Jejudo: The Last Day

Our last day in this fantastic place! Beauty around every corner. Our plane didn't leave until that night, so we still had the whole day to spend on the island. We made one more scenic stop at Hwasun beach, which has views of the Yongmeori coast. At a different location, there is a path you can take and walk around for some up-close views, but we didn't make it there.

sitting on a lava blob

After wading in the water for a little bit it was time to go on. We decided to do something fun and kitschy and went to a fun park. They have small scale models of all sorts of famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the pyramids, Forbidden City, Statue of Liberty, etc & etc. It was cute. The girls had a lot of fun.

Very exciting moment; she loves Shrek!

When we were at this "mini-park" we let our oldest use the small camera to take her own pictures. I wanted to see it from her point of view. Some of the shots were pretty good, but then she started taking pictures of random people. I'm not sure if she did this because she wanted pictures of people, or because they always take pictures of her & her sister and now she thinks that you're supposed to take pictures of other people!

Ilchulbong aerial shot taken of the internet

Since Jejudo is so small, you can go from one side to the other in about an hour. So, we decided to drive back to Ilchulbong, the extinct volcano that has a quick path to the top. This path is short, but oh so steep! The sun had come out and driven off the fog, but it was also beating unmercifully on us as we hiked up!

Taken near the top. The large greenish roof is the entrance point. See how far up it goes?

interesting volcanic rock formation

At the observation deck on top. Oh the glorious breeze!

Though brief, this hike is intense! After this, our time here was up. We drove our rental back for return and went to the airport. It was a fantastic trip, and I do hope we have a chance to go back!

Jejudo: Part Two

Our tropical vacation continues! The second and third nights were spent in Jungmun, the resort area of Jejudo.
Our hotel in the background... ...with a view of Jungmun beach. After getting settled in our hotel room we walked down the boardwalk to Jungmun beach. The waves here were pretty strong, so no water play for the kiddos. But they had a blast digging in the black tinted sand, the same sand that was almost impossible to get off!

I love to read the signs in Korea. This one was at the beach: (119 vs 911)

When we got up that morning we took a walk down the boardwalk in the opposite direction of the beach, which led us to a great vista.
If you look closely in the pictures above and below, you can see a cave. It's a good sized cave and we wanted to walk over to it, but the path was very rocky and not suitable for children or those backpacking children! This cave is called Haesikgul Cave and the area is often used for TV commercials.

This was the path down to the seashore. The cliffs on the left are "hexagonal rock columns". They were created by the rapid cooling and contraction lava as it went into the sea. Here's a better view:
The water was beautiful as well! The black rocks are called Hyeonmuam stones.

After this we drove to try to take a boat tour around the little rock islands, which are more like like huge boulders tossed out in the water in some old giants random stone skipping game. (Since this is a volcanic island that giant was probably a volcano.) But the boat tour was full, thankfully, because later we did take a submarine tour and I almost got sick on the 5 minute boat ride to the sub boarding dock! So while waiting for the submarine tour to begin, we walked on this trail on one of these large boulders connected to the main island by a large foot bridge designed to look like a sailboat.

on the trail

One of the 'boulder islands'.

gorgeous water!

diver feeding the fish

The submarine tour was a neat experience, though not one I'm likely to repeat. Besides the nausea, it really wasn't that exciting. You go under, a diver swims around for a few minutes and feeds fish, then you look at what is growing on the underwater surface of the rock. They also had a sunken ship set up, though I could barely see it.

After the sub tour, we did the super cheesy tourist thing and went to Pacific Land. They have a dolphin, sea lion, and monkey show, and they were all really fun. Monkeys at a sea show? Yes, monkeys. I don't know why, but who cares? They were so darn cute!

Part One: Jejudo: Hawaii in Korea

Tropical paradise! This is what I thought when I got my first real look at Jejudo, a small island south of Korea, and I was not disappointed. Walking out of the airport, you can immediately tell this place is different. It is a volcanic island and one look at the ground proves this. The black soil and rocks are striking against the emerald green foliage.

With my checklist at the ready and trusty guidebook in hand, we set off in our rental car to explore. First stop, Gimnyeong beach. It was a small beach, but fantastic. The black lava rocks jut out into the clear blue water, and there was a small sheltered inlet that was great for the girls to play in. It's the most beautiful beach I've seen and I could have stayed all day! We had a great time here.



After we took a pay for use, ice cold shower, and dressed, we drove on to Manjanggul, which is supposed to be the world's longest system of lava tube caves. Matt really enjoyed it but after about 500 meters I got tired of sloshing through cold water and dripping cave roofs. Knowing that the way in was also the way out, I had little desire to continue this slog for another 1.5 kilometers, so my oldest and I turned around and went out. Matt completed the 1 kilometer trek to the end (then back) with the youngest on his back in her carriage seat, and brought back some pictures to share.

very cold water on this floor!

walls with lava flow lines

example of a 'lava raft'; named turtle rock

The lava column at the end of the tube. It's much taller than the picture makes it look. This feature is actually the divider between this (Manjang) tube and the lava tube behind it. The next tube is too narrow for people to walk through.

After our brief spelunking adventure, we drove on to Seongsan-ri, almost an island itself, connected to Jejudo by a narrow isthmus. The attraction here, besides the completely untouristy atomosphere, is Ilchulbong. Ilchulbong is an extinct volcano jutting out into the ocean. When we arrived here it was evening, so we decided to walk up to the top the next morning. We had dinner which consisted of the local specialty: jeonbok-juk, which is rice porridge with abalone. Matt just had roasted abalone with all the Korean traditional side dishes. We stayed at a minbak from my guidebook (thank you Lonely Planet) and it was great. We had two double beds, kitchenette, in-room computer with net access and this view of Ilchulbong for about 45 USD: It was foggy that evening, as you can see. It thickened overnight. The next morning I went out, and couldn't see Ilchulbong at all. You can see how thick the fog was coming in from the ocean.
So our plans for hiking up were discarded. Prior to that however, my youngest daughter and I were the only ones awake, so we went for a walk along the boardwalk. We came upon one of the things Jejudo is famous for: haenyeo. These are older women whose life work is diving for edibles from the sea. They use no special equipment: wetsuits, flippers, nets, and knives is all. This is the last generation as their daughters have chosen easier work elsewhere. (Or so says the book.) It's considered rude to take their picture so I didn't. There are many statues and a couple of museums around the island dedicated to these women. Here's an example.

We left our minbak and relaxed atmosphere behind and drove towards Jungmun, the resort/tourist area of Jejudo. Of course I had some stops on the list before arriving. The first was Jeongbang Pokpo, a 23 meters high waterfall that is supposed to be the only fall in Asia falling directly into the sea.

still a bit foggy

 The walk to the falls was like being in a jungle (with a convenient foot path), and in fact all the paths we went on during our trip were like this. These shady, cool, forested trails open to a beautiful sight every time. See:

We walked down to the base of the falls and played in the water and marveled at its beauty for a while. After the hot, humid walk down the cold water is wonderful to be in!

clear, very blue water

Our next stop was also a waterfall, actually a series of waterfalls called Cheonjeyeon Pokpo. Legend says the seven nymphs who served the emperor of heaven would come here at night to bathe. It was so spectacular that I can see how people would associate heavenly beings with this place!

the second waterfall

beautifully clear water!

I couldn't tell how long of a walk the third waterfall was, and Matt was sitting in the car with the sleeping baby, so I had to get back. I learned later that the last waterfall was right beneath this bridge that I had walked over!
This is a bridge with images of the aforementioned nymphs. You can kind of see the first and second falls from here. The foliage is thick and plentiful which obscures the view.