Hwasun Beach and Sanbangsan Temple (화순금모래해변 & 산방산)

This past Thursday was a prime example of things not always going exactly how you think they're going to go, but still working out for the best. We went to Hwasun beach thinking that we'd kayak, but quickly learned that the weather was too windy and the water too rough to paddle out on the sea. Instead Anna suggested we take a walk along the closest Olle trail, and so we found ourselves trudging along the beach, scrambling over rocks, climbing countless stairs, and pulling ourselves up a steep gradient using a rope.

Once we reached the start of what looked like an actual trail through the woods, we encountered a Korean man and his family. In English the man told us, "You can't go that way. There's a big spider on the path." And we stood there thinking, this must be one massive spider to turn away a big Korean guy and his family. Although I was wary, Anna was undeterred. The two of us scouted a little father into the brush, leaving Oli and Reesha behind. We quickly came across the spider, which was brightly colored and hanging out on a web crossing the footpath, so Anna took a stick and moved the spider out of the way. No big deal. 

I've noticed that many of the Korean people I meet while hiking Ole trails are incredibly well outfitted with all the right brightly colored hiking gear, but when it comes to getting their hands dirty they're fairly inexperienced with the outdoors. 

Anna and I reached a viewing platform at the top of the cliff, but since Reesha and Oli didn't follow us, we had to turn around and go back the way we came, making a detour around the cliff, we reconnected with the olle trail on the other side and continued our hike through a rolling field and then along the coastline.

From our perch on another seaside cliff, we looked out and saw gorgeous hidden beaches lining the coastline.

Some of the cove beaches were closed to the public, but we found one that we could walk onto. Nobody kicked us off at any rate... We sunbathed and swam for a couple hours. The sea was so warm and the rocks on either side of us kept away the worst of the wind and waves. 

We moved on, walking along the beach, continuing towards distant Sanbangsan. The beach was riddled with interesting rock formations and caves. The rocks looked almost like plastic, the were so odd. It was like lava flow trapped in time. 

Apparently at some point we had separated from the olle trail, which was above us, and we were below on the beach. We could see stairs leading up to a viewing platform, but had to get up to them somehow. I know it's terrible, but we ended up scrambling up a giant sand dune in order to reconnect to the trail. After our haphazard ascent, we reached a viewing platform where we could look out on the beach we had just crossed, and we could even see our original starting point, Hwasun Beach (next to the industrial park in the photo below).

 

The olle trail eventually led us to the base of Sanbangsan, which is a huge, very steep oreum that is visible even from my room at NLCS Jeju. Since the sides are so steep, it's impossible to climb to the top of this oreum without ropes and equipment, but there is a Buddhist temple set into the south side with stairs leading someways up the mountain and ending in a grotto.

As soon as we stepped foot onto the temple grounds, we were suddenly assaulted by a group of Korean men, who were keen to show us around. One in particular was especially enthusiastic, waving his arms around pointing at things and speaking to us very loudly in Korean. We were a bit annoyed by this and managed to escape his attention eventually. We climbed up many stairs...

And more stairs...

Forever stairs...

Beautiful photo by Row of the inside of the temple

...Until we reached the very top of the temple, which was basically a big Buddah set into a cave in the side of the mountain. In fact, I learned recently that Sanbangsan means Mountain Room Mountain, named for the grotto room called Sanbanggul.

At the top, we came across the Very Enthusiastic Korean Man once more, and he convinced Oli to go up to the Buddah and pray. It was a hot day, so we took a rest on the benches near the grotto and were approached by yet another Korean man with a ponytail. So excited to see foreigners, he immediately dialed up his wife, a Korean teacher, and handed his cellphone over to me. I chatted with his wife on the phone for several minutes, and she told me about her husband being in Jeju on vacation while she was back at their home on the mainland.

On our way back down the mountain we quickly made our way past Enthusiastic Korean Man, and encountered a new person: Short Korean Man, who was so impressed by Anna's height that he struck up a mainly Korean conversation with her. The two of them took a picture together and we moved on.

At the ticket booth at the base of the mountain we ran into the other half of our group, who had left later in the day after having a lie-in. They had just arrived by taxi and hadn't yet seen the temple, so we made plans to meet up again in an hour, and we went for a quick lunch as the other group climbed the many stairs.

