The Adventures of Team Daniels: Rock The Boat

One of the best weeks of the summer--vacation! We still can't return to this country without a two-week quarantine (refer to previous post on June 15 about the joys of quarantine), so it was destination Jeju again. To mix things up a bit, I thought we could take the ferry this time. However, I nixed that idea when I couldn't make the website work by holding my phone in front of the computer screen to translate. Some of the translations were not making sense and boxes that should have been popping up weren't.

So I looked up airfare and a car rental. Apparently everyone else on the mainland thought they would go to Jeju again, too, because there were no rental cars available. The first car rental site I pulled up said 'no results.' Then I tried two or three more, and not one car was to be found. I even tried dates a week earlier and later. So it was back to the ferry.

Abe asked one of the Korean admins at work to help us book our trip. It made me feel better to know that they had problems with the website malfunctioning, as well. Finally they got us booked on a ferry leaving from a port in our home city. The not-so-good part is that it departed at 11:00pm. Yes, you read that right. Twenty-three hundred hours. It was an over-night ferry.

Besides for being a few hours past Abe's bedtime, everything went well. We drove onto the ferry and they locked up our wheels.

We totally felt like we were on the Titanic! That's Daisy playing her best Rose..."I'll never let go."

It was exciting exploring the ship and finding our rooms.

We got two rooms, side by side. Much like on the inside of a camper, the table was attached to the wall and the chairs were attached with chains, in case the water got rough.

Naturally we had to explore.

Regardless of what city you are in, nightlife in Korea resembles Vegas. Lots of pretty colored neon lights.

It didn't take Daddy long to go to bed, but the rest of us were not done exploring yet. This picture cracked us up. Eli has a bad habit of not looking at the camera. I told him to make sure he was looking this time.

We did some 노럐방 noraebang (karoake). Then we hit the hay.

At 5:40 there was an announcement that we of course did not literally understand, but we knew it meant that we had landed. We jumped out of bed, packed our bags, drove off the boat and were free to roam the island.

We were near the fish market. Look at these shiny fish. From far away they look like a polished silver metal.

We drove past The Mysterious Dokkaebi Road.

It's the road where it looks like you are going down hill, but if you stop and put the car in neutral it 'climbs' the hill instead of going down. 도깨비Dokkaebi is known as a trickster goblin. This monument makes him look a lot more scary than ornery.

Korean Jeju Black Pork is a favorite product of the island. These two sculptures are a nod to the positive impact of the pork industry for Jeju; the base of the sculpture says 'Please make a wish to a pig symbolizing abundance of health and fecundity.' Let's hope the second meaning of fecundity, the ability to produce new ideas, and not the first, the ability to produce an abundance of offspring, is what I got from wishing on this pig.

The 돌하로방 dol hareubang, or grandfather made of stone (돌 = stone and 하로방 = grandfather) , are located everywhere on Jeju. The little men were once considered gods offering both fertility as well as protection against demons traveling between realities. They usually have their hands on their tummies, but this guy is making a heart with his hands, because Koreans often pose like in photos.

Going to bed well after midnight, waking up before 6:00 am, and taking a winding road trip rocked these kids to sleep like little babies.

Our next stop for the day was 소인국 Soingook Theme Park, where it was 'time to become a giant.'

'The world grows smaller as Jeju grows bigger' in this park, or so they claim. Famous buildings and monuments from all over the world are recreated to scale here.

There are over 100 miniatures from 30ish countries. Many I recognized, several I have seen in person, and there was a lot that I didn't know. It was interesting. Not highly exciting, but interesting.

This is the federal Korean courthouse.

She's like me with her three babies.

Oops. We got caught.

The story behind the theme park is about a small giant named Lizat. He was much smaller than all the other giants in Giant Kingdom, so he left. He eventually landed here, at Soingook. Like Lizat, 'everyone at Soingook is a giant.'

Wait, are we in Korea or on Abbey Road?

The vent was so drafty, it caught me and my friend Marilyn by surprise.

Jeju is known for their 할라봉 hallabongs. They are a tangerine that is native to the island which happen to be pretty big in size.

The name is derived from Hallasan Mountain because the top of the tangerine resembles the mountain.

