Igidae Park & Busan Farewell

Today I ventured out on my own again.  Sad that Katie has to work, but I wanted to make sure to make the best use of my time while I'm here!  She kept telling me I had to do Igidae Park...must do Igidae.  So, I decided that was going to be my goal today.  She briefed me on this little trip and told me to make sure to wear my runners.  I slowly got myself ready in her 11th floor 100° studio apartment because her AC does not work.  Really, there's not a whole lot of sense in showering because it does no good.  All you people at home know how much I love showering...

Anyways, I got ready and hit up my coffee shop.  I'm surprised these girls don't know my order already.  They probably talk nonsense about me behind the counter.  I had my coffee, ate some breakfast, and freeloaded their wifi for as long as possible.  Then I hailed a taxi to take me to Igidae.  These taxi drivers are just idiots sometimes!  If you pronounce one little sound wrong, they just go bizerck and act like you're a goon. They probably just think, "Why can't this Korean speak good language!"  So I showed him my phone with a picture of it.  Thank goodness for my phone or else I'd be lost in some dark alley.  

He dropped me off, I paid my fare, and I was solo...once again.  I climbed up a set of stairs and was dumbfounded at the view I had.  This is basically Katie's backyard.  

The beginning of Igidae Park.

This place is simply magnificent!  I can't even put into words how awesome this was.  I was really excited to get hiking because it went all along the coast in this mountain.  Eat your heart out with these pictures. 

This was my first view along the trail.  Never knew Korea looked this beautiful!

Suspension bridge off in the distance...blue oceans for miles.

The water was crystal clear, the skies were blue, and the sun was shining.  I couldn't have asked for a better day.  Hiking was really fast, fun, and easy to begin with. I have so many beautiful pictures, but
I'll try to pick my favorites. 

Another view back at the city.

Here starts the treacherous uphill hike.

Koreans spend millions of won to preserve natural beauty.

I came upon a tiny little cave-like structure that was apparently used by female drivers.  The door on this thing was TINY.  It is used to keep their catch, wet suits, and any other equipment they might have.  It is said to look like a turtle with the head shaped from a natural rock that is looked to be swimming towards the ocean.  It's also called 'using your imagination'!

A view of the female driver cave.

As I said earlier, the hike began nicely with well built stairs and bridges.  Then it started becoming more of a rugged hike. I just want to give a shout out to Shelly Crozier for making me work so hard because this hike became really tough!  I was pretty winded at some points in the hike as I was basically walking straight up. Here's a little taste of some of the hiking trails.

Those rocks are as huge as they look.

I thought this might be the stairway to heaven...nope, still alive to
talk about it.  Talk about burning thighs.

Fabulous uphill hike on dirt and rocks.

This is also a hot spot for fishermen to come and sit for hours trying to get a bite.  I stood and watched a couple groups for a few minutes. It is a very serious game to these fellas.  I would just be worried I'd fall of the boulder and become something else's game!

Cute little fishers of men.

I've decided Koreans have no fear when it comes to fishing and driving.

I was surrounded by greenery and blue ocean the whole time.  It was just one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.  It took me a total of two and half hours to hike the entire coastline.  At the end, I got a nice treat by walking out in a man made sky walk.  This definitely got my heart rate up!  It was just a huge U-shaped glass bridge that hung over a cliff of the ocean and looked over the 5 or 6 islands that are famous in this Busan area.  I say 5 or 6 because it can look like a different number of islands depending on which direction you look at it from.  It was said that they could have once been a peninsula many years ago that have become smaller islands due to the rough erosion of the waves...but we just never know! 

Sky Walk -- scarier than it looks!

This looks like 2 islands, but there are more. Straight on angle makes it look like 2.

When I was all done I decided I would just wander back taking the streets to see if I could find any good shopping.  For some reason, I don't feel as bad spending money here since it's "vacation".  Someone needs to get me home stat.  I'm going to regret this spending later!

I browsed through a few stores, but then my ADD kicked in and I was really tired from that hike.  So I hailed another taxi and met up with Katie.  It was my last day with her so we went out for brunch before I got back on the train to Seoul.  She took me to a lovely place with actual walls and real napkins.  She really wanted me to try bulgogi before I left, and of course I can't say no to food. Bulgogi is just grilled marinated beef.  Pretty safe...it tastes even more amazing all mixed in with a cheesy crepe.  Here's a look.

Bulgogi crepe and scrumptious waffles...get in my belly.

  Of course we needed to have something sweet with our savory bulgogi dish.  So we ordered a nice tasty waffle.  It was sooo great and I ate way too much!  Oink!  We finished up and took one last stroll on the beach.  It was quite messy with grass and seaweed from the wild waves coming from the typhoon that hit Japan.  I jokingly said, "I'm surprised the grandmas aren't out here collecting this seaweed for dinner."  Sure enough, a few steps down the beach, there they are.  Yummy!

When we returned I packed my things up and hopped on the bus for the train station.  The train ride to Seoul takes about 3 hours.  It's not fun, but it's easy! I'll be staying in a hostel the next two nights because I'm cheap and I don't really care if I sleep in a bunk bed with strangers.  My mom and dad are so proud right now.  They are not what you think they are...they are actually quite liveable if you find good ones.  I have a big adventure tomorrow, so make sure to keep reading!