Outdoor, Cultural, Sabbath excursion (12. May)

This past weekend (May 11- 13), I had wonderful guests over from Seoul--well, directly from Seoul, but from other countries as well. My friend from Germany (I visited her this last December in her hometown near Frankfurt) and a friend of hers who is Chinese-American were my wonderful guests.
After Sabbath lunch, one of our Weekend Activity regulars took us in his jeep and drove us to a few sights as we made our way down to Seogwipo (where my guests were going to spend Saturday night). Here are the pictures I want to share from that Sabbath afternoon.



*Just for the record, I don't post pictures of my friends (at least, not their faces) in order to protect and respect their privacy.

1st Stop: (만장굴) Manjanggul--Lava Tube

This is the only picture of the cave I was able to get. It was too dark for my camera.

Korean, Chinese, English, and Japanese . . . which language do you prefer?

This is just 1 part of the cave. It's 1 km long.

The apex of the cave.

2nd Stop: (성산일출봉) Seongsan Sunrise Peak

From the car.

Who knew it'd be part of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World?

I couldn't wait to get there.

Alright, we parked the car, now let's go!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of this place.

Oh! We can ride horses!
Too bad I didn't.
I don't think we really had the time.

Just look at all the green . . .

I'm excited and ready.

Ok, last picture here. Let's get some more further up, shall we?

A view from about half-way up.

I'm excited.

Looks like a face emerging from the cliff.

Our driver/guide/photographer caught us unawares.

Looking behind us.

Priceless

Now, we need to get down.
It's not as bad as it looks.

Just check out the green!

That's a good idea.
But we had places to go.

Udo in the distance.

Looking back up.

Ah, the sea!

Ah, you can check out the women divers working down there if you want.

I can't get enough of this place.

I just really love it!!

Let's try another point of view.

I want to go . . .

My humble attempt at a stitched panoramic shot.

Down to the women divers.
We didn't go.
We left to go somewhere else.

3rd Stop: (성읍민속마을) Seong-eup Folk Village

We checked out a typical Jeju house from times unknown. This simple contraption caught my attention.
This was how they collected--and filtered--rain water.
Genius.

All over Jeju, you can find statues of women carrying a huge pot in a basket on their backs.
Well, I decided to try it for myself. Didn't quite get the correct pose, though.
It was pretty light (it was also empty).

The sign (and map) of the folk village.
It's quite big and there are people who still live here and use some of the same methods from centuries ago.

The rest of the weekend wasn't as eventful, but it was nice. One had to leave for Seoul Sunday night and the other left Monday early afternoon. I was glad to have my German friend around--and finally practice some German with someone who can and did correct me. I was also glad to meet her friend.

I wish them all the best.

Few Random Flowers

Spring is definitely here. 

I've been seeing so many gorgeous flowers that made me kick myself for not taking a camera along.

One Sabbath afternoon, I went out for a walk with the intention of catching some of God's living masterpieces. My only regret is that my camera cannot reflect the beauty I saw as I took these pictures.

Please forgive me and my camera, as it is over 6 years old.

Not a flower, but it still captured my imagination.

These are the best pictures from what I've taken that day.

Again, please forgive me.

Glimpses of Term Break

From April 27-30, I had a few friends come down to visit me and tour Jeju. Naturally, it wasn't enough time, but we were able to enjoy it.

Here are just a few glimpses of said break.

I went with a few over to see where they were staying. It's a really nice bed-and-breakfast about 50 min. from the city with a lonely beach about a 5-min. walk away.

This is from that beach.

If you want some seaweed, there's plenty to make you content.

Looking towards the right (east).

Looking towards the left (west).

I like this place.

Ah, the peace and solitude.

Sure you don't want seaweed?

Around a small harbor.

Next day (Saturday afternoon), I took the groups over to a trail behind Jeju National Museum. It meets an Olle trail.

When you're going up the hill, this is what you can see if you take a break and look behind you.

From the top of the hill, looking towards the next one.

Halla Mountian (the tallest mountain in what belongs to South Korea).

Remember that view from a short pause as you're climbing? Here's how it looks like from the top.

From another place, this is the hill we climbed and from where we took all these pictures.

Do you see something a little yellow-ish? No, your monitor isn't dirty. It's the picture. It's yellow dust. This comes from the deserts of China. Yeah, it gets all the way here. It's worse than pollen.

Not precisely the "angel of death," but it can cause several inconveniences.

1 of several lighthouses on this island (and Korea).

A view of the harbour and the sea.

Next day (Sunday) they really wanted to climb Halla Mountain. They were late in arriving at the bus terminal, so I started taking pictures. I also talked with my student who came along for the climb and foreign companionship.

My student did the honors.

"When is this bus supposed to come?"

From the start of the trail (Yeong-shil trail--we had to walk about 2.5km from the bus stop to the trail entrance).

Our trail.

The schedule (you may choose from 4 languages).

This was my 2nd time going to Halla Mountain. I still didn't make it to the top.

I believe we started a bit too late AND the weather was against us.

Now I know: NEVER climb Halla Mountain when it's raining. That's really dangerous.

If I must, get water-proof gear before attempting it.

Wonder when my 3rd time will be . . .

Will I go on yet another trail?

Will I make it next time?

. . . we're yet to find out.