After the theme park we hit parasailing.

I had parasailed many years ago, but it was on the bucket list for everyone else.

We went down the coast to the 주상절리 Jusangeolli Cliffs. We saw these from the top last year. I thought they would be even more impressive from the water. We were far enough away from the shore that you couldn't really see the prism-shaped rocks that were formed from the cooling of lava.

The Pops took the first turn.

Next up was me and Lijee. He was just a little apprehensive. He didn't want to do the part where the driver slows down so your legs dangle in the water and then he hits it so you fly back up in the air. We did it anyway.

This is Daisy and Zekers getting their legs in the water.

This might have been scary to watch if it lasted very long. It was very quick and I snapped this photo right at the point that it looked like they were drowning. It didn't look scary in real time.

A vacation must: pool time!

We had just finished a competitive game of Marco Polo. I have never seen any Koreans play that game; I wonder what they think when they watch us.

I missed my Chuey, but I did my morning walks without her. This was in the town of 서귀포 Seogwipo.

The next activity was a family dive. We went to the same place as last summer and they remembered us.

Those wet suits were very thick and very hard to pull on.

We took a short car tide to the shore.

We took a boat ride to 몬섬 Munseom Island.

You can see the top of a submarine by that boat. That's the same submarine we rode last year.

Those full tanks are kinda heavy.

We jumped in right off the rocks.

DanFam5

The visibility wasn't the best, but every dive is a good dive in my book.

Lijee

DaiFranDan

Zekers

Brah

After diving the kids needed to relax in the pool.

We had reservations for a sunset yacht cruise, but it was threatening to rain.

Thankfully the rain held off and we were yachting it for the evening!

The water is my happy place. Any boat, any water will do.

There was an announcement about this place and everyone came to look and take pictures. No clue what he said.

There were my people, enjoying boat snacks.

Here I was, enjoying boat drinks.

This was another place that was impressive for some reason, according to an announcement and photos taken.

And the sun was finally starting to set.

That's Mt. Halla back there.

We were able to go fishing!

It wasn't deep sea fishing. We just lowered our bait into the water and waited for a bite.

Look who caught a fish!

It was a pretty little pumpkin fish. We let him go back into the water.

I enjoyed the free drinks with my sunset cruise.

Daisy and I took a little evening walk and enjoyed the lights along the way. Remember my earlier comment about Vegas lights?

I found a few more sites on another morning walk. I think these are persimmons.

Jeju is known for their 해녀 haenyeo divers. These are woman skin divers who hold their breath for several minutes as they dive down to gather sea creatures for harvesting. Haenyeo are on murals and benches and sculptures all over the island.

These are one of my favorite wildflowers from Texas. It always amazes me when I see the same plants and flowers 5,000 miles from home.

Wandering Jew is also a plant from home.

Many homes have gates like this in front, as well as stairs outside leading to the roof. This house is a bit fancier than others.

I ran across two of these Many-Tooth Snakes, or Black-Headed Snakes. The first day I almost stepped on it and he slithered away too quickly to get a photo. The second one I came across was a friendly little guy.

Jeju Stone Park was a stop only for me. No one else was interested in looking at rocks. But I felt like it was something cultural that we should see while we were there. It is said to display the identity, indigenous spirit, and artistic value of Jeju culture to its full extent; how could we not visit?

The main theme focuses on the foundation and identity of Jeju Island, based on the myth of 설몬대할망 Seolmundae Halmang (Grandmother Seolmundae), who created Jeju Island and the stones of 오뱩 장곤 Obaek Janggun. (O= five, baek= hundred, janggun=leader of an army, so Five Hundred Generals.)

The oral legend was passed from generation to generation, so it varies slightly. The first version I read, and my favorite, says that Seolmundae Halmang had 500 sons. There was a famine, so she sent all her sons out to forage for food while she stayed back to make porridge. She chose to sacrifice herself for her children, throwing herself in the bowl. The sons came home and devoured the soup, until the youngest found a bone. Upon discovering it was their mother, he ran away in ager and grief to 차괴Chagwi Island, becoming a large stone. Once learning that they consumed their mother in the soup, in their grief the rest of the sons eventually became stones, as well.