Then, WHO DID WE SEE AT LUNCH???? Why it was Very Enthusiastic Korean Man and his friends. As soon as we walked into the restaurant they called out to us loudly in old man Korean, with a lot of deep loud voices and saliva flying everywhere. They had already had a bit to drink. By this point we accepted that this was our fate -- too many chance encounters to call it anything else -- and sat down at the table next to them.

They poured us drinks and we toasted many times and ate seafood pajeon (Korean chive pancakes). Just as they were about to leave, Ponytail Korean man saw us at the restaurant and came in. He told the other men about our previous encounter up on mountain near the temple, and explained to them about me chatting to his wife on the cellphone. Of course then we had to toast to THAT too. But we were all laughing and having a good time, even though I speak 10 words of Korean and they spoke even less English.

After lunch we met up with the other half of our group, who had finished their hike up to the temple. We walked along the beach, and sat briefly to appreciate the view of Sanbangsan from afar:

After a beer at the cafe, You and I, we called it a day and headed back to NLCS, recounting our unexpected encounters and discoveries along the way. 

[Some photos courtesy of Row, Anna, and Reesha]

Sunrise Peak 일출봉

Our camping trip ended on Friday and we took a relatively empty ferry back over to the mainland in the late morning. The mainland ferry terminal was PACKED with people wanting to get over to Udo. It wasn't even possible to use the bathroom because of the amount of people literally squeezed against each other in the ferry terminal, waiting to buy tickets to overrun Udo. 

Half of our group took the gear and rode the bus back to Jeju-shi and then school, the other half of us taxied into Seongsan 성산, the nearest city, and climb Sunrise Peak, a UNESCO heritage site.

The climb was steep with many stairs, and the sun shown down on us with unparalleled intensity. AKA, it was f***ing hot. We followed the line of people snaking up the ascending path, and once we reached the top we saw....... a big bowl of grass.....

Don't get me wrong, the views were incredible and the hike, despite the heat, was nice. I think that the view from Sunrise peak was worth more than the view into the grass bowl. It was gorgeous:

Camping on Udo - Day 2

Below is a picture as the sun was rising on Thursday morning, the morning of Chuseok. All through the previous night, the wind blew constantly, making the tent flap around, making sleep impossible. Many of us were up at around 3 or 4am, since it was quieter outside and the temperature was surprisingly mild. 

We had a lazy morning before hitting up the ATV/ scooter rental shops to rent some transport to see the island. Took us a few tries to find a place that would rent to us without international licenses, but finally we came across a place that set us up with a couple ATVs and scooters.

We used our two hours to see a lot of what must've been the southern part of the island. We stopped off at a small tourist town and went down countless steps onto a black sand beach. There were a lot of people around, so we just followed the crowd of people heading into a cave on the beach called called Dongangyoeng 동안경굴 cave. The footing was rocky and hard to navigate, but we made our way up a small pile of rocks, through the cave wall, and into the huge black cavern.

Next we rode across a bridge and parked near a pier with a lighthouse. Brad's up there in the picture. Pretty sure climbing the lighthouse is not allowed. Once he came down the ladder, though, all of the other Korean tourists swarmed around the base and tried their hand at climbing up...

We returned our ATVs and scooters and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and swimming. There were TONS of tourists around for Chuseok, and it was a little overwhelming. We would go into the water to swim and when we came out onto the beach there would be a load of tourists exiting a bus and standing there taking pictures of the beach (and therefore, us).

That night we played cards and were joined around the our fire by Sean, a Canadian man who teaches English near Pusan. He was camping around with his dog, Alley, for the Chuseok holiday. Some other people wandered over to our fire as well. We met a Korean couple and their two daughters, who instantly bonded with Jen after she gave them OJ and dried pineapple. Another visitor included a pregnant woman and her slightly intoxicated husband, who were both really nice.

That night we shared our campsite with at least three sets of other campers, but despite the noise, the smells from their cookstoves, and the full moon illuminating the landscape, the wind had died down, and weighed down by exhaustion I fell onto my sleeping bag and had a much appreciated full night's rest.

