Leg 25: Giseong Bus Station to Susan Bridge

 

 Bless the children, I say. They are so special here that they get a holiday of their very own. And that means I don't have to see them on that day. So bless their little hearts. Perhaps I should be happy for them as well, and not just myself... I'll give it some thought.

At any rate, May 5 was a holiday. The government increased that by declaring May 6, the Friday, a de facto holiday as well. And then my school decided that the Wednesday would also be a day off. A 5 day weekend, folks!! Woo hoo!!! I could go back to the trail and make a good go of it, get some mileage under my belt.

I headed out on the Wednesday and got settled. Looking at all the maps and information, I really wanted to do as much as 3 legs on the first day, totalling about 50 kilometres. I wasn't sure I would be able to do it, but the two legs after that were rated as difficult, and I wanted to see if I could be in a position to do those in one shot.

 

 

I began by returning to Goseong bus terminal quite early after a good rest. The initial part of the leg was along roads, and not near the sea. That part was a bit boring, but it did end quickly and returned to the shoreline scenery. As I returned to a little hamlet by the sea, there were some interesting trees alongside the road.

It was a brilliant and bright day, the first real day that had felt like summer was coming as I walked along the trail.

I noticed these rails between the road the shoreline. I couldn't figure out the reason for them for a while.

Then I saw their purpose... not just some kind of fence, but drying racks.

And there were some women arranging seaweed to pop on there for drying.

The bright sun of the day was very refreshing, except for how I hadn't been wearing late spring/summerish kinds of clothes for a while. I was a pasty white to begin this leg and weekend. The sun was beginning to ensure I wasn't going to remain pasty white for long. But with a bit of sunburn comes a good base tan, so... Ha ha!

Hmmm... I guess they count in a different order around these parts.

A clifftop park and pavilion gave a nice view down on the beaches and sea below. As I arrived at the end of the leg, I was feeling quite good. I was definitely feeling well enough to the next leg. This one had been almost 24 kilometres and the next one was almost 16. Onward...!