Jeju-do Vacation, Day Four

I woke up at 5 AM and lay in bed for a while trying to discern the level of achiness in my muscles. I wanted to climb Seongsan Ilchulbong to watch the sunrise. It is sunrise peak, after all. However, I was worried about adding to my own agony. At 5:30, I finally decided to give it a try. I threw on my clothes and headed out the door.

The sign at the park entrance said “Sunrise 6:58.”I was early enough to take it very slowly. There was a concrete and timber path/staircase up the mountain. A handful of other people were on their way to the top, too. Most of them passed me because my knees weren’t in a very cooperative mood this morning. The path was not difficult, and even with my sore knees and ridiculously slow pace, I made it to the observation deck that was built on the rim of the crater in about 20 minutes. It was still dark. I could see the town lights below on one side.And on the other, the big, dark crater below with the sea off beyond it. Near the horizon, I could see the distant harbor lights on Udo. I stood at a railing and watched the horizon. More people showed up, and the sky gradually became lighter. At almost exactly 7:00, some of the people starting clapping. I looked around and saw some of the first of the sun’s red rays come over the horizon. (Of course, I had been looking in the wrong direction at the time.) It took about 10 minutes before the whole fiery ball of the sun appeared, and not even a minute later, it started disappearing again behind the morning clouds.To the west, I could see Hallasan and many of its “parasitic volcanoes.”It wasn’t long before Hallasan was also obscured by the clouds. I hope I can catch a glimpse of it from the airplane. It will be dark by then, but there’s a full moon tonight, the first full moon of the lunar year, so there’s a chance at least!

The sunrise wasn’t spectacular except in the way that every sunrise is spectacular. It’s always a blessing to begin a new day healthy and happy and aware of the great many things for which I am thankful. I am more aware of that these days than ever.

I headed back down the mountain and then walked along a black sand beach for a few minutes.Since my knees were so sore, it was really difficult to walk on the sand, and I returned to my room in the minbak. I snoozed for about an hour and then packed up my backpack and checked out. The owner was nice enough to allow me to leave my bag there for the day. I walked the 2 km to the harbor and bought my ferry ticket for Udo. This time I got in the correct line for my boat. It was a 20-minute ride across the strait to the island. I don’t like boats, but this ride was nice. The water was calm, and the combination of chilly air and warm sun was energizing.

Once we arrived, there were several options for getting around the island. There were a couple different tour buses, but the in-and-out, stop-and-go quality of group tours has never appealed to me. I could have rented a motor scooter but decided I really didn’t want to chance it since I didn't have the foggiest idea how to ride one. I briefly considered renting a bicycle but decided the last thing I needed was a sore butt to go along with my sore legs. Instead, I just decided to walk. I saw a sign for a beach and headed off in that direction.

The beach was not sand but crushed coral. It made for some interesting beachcombing. I found a few small shells. I was just enjoying the sun and wind and clear green-blue water.As I was sitting on the beach, a car drove up on the road behind me, and a girl yelled to me from the window, asking me if I wanted to ride along with her and her friend. I considered it, remembering how much fun I had with Mi-jin and In-shil, but I was also really enjoying wandering at my own pace and taking lots of pictures, so I thanked them but said no. I had a great day on my own, but I do wonder if I missed a chance at making a couple more new friends.

From the beach, I walked through farmland to a small village in the center of the island. The lava rock walls separating the fields reminded me of the menehune walls in Hawaii. The texture of the fields and lava rocks really struck me in this scene.This is a tomb in the middle of a field.This is Seongsan Ilchulbong on the horizon, as seen from Udo. I watched the sunrise from the high part of the crater. I like the birds flying across the top part of this picture.From there I walked to the lighthouse on Udo-bong, the hill at the southern end of the island. The sign reads: The ground about here is not firm, so it is dangerous, NO ENTER.They're not kidding. This is the view just beyond the sign.This is the view from the highest part of Udo-bong.And, of course, here are some photos of the lighthouse. I walked around the lighthouse and then down the other side of Udo-bong.At the bottom of the hill on the southeast side of the island was a black sand beach, where I picked up some small lava rocks that had been washed smooth in the surf.

By then it was 2 PM, so I stopped at a small restaurant for lunch. I ate mul-hoé, icy cold raw fish soup in a spicy vinegar broth with vegetables, with side dishes of kimchi (among other things), of course! Yum!From the restaurant, I cut back across to the southwest side of the island to the ferry harbor. I passed a couple tiny villages and lots of farm land along the way.I saw this grandfather statue, but without peer pressure, I stayed clear of his nose this time!This is a picture from the south-central part of the island, looking south past a cemetery (the mounds are graves) to the lighthouses on top of the hill (to the left of the photo).I was really impressed by the lava rock walls that separated fields and yards. Many of them were perfectly stacked, 4+ feet tall, and had no mortar. I couldn't figure out how they kept from falling down.I had to wait about 20 minutes for the ferry, so I walked around the harbor area and took this photo of the monument to the haenyeo, the women divers.I also watched these people fishing from the breakwater that was made of these things that looked like huge cement jacks.Finally, I sat on the dock and waited for the ferry to come. I was really sensitive to the intensity of the sun and wind on my face and neck. Even though I’d been out in it all day, that was the first time I really noticed it. There was no shade near the dock, so even though it was warm, I put my sweatshirt on and pulled the hood over my head. I felt a little silly, but I also knew I probably had the beginning of a nasty sunburn.

I took the ferry back to Seongsan harbor and then walked to my minbak to pick up my bag. I saw the bus coming toward me as I was walking to the bus stop, so I waved, and the driver stopped and picked me up. It took a little over an hour to get from Seongsan to the airport in Jeju City. I knew I had time to do a little sightseeing in Jeju City, but I was feeling very hot and uncomfortable after being exposed to the sun and wind all day, and my legs and knees were still aching, so I just went straight to the airport, and here I sit, waiting for my 9:30 PM flight.

I got to the airport about 3 hours early, hoping to get on an earlier flight, but they were all booked. I’ve been feeling a little warm all evening, and when I looked in the mirror in the airport bathroom, I my fears were confirmed. I am lobster red. All that sun and wind over the past couple days did me in. (Yes, Mom, I wore sunscreen.) Fortunately, the airport has a pharmacy. I went in, pointed to my problem, and the pharmacist sold me a tube of clearish purple goo. Now I’m not only red, but I’m oily and sticky from the goo, and if the light is just right, I might have a nice purple sheen to me. Purple is a better color for me than this particular shade of red anyway.

And that's my trip! It’s been a great four days. I’m already planning the things I want to see on my next trip.