Camping on Udo - Day 1

Happy Chuseok! Aka Korean Thanksgiving. All of the students have left campus and that leaves gap assistants and staff members to get up to whatever we think is fun. Nine of us from the gap program chose to go camping for two nights on Udo Island, and so we left on Wednesday, early afternoon, and took the 3 hour long bus trip from the education city to Seongsan Harbor and then the fifteen minute ferry ride to Udo.

Once we got there, we walked for about 15 minutes along the shoreline road until we came to Hongjodangoe 홍조단괴해변, a coral sand beach, where we were able to set down our gear and set up the tents we borrowed from the school. We were so lucky - our campsite was situated right on the beach next to a small town with a CU store and cafe, along with other conveniences. The biggest and best surprise was that there was a bathroom with working toilets right across the road from where we camped. Such a lifesaver.

It took a while to get situated and set up camp, but once everything was pretty much set up, I took a dip in the ocean and we watched the sun set over the sea.

It was then that I realized we were in paradise and we are some of the luckiest people around. Even though I wasn't too hungry, I decided to go along with some of the group to eat BBQ, and I'm so happy I did. We walked along the road for a bit until we came across what looked like some guy's deck with picnic tables and grills set up. There were people eating grilled meat and fish and drinking bottles of wine and soju.

I think it must've been some kind of illegitimate restaurant off of this guy's deck. Anyway, he grilled us up some of the best pork I've ever eaten and we ran down to CU to get some beers and stuffed our faces for the next hour. Then, the guy pulled out a saxophone and started serenading the whole group with old school easy listening that sounded a bit like the Korean version of Enka.

 

That night we built a fire on the beach and gathered around for hours, just chatting. It was so nice to feel like we were finally in Korea, and it felt so good to get away from everything at the school, if only for two days.

Chuseok 추석 Holiday

At 3:30pm I officially start a 5-day long break for Chuseok (Korean version of Thanksgiving) and look at this weather!

Some of the other gap assistants and I have decided to go camping on Udo Island from Wednesday (tomorrow) until Friday. We've borrowed tents and gear from the school and we'll be camping on the beach (which is free to do on Jeju Island). Can't wait :D

On Saturday we're probably going to hike up Mt. Halla, the tallest peak in South Korea, which also happens to be a dormant volcano. I've heard it takes all day to hike up, but the climb is worth it, and from the top of some trails are incredible views.

At the school it poured all through the morning and I was feeling pretty pessimistic when I met up with the group to go on our morning hike. As we walked out to the bus it was a torrential down pour and I figured I'd be soaked through within the first 2 minutes of hiking.

Driving south, the rain increased in intensity, but the bus driver still hurtled the bus forward through the deluge. Jeju drivers are crazy.

Then suddenly, nothing. No rain, dry roads, sun peeking through the clouds. I guess this is what island weather is well known for. We left behind the wall of rain and spent the rest of the morning sweating in the glaring sun and trudging through humid, thick air.

The view from the olle trail we walked today was gorgeous. We were right up on the coast, and the whole walking path was a raised wooden platform with good footing. The downside was that there were many tourists on this part of the olle trail.

Nearing the end of our walk, we went down some stairs and onto a boulder beach with tide pools and sand lice scurrying around. The kids clambered over the rocks for about half an hour and the sun continued to get hotter and hotter as it approached noon, so we made our way back up the stairs and to the bus. The way back to campus was uneventful, but I knew we were nearing the school when we reentered what I'm calling the "bad weather bubble," because we hit the wall of rain and from thereon it continued to pour the whole way back.

Rain cloud overtaking campus early this morning

Daily Grind

It's thundering outside and heavy rain clouds are brushing over the oreum visible from my room. The ocean looks misty and distant. It's raining and we're supposed to go hiking in 40 minutes. 

This past week was more of the same thing. We're finally settling into our roles and getting used to the routine. Starting the week after next, I will be teaching a grade 7 science class twice a week on "The Weather," and so I've been prepping for that and observing the classes I'm going to teach.

I've also been helping out around the house, especially with House Competition things. This week was soccer (football), and our house team, both boys and girls, made an incredibly strong showing. The competition is set to continue this Monday, and all the teams will finish facing off.