Another version says she slipped while stirring the boiling soup and fell in, drowning. I like the idea that she willingly gave her life for her sons, rather than she accidentally fell.

This place, on the west side of Hallasan Mountain, is called

엥실 Yeongsil. These rocks aresaid to be the Five Hundred Generals.

The Sky Pond symbolizes a large cauldron used by Grandmother Seolmundae. There is a museum located below the Sky Pond, underground.

Grandmother Seolmundae was more than just the mother of 500 generals. There is also a legend about her being the creator of Jeju Island. She was a giant goddess who created Mt. Halla with just seven shovels full of dirt. One version I read said the dirt she dropped while making Mt. Halla created the 360 volcanic cones, called 오름 oreums, on the island. Another funnier version said the she farted in her sleep and caused fires, so she carried mud in her skirt to put the fires out. As mud and dirt fell through the holes in her skirt it created the 360 volcanic cones. She was so tall that she would use Mt. Halla as a pillow while her feet dangled off. This scale model of Jeju is a bird's eye view, created so tourists could feel what is was like to be as large as Grandmother Seolmundae. The last version of Seolmundae Halmang and her demise stems from the being a giant. She was boastful about how big she was, stepping into large bodies of water that were not deep on her. However, when she jumped into 몰장오리물 Muljangorimul on Mt. Halla, she drowned in the bottomless spring.

The museum housed artifacts regarding volcanoes. As I explained before, Jeju Island was formed due to a volcanic eruption. Outside, the statues tell legends of how the island was formed. Inside, the museum used science to tell how the island was formed.

These are called volcanic bombs. They were created as fragments became ejected and flew through the air, many being formed into these spheres. Volcanic bombs have many names, including breadcrust bombs, ribbon bombs, spindle bombs, spheroidal bombs (which are these pictured below) and cow-dung bombs.

I'm thinking this might be a cow-dung bomb.

Lava tree molds are created when lava flow contacts a big tree trunk. The lava rapidly cools to become a solid the shape of the trunk. Inside the lava column, the tree burns to ashes and remains hollow.

It was at this point that I was taking pictures and reading signs and everyone left me behind. This was the last I saw of them until I made it to the car, where they were waiting on me.

Volcanic stones are found all over Jeju. They have been used over the centuries in farming, fishing, stock raising, transportation, communication, and defense. They have been fashioned as tools, fences, cookware, games and toys, and idols of worship.

The millstones used for barley and millet are called 만방걔malbangae. One malbangae was used for every 30 farm houses. Most millstones are round, but I thought these square ones were unique.

These little statues, about one meter high, are called 동자속 dongjasok. The name means 'child tombstone.' Two of them are placed on the left and right of a tomb to wait for the buried. They hold different objects in their hands, expressing affection for the tokens by the living for the dead. The dongjasok are either buried on the site or moved to shrines to become objects of worship when the tombs are moved. I'm not sure why the tombs are moved, nor am I sure if these 'child tombstones' are actually for deceased children or just child-sized guardians of tombs. I would like to know how old these particular dongjasok are. The stories they could tell...

These are called gate stones. The entranceway to a private house is called an 온에 ole. The gate stones, or

중주석 jungjoosok, had one to five holes for wooden crossbars, called 중낭 jungnang. The gates had obvious functions, like defining boundaries and keeping animals from coming and going. But they also indicated the absence of the residents; the number of wooden jungnangs told visitors if the owners were home, gone for a short time, or gone for a long time.

Part of the park is dedicated to 돌한마을 dolhan maeul, or a traditional village of thatched-roof houses.

I mentioned the dalharubangs all over Jeju. The stone grandfathers were placed face to face at the sides of castle gate entrances as guardian deities to offer protection and prosperity.

This little building, called a 'muddle,' is named Mother's Room. "This lava stone looks like a loving mother standing with her son in her arms and reminds of Grandma Seolmundae whose maternal love is deeper than the sea and higher than the mountain."

After looking at rocks, I planned something the kids might enjoy more. We went to 소목완 템마파코 Sumokwon Theme Park. It was a hodge-podge of random features.

The theme park contains the Ice Museum.

Some of these sculptures I saw in pictures. I wondered how long they have been there and how often they have to remake them.

