November
7th, Thursday
We
had breakfast at the hotel. Not bad (now
that we’re becoming experts in freebie Korean hotel breakfasts). We met Kia at 9 AM.
Our first stop was an overview of jointed
basalt columns (a la Devils Post Pile or Devils Causeway). Lovely overview and lots of photos.
View of the hexagonal posts and one of the spectacular volcanic views on the island
After that we drove to a cascading
waterfall. There is a closer waterfall
to our hotel, but Kia suggested we could see that on our own tomorrow. The cascading waterfall was gorgeous, with a
beautiful rainbow effect at the bottom when the water splashed onto the rocks
below. We walked down some steps and
across some rocks to get closer to the spray.
At the top of the falls were lots of people selling the mandarin
tangerines that Jeju is famous for. Kia
had brought us some from her mom’s garden.
They are very nice.
We managed to trudge down to get a closer look at the waterfall. It was pretty from the top and the bottom
Our next stop was the Jeongbang
waterfall. Smaller, but set in a woodsy
setting. We passed by the shell
house. It had been a restaurant at one
time but the city felt it was precariously perched close to a collapsing sea
cliff, so the restaurant was closed. Too
bad, would have been a pretty place to eat
The shell house
Charlie Kia and me near the smaller waterfall
Lots of little birds grabbing food from the outwash of the waterfall
After we got back to the van we went
to the Seongeup Folk Village. The
village was surrounded by a wall that had been built to protect the villagers
from invading Japanese. The homes had
thatched roofs. In general the house
lay-out was similar to the royal and upper class people’s homes we had seen in
Seoul. A bedroom, a sitting room/dining
room, and a kitchen. The floors of the
bedroom were warmed by a fire underneath, but unlike the royal rooms, there
wasn’t a chimney. The smoke just kind of
sat under the house. The people had a
well for drinking water and a community water reservoir for washing. The outhouse pit was kept “clean” by
pigs. Kia’s grandparents had a home like
these. As a little girl she was
terrified of the pigs. While using the
facilities the snorting pigs would jump up at her. There was a stick sitting nearby to whack the
aggressive pigs. Ack. The roofs were thatched and the thatching was
held down by tied ropes. Quite different
looking than the English thick piles of hay thatching.
These houses were stone on the
outside, then mud filled the walls inside.
Some of the houses were occupied by families, many had been left
empty. When you came to the main house
gate there were three sticks across the walk.
3 sticks across, family gone and not coming back for a while, 2 family
gone but would be back in a few days, one stick, family back in a few
hours. No sticks across – come on
in.
Some of the houses were occupied. Note the ubiquitous kimchee pots.
Kia's grandparents lived in a thatched house like these. She told us she was frightened of an animal near the outdoor toilet. Snakes? Rats? No, pigs that would eat, yech, anything. They'd run up to anyone using the facilities and snurfle and snuffle down below. To a little girl, obviously terrifying.
The village had been the backdrop
for a very popular Korean drama seen all over Asia. There were a bevy of Chinese girls dressed in
Hanbok costumes like the TV show.
A poster for the Korean drama filmed in the village
Our next stop was Sunrise peak,
Seongsan Ilchulbong. The mountain looked
mesa like – or a little like Uluru in Australia. At the top was a crater and we began to
trudge up a very steep grade. Kia hadn’t
counted, but thought she remembered 550 steps to the top. I’d believe at least that many. At the top
was a grass filled crater. Then, like the bear who went over the mountain,
we went down again. The path down was
different than the path up – still a zillion steps – but different.
One of the views from the top
A look down at the area where the Heanyeo demonstration was to take place
The Heanyeo women sold their goods here too.
After they sang a song, they got ready for a demonstration dive. Apparently, the tides weren't too good for actual diving
In the distance, you can see people moving to the left (on the way to the Heanyeo demonstration). Another line to the right (lower down) on their way up to the crater.
We then continued downwards toward a group of Haenyeo divers. They were going to put on a show and
exhibition at 1:30. We sat and rested. At 1:30 they came out in their wetsuits. They sang a song, then went into the water to
show us what it was like to do their dives.
Apparently most of these women are now well above 60+ years in age. Few women are interested in diving now. A dying occupation? Apparently, before the Jeosan dynasty men did
the diving. But what they caught was
subject to taxation. The men began to go
to Busan, and the Josean group sent them back to Jeju and refused to let them
leave. Ultimately, the women were left
to do the diving. The Josean dynasty was
Confucius oriented (they didn’t want to be Buddhist). In Confucianism, men were dominant and women
were subjugated. For the divers, it
meant, ironically, that the women could start earning money. Interesting slap down.
We trudged up another pile of
stairs. At the top there were a number
of places to eat. We went to Paris
Baguette – a nice Korean place. Had a
sandwich and some cruellers, and stared at Sunrise peak. Off again, after lunch.
Cuttle fish drying along the road on the way to the museum
Drove off to the Women Divers
Museum. Many interesting objects there.
Longish drive home. We’re on our own tomorrow.
For dinner we tried the Chicken
place. Kia had checked to see if they
had any chicken that wasn’t fried.
Although she said the menu was in English – it really wasn’t. We ordered a delicious grilled chicken with a
chili sauce. The problem was
language. My one regret on this trip is
my total lack of Korean. We tried to
explain – one chicken dinner for 2 people (it was an entire chicken for heavens
sake). The waitress brought one, then
said something that seemed to tell me another one is coming. I couldn’t stop her until it showed up. 2 chickens for 2 people! Ack. I
gave it back – but then what. The bill
she handed us had charges for 2 chicken dishes.
Charlie’s reaction was to leave the amount for 1 chicken and then run
out the door. I suggested he try to go
over to the cashier and pay the old fashioned way. Fortunately it worked.
