Yes, go chasing waterfalls
My Jeju life is shaping into a fascinating routine (I know, how can there be a “routine” with 3 out of 6 days spent in a place?). Perception of time is such a funny thing. Seogwipo is starting to feel like my “hometown”; I know my way around my neighborhood, I have my favorite coffee spot, and my favorite running route. It feels as if I have been here for weeks. Unfamiliarity has a perplexing way of slowing time down in the same way that the familiar speeds it up. My time on Whidbey Island absolutely flew by; while I was learning new things and getting to know a new town and island, it was my home region, and what can be more familiar than being with one’s parents and child? Compare that to being on a new continent, across the world, immersed in a new language and culture, with almost no familiarity. It is so damn awesome. My only point of familiarity: the sea. She remains my constant.
Side note: Much to my delight and chagrin, I made the World Marathon Majors lottery for the NYC Marathon this fall. This is excellent; New York is one of the very hardest marathons to get into by lottery, and I am not the spring chicken, speedy runner that I used to be, who can get fast time bonuses or whatever anymore. But also, it means I have to do SOME degree of training while on this trip. Which is not ideal, especially given the combination of schedule, jetlag, heat, humidity, and my desire to focus my attention elsewhere. At the same time, I have also always enjoyed experiencing a new place from a runner’s perspective. So this morning, I decided to run speed repeats on the Saeyeongyo Bridge so that I could also watch the haenyeo working in the water. There were two haenyeo working in the water at the time, and I thought it fun to gamify my run a little: whenever I heard one of them whistle, I accelerated. Suffice to say, they whistled enough that I was thoroughly exhausted after 1 mile of repeats (to be fair, anaerobic work is my weak spot). They unknowingly helped coach me and played a role in my preparation for the NYC Marathon.
Onward: I ventured out of my “hometown” later in the day. Found some more waterfalls, a botanical garden, and a beach, 30 minutes to the west. The Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls were a set of 3 spectacular falls amidst a walkway of bridges, all with paintings and carvings depicting the search for waters of “eternal life”.
One of the stunning falls at Cheonjeyeon. There are rock formations like these in various parts of the island.
The beach was pristine and provided a nice reprieve from a very active morning. There were families, a nice father and daughter from Turkey who were visiting for a dentist conference, and a pack of Korean teenage boys who delighted in knocking each other off of flotation structures in the water. The sand is a unique blend of fine white grains and the coarse black basalt from which the island was made. The water felt exquisitely refreshing.
Jungmun Saekdal Beach
From there, I found my way to the Jeju Botanical Gardens, a diverse curation of flora both inside a uniquely designed greenhouse and in a series of outdoor walkways, each with a different regional or ecological theme. It was peaceful to explore and the sections on native plant life, in particular, deepened my appreciation for the natural uniqueness of Jeju.
Inside the main greenhouse at the Jeju Botanical Gardens
My evening activities included finding a haenyeo-owned restaurant and enjoying a seafood meal. The hostess (who may or may not have been a haenyeo, that wasn’t entirely clear) did not speak English (most here do not), and my capabilities in Korean essentially just allow me to say ‘please’, and ‘thank you’ in situations of ordering food, and so I just ordered what she told me to. This ended up being a large plate of sliced lobster tails and abalone, garnished with vegetables and various sauces. It was indeed very fresh and delicious. At the Camp on Friday, I look forward to learning about food preparation and how certain types of foods are selected and paired.
Haenyeo art in the restaurant
Next up: SCUBA diving on Thursday!
I hadn’t planned on doing any SCUBA diving on Jeju, but upon arriving, it made no sense not to. There are dive shops on practically every block, and I found a PADI-specific shop very close to my hotel. I went in yesterday and spoke through a translation app with the young woman in the office to schedule the dive. She was very nice and the translation app mostly worked very well. Before leaving, I said into the app that I was on Jeju to go diving with the haenyeo and hadn’t planned on doing any SCUBA, but am excited to do so. I think the app didn’t properly translate “haenyeo” specifically, and maybe instead said “women divers”, and I think the she thought I meant that I only wanted to go diving with other women. She then spoke back into the app to reassure me that, despite the shortcoming of being a man, the diver leading my trip is very experienced and has many certifications. I gave a mildly-approving nod.
A truly Jeju conversation.
