돈내코 Donnaeko

Just a short drive from Seogwipo, the Donnaeko Resort (돈내코) is a great place to spend a hot afternoon relaxing in the cool waters of Hallasan.

You can also get there by bus from Seogwipo, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find otherwise if you simply follow the signs on your way out of town exiting via the street from Homeplus (홈플러스).

There is a really dense forest that surrounds the resort area, which is more like a temperate climate zone, the result of being nearly 900 metres above sea level; there are also camping areas and various walking trails leading in and around the forest.



The pond at the base of the falls is deep enough to go swimming into, however, keep in mind that the water is extremely cold.



The Wonang Pokpo Waterfall, as its known, is yet another waterfall on Jeju's southside. It's about 5 metres high, with a naturaly formed sitting perch just above where the water falls.



When Brian and I showed up, we found my friend Matt there with his girlfriend. Unlike ourselves, he was brave enough to jump off the rocks into the pool below.



His girlfriend followed him in shortly after, with a bit of convincing on his part. I only wish we had more time to enjoy ourselves there, but we had prior dinner plans at Gecko's. So after a few pictures and videos we took our leave.

Eclipses

Yesterday there was a penumbral lunar eclipse, which was seen best at its maximum eclipse from Canada. Completely invisible to the naked eye, it was also very difficult because of its small magnitude.

Still it's an interesting thing that doesn't happen so often. Here is an example of a total lunar eclipse:



Even more rare, is the total solar eclipse, which will be occurring on the 22nd of July this year:

This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The North Iwo Jima island is the landmass with totality time closest to maximum.

Totality will be visible in many cities such as Surat, Varanasi, Patna, Thimphu, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam. A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of South East Asia and north-eastern Oceania.

Looks like I'll have at least a chance at seeing this one.

천제연폭포 Cheonjeyeon Falls

You can get to the Cheonjeyeon falls either from the Jungmun main street entrance, or by walking past the Yeomiji Botanical Gardens on the other side (near the hotels) and crossing the Seonimkyo bridge. The pond above the falls holds a few legends, and is the center location of the annual Seven Fairies Festival held every May.

According to a legend, Cheonjeyon Falls means "the pond of God" where nymphs descend to take a bath. The first cascade of Cheonjeyon Falls is 22 m high and the water forms a pond 21 m in depth. The water flows farther along to form the second cascade of 30 m high. Up from Cheonjeyon Falls is the stunning arch bridge Seonimkyo, which is also called Seven Nymphs Bridge.

There are is a small alcove that you can't normally get to because of a barred path, supposedly from danger to rocks falling overhead, but I think it's just the resignation of the authorities not to do anything about it.



The falls themselves are a pleasant sight and similar to Cheonjiyeon in appearance, but there's more to see in the valley than at the falls in Seogwipo.



Brian and I spotted a buddhist temple along the valley ridge from our Challa Brunch, we went down some random road and eventually found it, as well as a pathway leading down to a boardwalk along the valley's edge.



We spotted some interesting insects and heard the call of the (now) familiar Japanese Bush Warbler; I owe Matt to thank for that tidbit of knowledge.

Challa Cafe & Gallery

On our way into Jungmun to see the 천제연폭포 (Cheonjeyeon Waterfall), Brian and I stopped by the Challa Cafe for some mid-morning brunch.

Right next door to Yeomiji Botanical Garden in Jungmun lays the Challa Meditation Gallery. The brainchild of Korean artist Chung Gong, Challa is both an art gallery as well as a café. It offers organic foods and Italian coffee on a scenic local overlooking the valley just beyond Cheonjiyeon Falls. It’s an oasis of calm amidst the unrelenting tackiness and excess of Jungmun.

It presents a relaxing atmosphere and has a great view of the Cheonjeyeon Valley, with the waterfalls just beyond sight.



Brian and I were both quite hungry, so we ordered some vegetarian mandu for a starter. For 8,000 won, we got some lovely tasting and hand-made looking dumplings; much better than the frozen factory made ones available at your local grocery outlet.



The vegetarian club sandwich and italian coffee combo came to 12,000 won, but was definitely worth it. The coffee was great and the sandwich is definitely in the competition for the best on the island.



Currently, Kim Man Su's works are being featured in the Gallery portion until the 12th of July.



Worth a stop if you're traveling past the Jungmun valley area, looking for a comfortable and pleasant stop.

Photo by Brian Miller

Happy Canada Day!

Spent the afternoon handing out miniature flags, pencils, pens and pins; the kids loved it. One class even brought in a cake, good fun all around. I made up a pretty good Canadian quiz for prizes. My favourite question was:

Which one is not in Canada:

a) Ontario
b) Scotland
c) Nova Scotia

Funny enough, most kids picked c.

Another tricky question for kids was:

What is the Capital of Canada:

a) Toronto
b) Ottawa
c) Vancouver

Surprisingly more kids picked Vancouver than the expected Toronto response.