The next part of ~~the rando~~ Sumokwon Theme Park was the VR games.

Daisy and I rode a roller coaster. It was weird when I would turn my head to talk to her but I couldn't see her.

Moving on to more randomness, a 5D theater.

Backing up a couple Ds, we took pictures in the 3D photo museum.

Darn little lizard stole my wallet.

I have always hoped that my kids grow taller than me, but this is ridiculous.

The apples of my eye.

My Daisy wants to be a teacher one day. She looks like a natural.

Koreans are not shy when it comes to defecation. We went to the Poop Cafe once. I have seen a few museums about poop. And they seem to find humor about the butt. Clearly we do, too.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee; he knocked my teeth right out of my mouth.

My very own dolharubang.

And that's the end of the theme park.

Abe and I were waiting on the kids to join us at the swanky pool. The swanky pools have lots of rules...swim caps are a must and tattoos are not allowed. We only have 4 caps and I have a small ankle tatoo. 😬

There was a pool area inside where people were following the rules. Outside it was mayhem! No swim caps and I let my ink show!

I'm not gonna lie. The kids and I have not embraced Korean cuisine. This picture is proof that *sometimes* we do eat at Korean restaurants. At BBQ places the meat is brought to the table uncooked. There is a BBQ pit in the middle of the table with a flue to suck up the smoke. Sometimes you cook the meat yourself and sometimes they come to the table and cook it for you. Bunches of 반찬 banchan, or side dishes, are brought to create your 쌈 ssam, which is a lettuce wrap. One of Abe's coworkers taught us, "One ssam, one mouth." It's pretty big to eat in one bite, so I nibble at it, not in one mouth, and it makes a mess. I have had waitresses come to my table and wrap it for me because I was not doing it to their liking. 😂 One thing you can say about Koreans is that they don't waste time reinventing the wheel; when they find something that works they want you to do it that way.

Jeju is the only place in the country that boasts of black pork. I thought maybe it was how the pork was prepared, like 'blackened pork.' But no. The pigs are literally black-haired. I told the kids I heard a story of how the hair was left on the meat so you could know for sure it was black pork. Daggumit, when we looked closely at ours we saw the little black hairs! 😳 The kids and I were out. Thank goodness, we had ordered two different types of meat and we filled up on the first one, without the black hair. Of course Abe was not phased by those little hairs.

Even though my walks were lonely without Chuey, I continued to do my morning walks without her along the coast in Jeju City.

This day was dedicated to 우도 Udo Island. It was about an hour drive. All along the roads throughout Jeju, you see black volcanic rock fences. They divide farm plots, yards, businesses, and whatever else you might want divided. You can see there is nothing holding it together; they're just stacked on each other. The stone walls are called

제주밭담 Jeju batdam. Jeju Island is known as 'a country of stones' and 'a country of winds.' The volcanic stones had to be removed from the soil so it could be cultivated. Those stones were then used to create the walls. More than just dividing walls, the Jeju batdam also serve to block the wind and stop soil erosion.

Over the course of 1,000 years, these black lava stone fences were created end-to-end, stretching over the landscape. When viewed from above, it is said to resemble the shape of a dragon, earning the moniker 'the 20,000km black dragon stone fences of Jeju.' What I find fascinating is that this stone fence is longer than half the circumference of the earth (according to a paper published by Jeju Batdam Agricultural System).

The rice fields of the mainland are wet fields, where as these are called dry fields. Some of the crops grown here are millet, barley, white radish, carrot, potato and garlic.

Another fun fact: when dividing fields the fences are called Jeju batdam, but the same walls separating houses and other buildings from the roadside are called 제주올담 Jeju uldam.

Enough of my farming tangent; we drove all the way to the coast and boarded a ferry to take us to Udo Island.

This is 성산일출봉 Seongsan Ilchulbang (seong = castle, san = mountain, ilchulbang = sunrise). It was formed by hydrovolcanic activity about 5,000 years ago. It is also called Sunrise Peak. Maybe I will climb it at sunrise one day...

This is Udo /oo-doh/ Island. The name derives from the hanja (Chinese characters) word 우 /oo/ meaning cow and do /doh/ meaning island.