My favorite day of the week is definitely Thursday, my day off. We had big plans to go into Jeju City this past Thursday and do some shopping then take a cab to a black sand beach. Well that would've been nice if we hadn't taken so long to figure out how to navigate the city. We ended up walking around a whole lot, and then finished up our time out at a korean restaurant. I had bibimbap:

Stoneware bowl full of rice, cut up veggies, and an egg. Bowl comes to the table piping hot. You stir everything together and eat it with a spoon. The heat from the bowl slowly browns the rice on the outside into crispy goodness.

First Week of School

WOOHOOO. We've made it through the first week of school and like all first weeks it's been the longest of my life. It's hard to believe that the students arrived only last Sunday -- It feels like I've been here forever.

Everything has been running smoothly. I'm getting used to cafeteria food, exploring the local running routes, and continuing to get to know the girls in the house.

On a typical day I've been waking up around 7:30, going for breakfast and then a run or zumba, followed by lunch. Work starts in the early afternoon. I'm in the bio department every day and I'll be taking over a couple grade 7 science classes on weather. I'm teaching one boys class and one girls class, since they split up the classes based on gender here.

Following my time prepping or in the classroom, I head to afternoon activities. During the week I'm booked in cross country running, ceramics and cycling club.

So far this week I only had the chance to go to cycling club. It's my first time really getting to cycle off road, and on Friday we went out in the pouring rain, which was still fun. We got soaked within the first two minutes and then spent the rest of the half hour exploring the winding roads behind the school.

In the evenings after dinner I'm in house, tutoring the seventh grade girls and going around helping the tutor on duty put the girls to bed. The students in the house are lively with vibrant and varying personalities. I'm still learning names, though, it it'll probably take me until half term to get everyone sorted out.

Thursday is my day off, and it's dedicated to working out, going to the beach or into town, and getting some much-needed rest. We also have Friday nights off, and this week a few of us went into Jeju City for samgyupsal, or Korean BBQ, where we were given meat to cook at a grill built right into the table.

Monday afternoons are for house competitions, and the sum total of the house competition rankings contributes to the overall house competition prize, which Jeoji house has won both years running. So far we're in third this year, but I'm sure the soccer competition on Monday will make up some lost points.

Hiking Club

At this school all the kids have to do a special Saturday morning "Bryant activity" before they reach their junior year. As members of the gap program, we have the option of participating in one of the Bryant activities or sleeping in on Saturday mornings. I chose the middle ground: hiking. It's a low stress activity that doesn't require much brain power but will get me out moving on Saturday mornings and seeing parts of the island and gorgeous views that I otherwise wouldn't ever get the chance to see. On the other hand, if I ever feel a strong urge to sleep in on a Saturday, I have that option since hiking is sort of one of the more laid back activities (as opposed to horse back riding or scuba).

Today we hiked a part of an olle (올레) trail, one of several long pedestrian roads that snake across the island's coastal region. I believe we were on this trail.

We hiked along the coast for a while, and saw where the Japanese hid out during their occupation of Korea, awaiting an attack by the Americans. We saw a cave and bright red crabs, and outdoor booths selling dried squid, and fishermen. After a while we turned and went up one of the coastal oreums, hiking to the top until we could see the ocean spread out on one side and on the other, patched farm land stretching into the distance. The weather was muggy and it started raining towards the end of our hike, but comfortable enough for a summer day.

When we returned to school I helped the kids practice football (soccer) for the house competition on Monday, and then I learned how to play squash, which is fun but so so so hard. 

Beach Day at Hyeopjae Beach 협재 해수욕장

Some of the others and I were going to go into Jeju city for lunch and to walk around, but the weather was so nice we ended up going to the beach instead. It was easy to get to, about a 25 minute ride via taxi. We may ride bikes there next week. 

The beach was beautiful. We arrived when the tide was in and it was about a 150m walk out through ankle-deep water into the deeper part of the ocean. When the tide was out there was an expanse of new beach revealed. 

It was hard to take good pictures because the lighting was so odd. It was warm but overcast, and there was a lot of volcanic rock covering some parts of the beach. The ocean was a muted light blue, and in the distance was a large island, not too far from the mainland. 

We swam for a good half hour. The water was warm and wonderfully clear. Then we explored the rocks and tide pools filled with hermit crabs. 

We finished off the beach day by going to a local cafe. Perfect ending to a relaxing time. 

Here's the beach's website