4 8 CHEJU, SOUTH KOREA

We have never been to South Korea before, so we had no idea what to expect.  When we arrived, we along with Juby and Tom, our dinner partners and best buddies on this trip, got a taxi and went for a quick tour of the island.

The first thing we saw was a group of grandmothers beating drums in traditional costumes.

 

Even the captain came out and took pictures.

We saw what we had heard about Japan, happening here.  The dock workers were warming up for the day.  Don’t know if they are doing tai chi or just exercising, but everyone of them was doing it.  Arleen even joined in, on our balcony.

  

Cheju, sometimes spelled Jeju, is an island.  It has become a honeymoon resort area.  It is very lovely.  We took too many pictures, (oh, well I did anyway). Here are some looks at it:

We notice that South Korea is very into new energy alternatives.  We were impressed by this.

The ship docked here at 7 am and it is leaving at 2pm, so we have to be onboard by 1:30.  And, to shorten the day, we had to go through customs.  They had to check our passports and scan our belongings.  Whatever.  So, we were directed to a taxi by a taxi broker, who told the driver where to take us and when to bring us back.  That was Ok with us, since we did not know what was best to see, and what we could see in the time we had.

So, we saw 2 extinct volcanoes and a lava tube.  The island was formed by volcanic actions millennia ago.  The 2 volcanoes we hiked up to see into and from were all fully vegetated. 

At both sites we were surrounded by school kids.  All the kids thought Duane was great and many had their pictures taken with him.  Some even wanted a picture with me.  Everyone was wonderfully friendly and wanted to try their English out on us.  Evidentially, they are all taught the same way we are.  “how are you, I am fine.”

 

In the above picture, those are all school kids.  Some are in uniforms, and some, as below, are not.

  This is what their gravesites look like

continued on next blog