Seonyudo Islands

I've been trying to do something cultural every weekend, and because my city is on the Seoul subway line, I've been spending a lot of my time in Seoul. As much as I really like it there, the 12 million people in the constantly crowded subway was really getting to me--so I decided to get out for a bit and head somewhere relaxing. I went with an adventure tour group to Seonyudo Islands, and I had a really nice time.

The first day I woke up at 5:00 am to make the 7:00 bus in Seoul; we traveled for about three hours until we got to our ferry in Gunsan (there are no cars or buses allowed in the islands, so the only way to get there is by boat)

Goodbye industry, hello islands!

Then we rented bikes and took a cycling tour of the islands for 3 hours--or about 1.5 in my case. Those bikes were meant for small Korean people--low seats, small pedals... I got my seat adjust, but I was still hunched over with my knees to my forehead, practically. By the time I got through one island (when I wasn't going uphill, I was praying I wouldn't die flying off a cliff), I could barely sit down; everything hurt. I felt like a little baby turning my bike in early, but luckily I was with 2 other people who did the same. This morning I woke up with several black bruises the size of fists--now I don't feel so bad about calling it quits.

Before we saw these dogs, we went through this small town area which looked a lot like Greece. All of the houses were whitewashed and there was just one small tiny winding street in the middle. I kept crashing into gates.

Before I got off the first island, though, I sat down (or at least tried to) for a water with some other people on the tour on this strange little restaurant right on the edge of a cliff. This woman was the owner and was shucking oysters like two feet away from us...something you'd never see in America. 

We watched the sun set and built a huge bonfire on the beach after dinner. 

Then I got up at 6 again to watch the sunrise! 

There were lots of these spiders. They had red bellies and looked dangerous but tasted delicious (I'm just kidding). I took this picture right at the edge of a small bamboo forest! 

We then took leisure strolls around the other islands, which I definitely preferred. The road was much smoother, the views were much more scenic.

We climbed up one of the islands for a really great view...

 ...then explored some tide pools...

...dug for clams...

...and walked over a sand bar that is open when the tide goes out and leads to a small island. I'd heard there are like octopus and little animals that are left behind, but we mostly just saw crabs, oysters, and barnacles.

Seriously, those barnacles were everywhere. 


This was probably my most unusual Halloween I ever spent, and I was exhausted by the end. I'm very glad to be back--I doubt I'll be biking again any time soon, but I'd really like to explore more.

Speaking of exploring (segue!), I went grocery shopping this morning and picked up these two things. I'd been reading on a bunch of blogs how everyone was excited for pumpkin-flavored stuff, and I bought these pumpkin jellies, little gelatinous candies that are pretty good. I was surprised at how they really do taste like pumpkin.

I also got what looks like salmon or meat strips, but it's actually like rice cake with seeds and some sort of breading. It's very soft, and I think it might be cactus flavored. 

I've been fiddling around with picture sizes--which do you prefer? Do you like the bigger pictures or these smaller ones?
I also hope everyone back home had a really nice Halloween.