Thursday, July 6, 2023
We started today with some much needed free time in the morning. We used the time to let Max get some rest and to walk the beautiful grounds of our hotel.
At noon, we got on the bus and took a short bus ride to the Jeongbang Waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful. From the falls we could see some Haenyeo (women divers). The Haenyeo divers are pretty interesting. Some of the women are in their 80s. They hold their breath, diving up to 30 feet to collect in season seafood off the coast of Jeju. There was also some Haenyeo selling freshly collected seafood at the waterfall under a tent.
Next up, lunch. Kurt and Max had a pork cutlet dish. Dede was a little more adventurous and went for the seafood soup hotpot (haemultang) served family style. The soup contained live abalone, prawns, clams, conch and octopus (I think). All fresh ingredients from the area.
After lunch we took a long bus ride to a volcanic tuff cone/mountain called Seongsan Ilchulbong. Here Kurt and others in the group made the 550ft climb to the top of the tuff cone to see the preserved bowl-like crater. Max still wasn't feeling well, so Dede and Max explored the beach area. After the climb we all enjoyed some fresh tangerine juice made from the local tangerines.
Out last activity of the day was a stop at a foot spa. Here we soaked our feet in a refreshing tea bath, rubbed our feet with a salt scrub and then finished by rubbing our feet with peppermint oil. A great activity to finish a long, but awesome trip.
As I mentioned earlier Jeju-Do is known for a special breed of black pigs. So, it was a fitting to finish our trip to have dinner at a Korean barbecue restaurant that serves grilled black pork. We had two kinds of pork. One was marinated and the other was not. We cooked the pork over the grill in the middle of our table. The grill used wood charcoal for heat. It was one employee's job to walk around the restaurant and replace the charcoal when it starts to dwindle down. Made me wonder how often some one gets burned as it can get pretty crowded especially with a large group.