Finally, here are a few videos that show some Canadian Spirit:



And a good preview of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010:

Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 2

I was fortunate enough to wake up in a tent Sunday morning. Despite the ridiculously hot conditions during Saturday, it got quite chilly at night.



Walked down to the beach around 7:40 am, people were just starting to get up, some later than others. Another early morning rise took its toll on a lot of people.



Team "Mean Machine in Neon Green" was our first opponent of the day, and mean they were. We were slaughtered 21-9 in both games, but on the plus side, no one else could beat them either.

Here they are taking down yet another team:



The "Hallabacks" taking on the "Peace Frogs," two of the better teams in the tournament.



By 10:00 am, the sun was shining brightly, turning the sand into a lethal weapon. People were sprinkling water on the sand in an attempt to cool things down. Everyone's feet were burning, some even put on socks to play. I kept to the shade after our team lost all of our remaining games, it was probably a good thing.



"Mean Machine" taking on "Peace Frogs" for a by to the finals:



Dan Nabben of Peace Frogs trying his spiderman reflexes to get the ball; he was a ninja out there.



Some good volley action:



Peace Frogs facing elimination, trying to stay alive in the tournament.



Mean Machine in the finals; sheer domination. I think they went undefeated on Sunday.



Valiant effort by the other team, but they were just no match for the Mean Machine.



Tournament over, and a weekend of great memories.



Dan Nabben put together an amazing event; Nathan would be proud.

After spending two days out on the beach, the first thing on my mind and many others was a shower...and then bed.

Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 1

Although the Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball tournament was a few weeks ago, I'm just getting around to putting up some of the video from the event now. Held during the June 13th weekend, the weather conditions were perfect for some volleyball, too bad my skills were no where near.

8:00 am start: I grab the 6:30 am bus from Shinsigaji to Jeju-si. I text my team captain, Naomi, and inform her of my decision to stop by McDonald's on the way; nothing says breakfast of champions like a sausage egg mcmuffin...or two.

I happen to run into some other players competing in the tournament at McDonald's and secure a ride to the beach. We get to the beach to find the tournament has already started, thick fog surrounds the beach.



Fortunately my team didn't have to play first, but we were a man down to start anyway, as one of members didn't show up til after our first three sets. Despite our handicap, we still managed to draw all three sets with the help of some substitutes.

Sun came out and it got hot; really hot. Here is the Seogwipo team trying to keep it real, with a Nova Scotian flag hoisted over the court. Still have no idea where the flag came from, but it's great nonetheless.



Here is my friend Laurel's team against one of the Korean Swing dancing teams that were competing in the tournament. Their teams were good, but even better swing dancers. I was witness to some of their skills later that evening.



The Seogwipo team was about on par with ours, which was somewhere near the bottom of the barrel.



Here are the "Hallabacks" against fellow Maritimer Troy's team:



There were quite a few of us Maritimers out there, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Troy is heading back to the Martimes after two and half years on Jeju. He's probably headed out Halifax way, so I wish him the best.

Included in our 30,000 won admission fee into the tournament, we got some nice t-shirts as well as some pizza for dinner. All eyes were on the delivery men as they made their approach to the center stage.




Not long after, the most beautiful sunset came upon us. I never tire of seeing such sights.



Most of the participants camped the night on the beach, myself included. There was a great bonfire happening with some acoustic music to go around, putting the perfect end to a great day.

Jungmun treats

Went on the first "official" war ride of The Jeju Soggies Motorcycle club with the Matts from Seogwipo yesterday. We took the scoots out to Jungmun in the morning, looking for some beach action.

Despite the somewhat cloudy conditions, it was still hot and humid out.



It was a warm breezy drive into town, and we stopped at the GS 25 to pick up some drinks and a few popsicles. My favourites are the classic "Jaws" bar, which is usually filled with strawberry or an orange inside, though solid all the way through.


Another tasty treat is the honey dew melon popsicle, which is this perfect fusion of fruit and creamsicle, giving you a real sensation of eating a cool slice of honey dew melon.


And third, but not ranked lower in the least, is the watermelon slice popsicle. I've only had one, but it was the best damn watermelon popsicle ever. They're a lot harder to come by than the other two.


We arrived at the Hyatt just after ten, and started walking around its facilities looking for a way down to this somewhat more secluded beach on the far side of Jungmun's main beach location.



Waves looked big and scary; surfer's dream come true.



We eventually found this smaller and almost non-existent beach (due to high tide) after walking down a path through a bamboo-ish jungle. We found even more massive waves awaiting us there.



After taking a few minutes to read and relax on the tiny beach, we decided that it might be worth it to check out the main beach back on the other side.



The water was just as fierce, and there were even a few surfers out catching some waves, but all I wanted to do was go for a swim. However, because of the strong undercurrent, and the repeated intercom warnings in Korean, I didn't go in too far. Just a quick splash in the waves, which were easily capable of ripping my shorts off and pulling me out to sea; awesome.