Leg 10: Jeongja Harbour to Naa Beach

Yes, I missed the sign. It was right as I entered town and the harbour area. It was across the street and behind some cars. No wonder I missed it as I entered town in the dark. I was glad to find it in the morning.

I had chosen a quaint-looking motel, all made of wood, the night before. And the view of the harbour was very nice. I made a good choice, I think.

I also determined that I was going to take it easy this day. I was only doing one leg. For sure. And it was a relatively short one, too. It was only going to be about 14 kilometres. I was going to have lots of time. I was going to be able to take it easy.

And it was mostly a relaxing and beautiful hike, probably the best of the lot so far. There was lots of time to look at the shore...

 

 

... to sit and watch the waves crash over the rocks...

... to see waves coming in at crazy angles (I haven't often seen waves approach each other at right angles)...

... to see interesting rock formations. This is a particular feature of the coast in this area. In ancient times, Korea was quite volcanic. I forget the exact science of how it forms, but there is a way that lava cools that causes the crystalline structures of the lava to create these hexagonal shapes in the rocks.

 

Along the way, I passed into another province, North Gyeongsang Province.

I passed a cabin built by someone who needs to be checked for colour-blindness.

 

There was a mermaid that someone either decided needed some warm clothes... or perhaps some modesty.

I think it would be great to stay in one of these cabins or whatever they are.  The views are great along this stretch.  They are cheap, too, at about 100 dollars a night.

 

I also wish I could have crossed this bridge, just to say I went through that thing.

But alas, it was closed for some kind of construction.

And there were lots more murals.

 

It was such a pleasant walk on this leg, on such a pleasant day. I wish it hadn't ended. But it did, at Naa Beach...

... in the shadow of yet another nuclear power plant. And once again, I really don't understand the choices made by this trail on where to stop each leg. A nuclear power plant is not really the kind of place I want to spend time looking at. It's not particularly scenic. And it doesn't make for a pleasant sort of place to have a beach, in my opinion.

Nevertheless, I had resolved to not go any further this day. One leg was it. I briefly considered just heading on home at this point. I had completed five legs, and that seemed to be enough for this trip. However, a quick check of the train booking app on my phone showed that there were not many seats on the trains. This was the last day of the holiday, and people were heading home. Even if I had gotten on a train, I would be fighting traffic in a bus to get back to Seosan. So I headed to a motel in town and decided to decide what to do about the next day in the morning.