We hired a car! We were told that the drivers here are aggressive but, they seemed ok to us. Luckily the car had a satnav because the apps were not great. We gave the satnav the name Doris and she had verbal diarrhea! She would tell us of every lane change, speed bump, “take care of rotating vehicle” at round abouts, wild animal protection zone, fall warning zone (both from rock and off bridges), to be careful of traffic lights (what!) to “take the right road” and so on, there was also ‘bingbonging’ and we never really worked that out, it was nuts! Tatjana managed to turn most of it off after the first day, Phew!
We Headed south to Gunsan to stay with a friend of a friend. We travelled through wooded hills, all the trees are a bit familiar but not quite the same as at home and really lush. Wild wisteria was clambering over the trees and blooming along with the Paulonia, which we discovered is a tree we have been both speaking about not realising it’s the same one. In Japan it’s name is Kiri and it’s used to make all kinds of things although and because the wood is very light weight.
We stopped to visit the Gongju Gongsanseong Fortress, a massive earthworks with a wall that used to house a palace and town during the Baekje empire (from the around 18 BCE to 660 CE). It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We walked around the walls, along the ramparts and we got a chance to see the trees up close and for the first time I realised how closely related Oaks and Sweet Chestnut are by looking at the Sawtoothed Oak . Acer japonica and various Cherries along with a few trees I don’t know at all. One lot of flowering trees looked very like “May” (Cratagus) but, was actually Photinia (again closely related).
I saw a pair of Eurasian Hoopoos which thrilled me. If you don’t know this bird, it’s rare in the UK and the saying goes ‘its only seen by vicars’, hahaha! It’s easy to mistake a Jay for a Hoopoo but, once seen never forgotten!
Driving on with Doris chatting away we travelled through a flat area, full of fields for rice and other crops.
We met with Ahyoung at her flat in a village (yes here skyscrapers are in villages) just before Gunsan, we dropped our gear and went out to dinner. What a fabulous meal. The fish was an angler fish, a local speciality. Other dishes included, Kimchi (Tatjana’s favourite) jelly fish, raw fish, clams and raw prawns that have been in brine. I think I tried everything but, preferred the cooked Angler Fish which arrived last and is not in the picture! There was so much we took some home for dinner the next day.
We have noticed Koreans eat huge amounts, or they just feel that we don’t eat enough. Often we would share a dish for one but not on this occasion!
The next day was a bit wet in the morning so we went coffee shop hopping (something Ahyoung couldn’t comprehend, mad Europeans on holiday) and for a coastal walk.
As we neared the coast we began to see how industrial this area is with a huge metal smelting works that appears to be cut into the rocks.
The Solbaram wood (below) was planted in 1956 by the students of Jangham Agriculturural High school to protect the school and the village. It did a good job and seems to have outlived the school. They planted 12000 Black Pine (Pinus Thumbergii) and each one is labeled (because they are treated against pests). Underneath is Ophipogon and Liriope which must look stunning when they flower. There is no running through them though as there are lots of warnings about snakes. We stuck to the path and walked to the beach to look out over vast mudflats and the Yellow Sea (So called because it is very shallow and silt from various rivers is suspended in it). It was very cold with a cutting wind coming in from the sea. None of us was dressed suitably but, I have all sorts of things I carry to stop me being cold and rummaging in my bag I pulled out raincoat, a plastic rain cover, and a big scarf, something for everyone. Ahyoung caught my eye, I started to say something about Mary Poppins and she finished my sentence! I found out she is a huge fan of English and American films so I was able to recommend some!
That evening we went back to Ahyoung’s flat to eat the Angler Fish left overs and Korean Melons. All of this on a makeshift table (a box) in the living room. We finished the day teaching Ahyoung the card game we learned in Sumatra “Lake Toba” although we had to text Hery to get the rules again because, we had forgotten them!
Next…… An outing to a Hanok Village!
The Travelling Bee 