |
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transparent kayak, doughnut boat |
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kitesurfing practice |
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Seong-san's neighboring mountain |
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Huh. And just like that, Course 21 ends. |
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Trivia: Course 1 does not begin at this point. |
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But as I walked the 5K stretch toward Mido Motel, I ended up on the part of Course 1 that I hadn't done at the beginning. |
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popular stop |
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The algae buildup meant the whole area smelled of seaweed. |
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another route dedicated to a Korean hero |
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more meditation on tap |
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"Designated local fool restaurant" |
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sign for the fortress in the previous pic |
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moving into town as the sun goes down |
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every glove, a story |
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Sunset is nigh. |
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final street before my old motel |
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Here we are, full circle! |
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Ha! You shitty, shitty place! |
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Unbelievable. We made it. |
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the hotel where I'm spending my final few days |
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the restaurant next door |
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Google renders the name as "Greedy for Food" |
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I was alone at first. |
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half of my vegetarian meal |
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ma chambre |
3 comments:
Another amazing day on the seashore. There's a vibe about Jeju that is really unique to Korea. Maybe the best of both worlds. I could see myself living in one of those nice little places with the ocean views (as long as there was a pub nearby). Speaking of which, were those foreigners you saw during lunch all tourists, or is there an expat community there?
What was up with those tiny round rooms at the In Cafe? Sleeping or dining quarters?
I was thinking those wind turbines were really an eyesore, but then I recalled how I often see those high powerline towers distracting from my mountain views when I'm out hiking. Since I'm a big fan of having electricity, I guess I really can't complain about how it is generated and transmitted.
Anyway, congrats on completing an amazing hike all the way around Jeju island. To me, the fact that you concocted your own trail to accomplish that feat is even more impressive. It's such a beautiful place and I really enjoyed seeing the sights along with you. Good job!
John, I appreciate the constant readership and unflagging support. What people like us do appeals to a fairly narrow audience, I think, so any and all enthusiasm is welcome.
The more I saw of those turbines, the less I liked them. Wind energy is subject to problems of intermittency; you can't guarantee how much wind power you'll receive from day to day, let alone from hour to hour. All in all, I think wind may be the stupidest form of alternative energy out there. Putting solar collectors in space will, ultimately, be the best solution for humanity's ever-increasing energy needs.
I was wondering about the In Cafe thing, too, which is one reason why I took those photos. My guess: they're Japanese-style capsule hotels, with just enough room to lie down in. Cheap, modest accommodation.
Living on Jeju Island would mean coping with the weather. Jeju gets the worst of storms that approach from the south, so I imagine the local residents have developed a stoic, weatherbeaten attitude in the face of nature. Not sure how much I'd enjoy that aspect of living here. Then again, on a beautiful day, the views are amazing.
Another problem, though, is the ubiquitous pollution, but I'll talk more about that in my wrap-up.
Oh, yeah—I'm not sure whether the foreigners I saw were residents or tourists. At a guess, tourists.
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