Jeju-do, Korea, February 28 - March 3

My last day of school--graduation day--was February 28. I showed up to discover that all of my kids had decided not to attend. Very disappointed and slightly bitter, I went to the graduation anyway. After school I went to my sewing class, and when I got home from that, Morten called from Jeju Island to say the weather was really nice, so why not book a flight ticket for the 29th to join him for the weekend? I checked into it, but the only tickets before the weekend was over left in an hour and a half on the night of the 28th. Being that Gimpo Airport itself was nearly an hour away, this seemed nearly impossible, not to mention the fact that I had begun to feel quite feverish. However, also feeling that this would be my last chance to see Jeju before leaving Korea, I literally threw a pile of laundry and toiletries into a suitcase, ran out the door, and crept through rush-hour traffic in a taxi to Gimpo. In a panic, I bought a ticket and started running for the gate only to realize I had nearly fifteen minutes to spare (!) which meant time to buy some much needed juice. Morten picked me up in Jeju, and we ended up having a great weekend touring beautiful Jeju-do in spite of my fever and lack of appetite.

Samcheok, July 9th

Bryce found an interesting looking cave to go to, so he and I hopped a bus to Samcheok, "world renowned as the 'Cave City,'" on Sunday afternoon. By the time we reached the cave nearly two hours later, it was raining nicely, and, on top of the humidity, it made the steep 20 minute hike to the entrance a grotesquely sticky experience. We then had to don jackets over our wet shirts to brace against the winter-like temperature inside the cave. In spite of the discomfort, the journey through the large cave was quite enjoyable. We saw such wonders as the summit of hope, cathedral of dreams, and bridge of hell, all named in true Korean style. Back in Samcheok, we decided to hang out at the beach for awhile before grabbing some food and a bus back to Gangneung.

Rail-biking and The Cave

Yesterday Esther took me, Liz, and our oldest student Olivia on a field trip into the nether regions of Gangwon province. We met a little after nine, and after driving for over an hour on a winding road through amazing mountains (I'm realizing that not much of Korea isn't mountainous) and small villages and rice fields and stopping once for Liz to get sick, we ended up at place where we were to ride rail bikes. If I'm right about what city we were nearest, we were somewhere southwest of Gangneung. Anyway,when Esther was trying to explain her plans to me and Liz, we didn't quite understand what she was talking about. But when we got there, it all came clear. The bikes were like paddleboats with wheels on railroad tracks. The bikes we chose sat two each with padded seats and pedals out in front. Once a row of carts filled up, we were able to take off, and we each let the cart ahead of us gain a little distance before taking off ourselves. It was a gorgeous day, warm and breezy with a little haze. The course took us through mountains, rice fields, several tunnels, and over a couple of bridges. Liz and I had a blast zipping through the countryside. It wasn't a full circle course, so when we got to the final station, we took a shuttle back to the station of origin. Liz got off the shuttle and promptly went to the bathroom to get sick again. Thankfully I don't get motion sick, but with the winding roads and stuffy vehicles, I have no trouble seeing why Liz does. Olivia's mother had made us gimbap--seaweed and rice rolls filled with ham and vegetables--so we had a nice little lunch under a tree at the station. After a quick debate whether to see the cave or go home, we piled into the car and set out for the cave. Liz took the front seat to try to avert sickness, and Olivia and I fell asleep in the back.

At the cave, we took a tram up the side of the mountain to the entrance, and over the next hour, we walked down through the cave/mine--I think the sign said it was 1,803m total. It started as a paved passage showing the history of the mine that used to operate in the mountain. Eventually we came to a series of long metal stairways descending steeply through large caverns. Liz complained about the sharp grade of the stairs, and I complained about not being able to crawl into any holes or passageways or climb stuff. After the metal stairs, there was another long paved passage, this time filled with bizzare displays of weird creatures mining. Liz and I didn't get it. The last cavern before the exit was the best part--a vast open space punctuated with weird and beautiful rock formations and natural pillars and statues. And suddenly we were back out in the bright sunlight, brushing the chill from our clothes. And then I woke up. It was five-thirty, and we were in front of the school--our field trip was over.