Saturday, March 18, 2006

I'm thinking of selling my bike...

...Because I had the best damn ride today and have trouble thinking there will be a better one. "Leave on a high note", as George Kostanza would say. Okay, the bike isn't for sale; I'm really expecting a fantastic spring of riding.

My course was from Sokcho, go south on the highway past Sunrise Park and then inland to Jinjeon Temple and nearby reservior. From there, I returned inland. having an easy tim eof it thanks to a new tunnel.

At Sunrise park, I saw a 'Namja Haenyo". Haenyo are Jeju women who dive to collect seafood all year long. I don't think the local term is haenyo but the man laughed and said yes when I asked.

Nearby were two small boats. I am not an expert but I am knowledgable about how to paddle most canoes, row most boats and racing shell and to kayak. I want to learn how to paddle with one arm and one leg as the Burmese do (I know the country is now Myanmar - what are people from Myanmar called?) and to scull as the Koreans do.
I turned inland off the highway at the Jinjeonsa sign but the road is pretty difficult to follow. I passed many pigfarms and got a little lost. I asked some farmers where to go and they said to go straight - on a road that twisted like a snake - but I understood to stay on that road and it worked.

Jinjeonsa was an important temple years ago but was destroyed. It was very interesting then to see archeology grid and leftovers - broken carved stones and stone foundations for the buildings. The new Jinjeon is only a year old and I think it looks great now, before they eventually add the paint.
I had trouble posting seven pictures in one post so you can learn about the end of trip below.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There really is something especially refreshing about an unpainted temple, isn't there?