Dear Busan:
When I was researching the Haeparang
Trail, I couldn't seem to find a consistent trail length. Some
sources said it was 680 kilometres. Others said it was 770
kilometres. I was confused. Didn't anyone know? Now I think I have a theory. You got tacked on, didn't you? Poor lonely
Busan, all by itself down there at the south end of the peninsula,
the second biggest city in South Korea (although I have heard that
Incheon is actually bigger; can you tell me if it's true?), was
feeling left out by the people who put the trail together. So you
jumped up and down and stamped your feet and got yourself added to
the nature trail.
There is just one small problem. You
are a city, and I think this is intended to be a nature trail. And
I'm sorry, you don't quite fit. Sure, the first leg was quite nice,
starting at the Oryuk Islets. There was quite a bit of nature trail
to be seen along the cliffs near there, and along a couple of the
beaches. Of course, there was a lot of city to be seen, too, but you
are a city and I suppose that is to be expected. Even the second leg
was fairly natural, walking in the forest along the cliffs north of
Haeundae Beach. The bit through the next part of the city had to be
borne I suppose, but you made up for it with the seaside Buddhist
temple.
And when I started this third leg, I
was quite impressed. Over hill and through small valley I went. And
then there was the concrete fishing wharves. For kilometre after
kilometre after freaking kilometre. Maybe there are those out there
who like to see the places where they bring fish out of the
trawlers... and then the places where they can eat seafood. If
pressed, I might even admit to some interest in such things myself...
for a little while. But after 15 kilometres of the same thing, and
very little of natural splendour, I was just depressed. This was a
real let-down. Couldn't you have sent me up into the hills for a
little while instead?
Yours disgruntledly,
Me.
After finishing the second leg, I went
back home to check on the cat and spend the weekend. She had fared
quite well, but was a bit upset when I returned. I don't think it
was the being away so much as that the heating had failed while I was
gone and the apartment was quite chilly when I returned. She must
have been quite cold for a while. It was lucky thing that I returned
when I did. The floor heating was blocked by what I presume was ice.
Had it been much longer, there could have been broken pipes, and
that would have been very messy.
After a nice weekend in Seosan,
recovering from the first couple of days of hiking, I headed back
Busan for leg 3 and beyond.
The start in Daebyeonhang was quite
nice. The day was clear and blue. I found my way back to the sign
by the harbour island where I had left off the previous week and
started off. Only a short way down the shore, I found the sign for
the end of second leg and the start of the third leg. I guess there
are sign posts announcing the end of each section.
Off I went into the hills north of the
town. There were traditional graves, and hills and rocks and a
beach. There was even a lighthouse with a church attached to it.
The first few kilometres of the hike were very refreshing.
And then it went into concrete
shoreline with nothing but fishing villages and places to eat
stretching on and on and on. It was thoroughly demoralizing as I was
looking forward to some nature time.
By the time I reached the end of the
third leg, I was so completely depressed by what I had gone through
that I decided to just press on and get through the next leg, too,
hoping that there would soon be an end to the concrete...
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