I am so behind with my blogging - this is adventure is still part of Cameron's visit to Korea in March! Better late than never.
Our next stop on this crazy adventure was Jeju Island. It was a last minute decision and yet all the travel arrangements went very smooth. I didn't bring my passport because I had no intention of getting on a plane as we headed down to Busan. Thankfully I didn't have an issues leaving or returning back to the mainland of South Korea because I had my military ID card.
Our first stop once we arrived to Jeju was the information booth at the airport. Their English was pretty good and they were very helpful. Renting a car in Jeju was really cheap! Unfortunately we could not rent one because I didn't bring my International Driver's License with me. I didn't think I would be renting a car on this trek. Lesson learned.
We hopped on the bus that traveled on the outskirts of the island and our first stop was Seongsan Illchulbong Peak, also called Sunrise Peak. This volcano was highly suggested as one of the points of interest to see by the person at the information center. From afar it didn't look that bad but as we continued to walk we realized that there were steps ahead and that was the only way to the top. By now our legs and feet were screaming from all the stairs we had been climbing for the last few days. I told Cameron if she was not up for this climb it would be no problem at all and her comment was that we made it this far we are going to do this. Up we went.
The trek up was not overly difficult, but we wanted to see as much of Jeju in one day as we could so hiked it up at a pretty fast pace. The one thing that amazed us not only at this location but at many locations in Korea were the women that wore high heals everywhere! Even to climb this volcano! I really couldn't figure out if they just endured the pain because it looked good or if they were just as comfortable in high heals as I was in a comfortable walking shoe.
On our way up the volcano we could see a solar clock off in the distance. I didn't get a chance to see it up close once we came down but I will be sure to check it out the next time I visit Jeju Island.
At random spots throughout the island were these little volcanic statues called Dol Hareubang. They were really cool. Some historians believe that they were considered to be deities offering protection and fertility. The mushroom shaped crown has been found on many Korean historical artifacts such as ancient crowns, funeral urns and ships.
After catching our breath and taking some awesome pictures from the top we started our journey back down.
Our next stop was Minchon Cave. We took the bus from the airport to Seongsan Illchulbong Peak and we weren't for sure how to get to our next destination so we decided to see how much it would be to take a taxi. It turned out for a bargain we hired a taxi.
The Minchon Cave had beautiful grounds with water fountains, statues, small botanical garden and even farm animals on display. The lava caves was cool too. I had been in a lava cave in Washington State but you had to bring your own lantern for light. This one was well lit and was more like a cave museum.
Next stop, Cheonjiyeon Falls. We had no idea what to expect but our wonderful taxi driver assisted us with showing us where to purchase our entry tickets and gave us a time frame of how long would should be there before leaving for our next destination. Again, the grounds and scenery was amazing and the weather was perfect. The best part about this destination....there were NO STAIRS!
As we were nearing the end of our day we had one more place that we wanted to visit before trying to find a hotel. The taxi driver took us to the Jeongbang Falls. This was a beautiful falls but it had many many stairs. As much as our feet and legs hurt we knew that we had to make it down to the falls. As we were heading down we could see a group of women with buckets and having a little bar-b-que. When I switched over to my zoom lens I could see that they were cooking seafood and baking potatoes. How fun would that be?
This picture I took of Cameron and her little son still in her belly was my favorite pic I took during her visit. Her little man Dune is now 2 months old.
I had an absolutely amazing time checking out Korea with Cameron!