{When we say 'Udo Island' we are actually saying U Island Island, but for some reason the romanization adds the extra descriptor. Same for Hallasan Mountain; we are really saying Halla Mountain Mountain, and Banpodaegyo Bridge is Banpo Bridge Bridge. But they are all common English ways to say them. Just a little language lesson there.}

It is said that the island looks like a cow lying down. I didn't see it.😐 Technically it's a lava plateau formed from a volcanic eruption during the Goryeo Dynasty in the year 1007. According to records from King Sejong, in the month of June a volcano erupted for 7 days and nights, covering everything with clouds and fogs, resulting in darkness. When the activity settled, a newly created mountain appeared in the middle of the sea. Present day Udo is Jeju's mini me.

The ferry ride was only about 15 minutes.

I had read that you can rent tiny little scooter cars sort of like Smart Cars but even smaller to drive around the island. I brought our International Drivers Licenses, which I read would work. Unfortunately they did not. You needed a stamp in the 'A' column and we had stamps in the 'B' column. That also stopped us from renting motorbikes. I was extremely disappointed and if I'm honest a little perturbed. It is legal for me to drive a real automobile down the freeway at 100km an hour, but I couldn't toodle around in an electric scooter going 10km an hour. 😡

So we settled on electric bikes. You had to be 15 years old to rent them! Thankfully, we found two tandem bikes and Zeke was old enough to rent a single. The island itself is not quite 2 1/2 square miles, but the trail around it is about 7 miles. We were glad to have the bikes so we didn't have to walk.

So, confession time. Daisy and I were suffering from PTSD a bit at first. Last fall Abe and I were on a tandem bike and Daisy was following. We rounded a corner fast to make it up the hill and a car was coming right at us. We wrecked directly in front of the bumper. Daisy was freaking out that she and I were going to wreck and honestly I was a little afraid we would, too. There was a lot of traffic of cars and scooters and motorbikes on these tiny little roads.

The coastline of Udo is dotted with many lighthouses. This one is called 연대 Yeondae Watchtower.

That little square building on the left is a 봉수 bongsu, or a beacon mound (bong=beacon and su=smoke). It was one of tools used by the military to convey message via smoke signals. This particular one is also called 망루 mangru, which means watchtower.

As we biked on, we stopped at 하고수동해변 Hagosudong Beach long enough to get our feet wet. 'The Saigon of Korea' is its nickname.

The next stop was a place called 비영도 Biyangdo. It's a tiny island off of the little island of Udo, off the large island of Jeju, off of the mainland. It is connected by a short bridge.

When you are near the ocean you often see these large water bugs that scurry and are kind of like huge cockroaches. When I asked the kids to step out there for a picture Zeke reluctantly responded with disgust in his voice, "But everything is moving."

After biking a short bit more, we came to a turn in the road with a hill.

When the corner opened up we were greeted by this magnificent sight!

This is why Udo has the nickname 'The Scotland of Korea.'

The circle in the water was made by a boat, not a whirlpool or anything freaky. You can see the layers in the rocks from the lava flow.

갑멀러 Geommeolle Beach is also known as Black Sand Beach.

I'm assuming it's because all of the black volcanic rock created black sand.

Udo Island is known for its peanut crop. When in Rome...peanut ice cream with an awesome view.

There are two caves at the bottom of 우도봉 Udobong (Udo Peak). You can see the entrance to one of them in the picture.

Look at this cute little guy.

It didn't take too long for Daisy and I to become comfortable on the bike. At least for me. Daisy and I were fighting each other the whole time; I was always trying to pedal faster and she was trying to slow us down. The electric part of the bike was pretty cool. Hills were easy!

So long, Cow Island!

Most of the time when I look at the Koreans, I realize that people are people. We may live 5,000 miles apart and be from different backgrounds and cultures, but we're all basically the same. But there are other times that our cultural differences really stand out. Furniture, or lack thereof, is a great example of that. This is a room on the ferry. It is void of furniture because people sit or lie on the floor. Of course, there is the little stream in the middle where shoes must be left, but everyone is fine on the floor. Oh, the horror for Americans to sit or lie on the floor!

