Glamping - Goseong

 Yay for summer shutdown! The first week of August many businesses in Korea get a week of vacation called summer shutdown. Usually the expats do foreign travel during this week, but, Covid. Instead we got to tag along with a fun group to go glamping!

We were not sure what to expect. The kids were pretty wary to go camping in a tent. When we arrived we were all pleasantly surprised. Beds, running water and a restroom, a sink, a fridge, and a dining table.

There was a nice view to boot.

Bonus: we got 'service' ramen! (That's what they call free, or 'on the house.')

Lots of fun activities were available. 

DARTS

PLAY AREA

BBQing

TRAMPOLINE

GAMES

WALKING ALONG THE PIER

This sign says Rafael, the name of the glamping spot.

POOL TABLE

S'MORES

EATING

SWIMMING

LITTLE YELLOW FRENCH GUY

(That's not the exact translation of the game, but close enough.)

PORCH SWING

MORE EATING

MORE SWIMMING

MORE BBQing

    MORE DARTS

BIKING

This photo was taken right before the mayhem started. We were riding on the pier and Daisy went through a tiny little water puddle. It happened to have a thin layer of slimy mud in it and her bike totally slipped and she wrecked. Thankfully she was not really hurt, but she was ready to go back. We decided not to tell her that her back side was full of mud until we got back to the campsite.

Abe and I were riding a tandem bike. Those are not as easy to ride as they look. When we got to the driveway we were putting the pedal to the metal because there was a steep hill with a slight curve. As we were rounding the curve a car was heading straight toward us. The bike was hard to control, and instead of turning to the right to avoid the car, we veered to the left and skidded across the asphalt and landed exactly in front of the car. We were sprawled all over the road inches away from his bumper. Praise the Lord that the man stopped because he would have driven right over both me and Abe. Daisy was behind us, watching what she thought was her parents' simultaneous death. She's pretty anxious about the little things; she totally freaked out thinking that both her parents were dying a violent death at the same time right in front of her eyes. This time her hysteria was justified. Our sweet friend Astrid was with us and I think she was absolutely shocked that she watched all 3 of us crash both bikes and nearly get killed. This picture is the aftermath of my bloody toe and Daisy's dirty back.

I am very embarrassed that I wrecked right in front of a car that seriously could have killed us. Plus I wore sandals (even though for a hot minute it crossed my mind that I was not wearing tennis shoes but I thought it wouldn't matter, because adults don't get in bicycle wrecks). Part of my toenail got ripped off and my knee was all scraped up. I saw it as a stupid tax. But my tandem partner got me all fixed up.

The next day we went for a walk on the same hill and I said we should look for blood. I was actually kidding, but we did find my toenail polish left on the ground.

MORE VIEWS

MORE DARTS

MORE POOL

MORE EATING

MORE PIER WALKING

FRIENDS

This is Eli's buddy Julius.

This is Daisy's buddy Astrid.

MORE POOL

MORE SWIMMING

MORE S'MORES

MORE BBQing.

It looks like these two are in a serious BBQ battle.

MORE FRIENDS

I found a praying mantis and fed him a hot dog. He devoured it. So maybe it was a she.

SPARKLERS

MORE GAMES

The kids outlasted the grownups when it came time for bed.

FUN MEMORIES

[August 5-7]

Legend of Byeoljubujeon - Bito Do Island

Even though it was blazing hot and humid, I wanted to have the family get out and explore. We we settled on nearby Bito Do Island.

We pulled up to this sweet bunny statue and bunny farm.

Turns out it is not such a sweet story. Here is the Legend Of Byeoljubujeon, related to Woldeungdo, Rabbit Island, Turtle Island, and Mok Island. There are several versions out there because it is an oral folktale, but this is the main idea:

Once upon a time, there was a rabbit couple living happily around Bito Island. One day the rabbit couple was deceived by the sweet talk of a bewildered housewife (turtle) who was sent by the Namhae Sea Dragon. The husband rabbit rides on the turtle to Younggung Palace, which is in the sea. Upon arrival, the rabbit learned the dragon king was sick and needed a rabbit liver. Realizing he was going to die, the rabbit told a tale about his liver being hung to dry in a cassia tree on the hillside on every half moon.  The Sea Dragon King believed the rabbit and told the turtle housewife to bring him back to his land. The rabbit then rode the turtle back home. When they arrived off the coast of Woldeungdo Island, the rabbit saw the island reflected in the moonlight. He mistakingly jumped on the land reflected by the moonlight into the water and died on the spot, creating a rabbit-shaped island (Tokki Island). The turtle housewife would not return to the palace because she was worried about being punished by the Dragon King, and she became an island shaped like a turtle (Turtle Island). Mrs. Rabbit died anxiously awaiting her husband's return while staring at the South Sea every day from the tip of the stone. She fell off the rock tip and died, becoming an island (Mok Island). Currently, residents of Woldeungdo Island have called it Doldang Island after the first letter of "Come back".

There was a big camp ground and park, but it was closed, because, Corona. We found this little gem, though. Clearly this statue is on the way to the palace before the rabbit learns his liver is about to be harvested and the turtle runs away from the Dragon King in fear (well, as fast as a turtle can run anyway).

Here are a bunch of fishing sticks poking out of the water along the shore.

The drive on the island was pretty and I tried to capture it. Obviously I did not succeed. These are the Bito Island Mud Flats. They are 'a coast living preservation site and recognized for being a tourist experience for natural ecology.'

Purple shirts for the trifecta.

[August 4]