햇빛과 보라색 드레스: Roaming in Translation - October 27, 2018
Oh my glory! I said to my hubs, if we ever get back to our home (hotel) from this hike, I will kiss the floor of my room.
OK, the hike was “my fault” – sort of. Laur had booked this day as a “Let’s find the trailhead and go back home again” kind of day. We both likely needed a day off from hiking (and we had laundry to do.)
But, being me, I had packed us a lunch and brought extra water and our hiking poles – just in case… So when we got to the trailhead, I said to Laur, “Let’s do it!” And he said, “It’s another 12.3 km.” And I said, “Better than sitting in our hotel room and doing laundry.”
Poor lad - what to do? – miserable self vs. miserable wifey. Wifey won. And off we went. Laur will eventually write up a detailed version of this hike and post it on his facebook site, but suffice it to say I think we “bagged” six peaks today.
For now, this is Laur’s description. “16.3 km: from base of Anmin Pass Road to top of pass (4km); then hike east 4km to Mt Woong (710m), then hike the ridge south 8.3 km past Seul Peak (653m), past Chunjae Peak (502m), and down into Jinhae near the gigantic shipyard and the Marine Museum.”
And you know how I say, “When you see ropes and poles, be afraid – be very afraid.” Today there were a number of stretches that I would have been glad to see ropes and poles. This was a “ridge” hike – which means you can see way down below from either side of the mountain. And some of those ridges were no easier that some of the ones we’d done in AZ.
Having said that, I would do this again tomorrow. The changing scenery, the views, the altitude, the suspension bridge! OK, Laur does have this penchant for jumping up and down on suspension bridges – so I might change that. Plus bring more water and food and sunscreen and a rented smart phone that works. Even my eyeballs feel sunburned! (Note from Laur: the phone worked; it’s just that these two “roaming” Canadians forgot to turn on the “roaming” feature on the phone, so the gps didn’t work, and they couldn’t use any apps that relied on location. Duh! They never use ‘roaming’ on their own cheapie phone...)
AND BUS DIRECTIONS. We got to the end of our hike and had to traipse 2 km to the bus stop. New problem! We didn’t have the numbers for the buses we needed because I sprung this “yikes hike” on Laur at the last minute and he didn’t have a reference sheet for it.
You have to understand. Korean buses are not like Canadian buses. They stop for two seconds and the drivers – for the most part – do not speak English and get curt (likely terrified) if you ask a question in English.
So Laur and I clamored on to the first bus we could find that looked to be heading back into Jinhae. Laur knew we would have to transfer, but wasn’t sure where. He was ‘eyeballing it’ in a place he’d never seen. Then at one point, half the bus got off, and Laur said, “I think maybe we should get off here.” And we did and we looked at the signage … and Laur said “I have no idea what to do.”
Oh oh! My hubs is the KING of making up narratives. So when he says, “I’m done!” – we ARE in trouble. I looked at a lad at the stop and said, “Do you speak English?” And he said, “A little!” And I said, “We want to go to downtown Changwon!” And he pointed at the bus that had just stopped and said, “Take that one there.” Thank you to all the English teachers in S. Korea.
We got on the bus and it was like magic. It brought us “home” – or a few blocks from home. By the time we got to our hotel rooms, I felt like the woman from the film “Adrift” – it’s about Tami Oldham and her hubs being lost at sea – and – among many other things – getting dehydrated, lost, and sunburned. Mind you, her hubs Richard Sharp didn’t make it. So not quite. (But almost…says Laur…)
Before going out for supper for noodles and rice and kimchi and soup, I poured water into myself and onto myself (showered,) and lathered myself in lotion. Yes I know, that’s shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
All well. 다음 번에 (Next time.)
OK, the hike was “my fault” – sort of. Laur had booked this day as a “Let’s find the trailhead and go back home again” kind of day. We both likely needed a day off from hiking (and we had laundry to do.)
But, being me, I had packed us a lunch and brought extra water and our hiking poles – just in case… So when we got to the trailhead, I said to Laur, “Let’s do it!” And he said, “It’s another 12.3 km.” And I said, “Better than sitting in our hotel room and doing laundry.”
Poor lad - what to do? – miserable self vs. miserable wifey. Wifey won. And off we went. Laur will eventually write up a detailed version of this hike and post it on his facebook site, but suffice it to say I think we “bagged” six peaks today.
For now, this is Laur’s description. “16.3 km: from base of Anmin Pass Road to top of pass (4km); then hike east 4km to Mt Woong (710m), then hike the ridge south 8.3 km past Seul Peak (653m), past Chunjae Peak (502m), and down into Jinhae near the gigantic shipyard and the Marine Museum.”
And you know how I say, “When you see ropes and poles, be afraid – be very afraid.” Today there were a number of stretches that I would have been glad to see ropes and poles. This was a “ridge” hike – which means you can see way down below from either side of the mountain. And some of those ridges were no easier that some of the ones we’d done in AZ.
Having said that, I would do this again tomorrow. The changing scenery, the views, the altitude, the suspension bridge! OK, Laur does have this penchant for jumping up and down on suspension bridges – so I might change that. Plus bring more water and food and sunscreen and a rented smart phone that works. Even my eyeballs feel sunburned! (Note from Laur: the phone worked; it’s just that these two “roaming” Canadians forgot to turn on the “roaming” feature on the phone, so the gps didn’t work, and they couldn’t use any apps that relied on location. Duh! They never use ‘roaming’ on their own cheapie phone...)
AND BUS DIRECTIONS. We got to the end of our hike and had to traipse 2 km to the bus stop. New problem! We didn’t have the numbers for the buses we needed because I sprung this “yikes hike” on Laur at the last minute and he didn’t have a reference sheet for it.
You have to understand. Korean buses are not like Canadian buses. They stop for two seconds and the drivers – for the most part – do not speak English and get curt (likely terrified) if you ask a question in English.
So Laur and I clamored on to the first bus we could find that looked to be heading back into Jinhae. Laur knew we would have to transfer, but wasn’t sure where. He was ‘eyeballing it’ in a place he’d never seen. Then at one point, half the bus got off, and Laur said, “I think maybe we should get off here.” And we did and we looked at the signage … and Laur said “I have no idea what to do.”
Oh oh! My hubs is the KING of making up narratives. So when he says, “I’m done!” – we ARE in trouble. I looked at a lad at the stop and said, “Do you speak English?” And he said, “A little!” And I said, “We want to go to downtown Changwon!” And he pointed at the bus that had just stopped and said, “Take that one there.” Thank you to all the English teachers in S. Korea.
We got on the bus and it was like magic. It brought us “home” – or a few blocks from home. By the time we got to our hotel rooms, I felt like the woman from the film “Adrift” – it’s about Tami Oldham and her hubs being lost at sea – and – among many other things – getting dehydrated, lost, and sunburned. Mind you, her hubs Richard Sharp didn’t make it. So not quite. (But almost…says Laur…)
Before going out for supper for noodles and rice and kimchi and soup, I poured water into myself and onto myself (showered,) and lathered myself in lotion. Yes I know, that’s shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
All well. 다음 번에 (Next time.)