I had found a kayak rental online not far from the ferry port. We found it and purchased rentals. It started pretty good. We got two glass bottom boats, but they only fit 2 people each, so Abe got his own. The man said he might get wet in his boat and we didn't have swimsuits, so Abe wore waders. Doesn't he look cute?

The area by the kayaks was the most brilliant color of green.

Then we learned why it was such a brilliant green. Two ladies walked up with the gross green stuff all over their legs.

IT. WAS. SEAWEED.

We were expected to wade through that seaweed to get to the boats.

Y'all.

It was the most disgusting thick, soupy, smelly stuff. As I was shuffling through it, I kept thinking, "Please don't fall. Please don't fall."

It was so gross.

And there was so much of it. I'm thinking it must be seaweed season. This business surely can't always operate this way. As we drove away I noticed the beautiful greenery all along the coast. However, after learning how disgusting and stinky it was, the beautiful green color somehow lost some of its appeal.

Anyway, once we got in our little boats, we didn't have to paddle far and the seaweed dissipated. We were in the 하도 Hado Sea. Seongsan Ilchulbang was in the distance.

I spotted a huge jellyfish! When we paddled to it, he kept hiding under Abe's kayak.

The worst part about being done was that we had to go back through the stinky seaweed soup to get onto dry land.

They had a hose to rinse off, so we didn't have to get in the car with that muck all over our legs and feet. I scrubbed my feet really well in the shower when we got home, and I still found some tiny bits of green on my feet the next day. 😖

I love Christmas lights. I have missed them the past two years, so I thought the Jeju Light Garden would be fun.

Remember that poor little black haired pig at dinner?

As part of our entrance fee we we were allowed to take pictures inside the photo studio. They printed our favorite three.

Unfortunately, since we had been riding bikes in the heat all morning and then waded through stinky muck to go kayaking, we were all a little worse for the wear.

There were names for the exhibits: rose garden

starlight tunnel

more rose garden

solar system

There were photo sessions where they were singing and dancing around a small 'bonfire' and shooting off fireworks. We enjoyed their fireworks above the solar system.

light Jeju Island

star whale

peacock

hearts

love birds

palm tree road

Jeju love

The website says, "Light is love." Look inside the letter 'o' to see a photo bomber.

rose proposal

Jurassic Park

Santa's sleigh

swan love

Whilst driving through downtown Jeju City the prior evening looking for (and successfully locating) a yummy Mexican restaurant, I spotted a large, walled temple. That was my destination for my morning walk the following day.

Here is an example of jeongnang. Those are the logs that are placed in the jeongjuseok, or the two stone pillars with the holes in them which basically served as today's version of an out-of-office autoreply to emails.

관덕정 Gwandeokjeong Hall was built in the mid 1400s, making it one of the oldest standing buildings on Jeju. Gwandeok means 'an exercise of mind and virtue' because it was a training ground to strengthen the mind and soul of soldiers. It is Korean Designated Treasure No 322. It was closed so I could only look around outside.

하마비Hamabi is a stone that informed anyone who was lower in status than the governor that they had to dismount their horse to go through that area. The original hamabi here was replaced by this one in 1834.

The flagpole support had a special name of 기간지주 giganjiju.

During the reign of King Sejong in 1448, the pavilion was used as a military facility to give orders to the troops. In 1924 the Japanese surprisingly did not destroy it, as it seems they did most important buildings, but they did alter it. The pavilion was restored to its original state in 2006.

Walking back to the hotel, I came across a fire station. It looks pretty similar to the ones in the US, with the exception of the phone number.

Until next time...

My people look so small next to the ferry.

We reserved a private room. This is what we got.

I was on deck checking out the port.

We had a really large ship and not much space to maneuver to get out. The captain made it look easy.

At first when we were booking, I didn't want the slowest ferry. There were three other options, all of them less time on the ferry. Silly, silly me.

On the way back I sat on outside on the deck pretty much the entire time. Remember that water is my happy place? I had almost five hours to calm my soul.

I went in periodically to check on everyone. Who needs furniture when you have those mats on the floor?

At one point we passed another ship. I thought how random, in this huge ocean, that we would cross paths with another ship. Then common sense kicked in and I realized they were probably running the same route from the mainland to Jeju. It wasn't so random after all.