Well, another day down and all of a sudden we have been here a week. We have really taken to Busan, whispers of returning in the fall to teach English have commenced...but, of course, we have a bit more traveling to do before we can make any more large life decisions. Going to post some pictures from the fish market we wrote about before, but also our hike.
Our hike two days ago was a big hit - and by big, we mean big. Nick was misinformed as to both the amount of time it would take us to do the hike and the terrain. 3.5 hours downhill turned into 6 hours up and down and up and down... suffice to say we are all very sore but the hike and temple was so worth it at the end.
We began our hike with a cable car ride up the mountain (hence why we believed we would be taking a hike downhill, but anyway...), which provided us with some of the most beautiful views of Busan. Beginning our hike, we stopped often and asked the passing Korean hikers for the direction towards the temple. If they weren't drunk - which a relatively large chunk of them were! - they would smirk and hesitantly tell us the direction of the temple. We assumed their hesitancy was because we weren't adhering to the fashion trend of the mountain, everyone was wearing North Face hiking gear with high tech hiking poles and boots. Little did we know...
As we began our descent down the mountain, a kind Korean man who spoke enough English offered to walk down the mountain with us, giving us direction to the temple Beomosa. He continually told us "it is far, it is far..." and we eagerly said "oh yes, we know!", thinking we had about two hours ahead of us. Knowing we didn't understand just how far the temple was, he pointed towards an even large mountain which stood ahead of us. "Temple is OVER that mountain!" Jay and I looked at each other skeptically but the four of us continued on and once our kind friend left us, we stopped and decided whether or not we should go on. According to our friend, we had at least 4.5 hours of hiking ahead of us and the sun had begun setting. Hmmm...
Yet we carried on, pushing up and up hill, periodically cursing Nick for his ill-informed notion of a "downhill trek". But eventually we silently pressed on, all of us determined to conquer what had now become our Everest. (I certainly have a flair for the dramatic, don't I?) Finally, we reached what seemed to be the peak of the mountain just as the sun was setting. We were breathless (literally and figuratively), enjoying the view of Busan from so up high, and feeling very proud of ourselves for making it up the mountain. I proclaimed "this must be the top!" and we jovially carried on, expecting a much less strenuous route downwards.
How how naive we were.
After my premature proclamation, we climbed two more summits - steeper and higher than anything we had yet climbed. On top of it all (mountain pun!), the sun was setting and we were quickly losing light.
Finally, once the downhill pursuit began, we had lost all our light and if it weren't for two flashlights we had packed, well, we would have been LE SCREWED. We were all exhausted, we had been hiking for four hours and stress began to set in as darkness fell on the rocky path downwards. Unlikely for us, we had reached the most treacherous terrain where the path literally fell off onto rocks of varying sizes and stability.
In the distance, we could hear the sounds of drums and gongs and could see the faint lights of Beomosa but we had still become hopeless. We stumbled upon a small path which lead up to a small temple, which was obviously closed to the public... but we were desperate. As soon as we began to approach the small temple, we heard an aggressive dog bark. A white dog appeared in the entrance of the temple, but we soon realized that he was merely alerting his masters of our arrival and so we cautiously entered the temple grounds. Our eyes, then so accustomed to darkness, widened at the dozens of lanterns that shone in the courtyard of the temple. Colourfully hanging in strings along the courtyard, they were the most beautiful lights we had ever seen. We called out but no one came for many minutes, until finally we saw movement in the main building of the temple. We noticed a large golden statue of the Buddha and instantly understood we had interrupted a monk during prayer. He hurried out, understanding our distress and attempted to communicate with us that the big temple we sought was but 7 minutes away and we would soon be off the rocky path.
We thanked him profusely and turned to continue on. The monk called to us and Nick returned to see what he wished to tell us. The monk handed Nick a pair of mittens, in hopes of giving us warmth with what little he had to give away. We were re-energized, we continued on and sure enough, we reached Beomosa within minutes. All of our soreness and fatigue faded away, as we entered the temple grounds with hundreds of lanterns and the sounds of monks chanting. The four of us sat for a long time, watching and listening, having our own numinous experience at the hand of the Holy Buddha and his sacred grounds.
The pictures we are posting are mostly from that hike - an experience we felt we really worked for. I suppose part of growing older is not only learning our limits but testing them and constantly amazing oneself to the power of body, mind and spirit.
Finally, today we visited the U.N. memorial cemetery here in Busan. Almost all the Canadian soldiers (and many, many other nationalities) who fell in the Korean War are buried in Busan at the beautiful monument dedicated to them. We were not expecting to be so moved but we were moved to tears. Most of the ages of the Canadian soldiers were 20-25 years old and knowing they traveled across the world to an extremely foreign country to uphold the values of the freedom of the United Nations was very emotional for us. We attempted to read each soldiers' names, as it was the least we could do to honour their sacrifice. When will we ever learn with war?
That is all for now. Much love from Korea,
Maeve and Jay
Oh to be young again. I never thought I would hear myself say this -- being the unadventurous person I am -- I envy you both.
ReplyDeleteAs terrifying as your trek sounds in the way of the terrain and being unsure as to the distance and direction, I would love to have been there with you. Conversing with people along the way, the kindness displayed by the Korean gentleman who escorted you and the Buddhist monk who shared what he could, these are all experiences that come once in a lifetime and leave an indelible mark on your being.
The pictures are priceless but I'm sure they don't capture the true essence of the temple. I can see why you were "breathless" and in such awe when you finally arrived at the Temple. I can also feel the sense of tranquility and serenity that surrounded all of you. I'm sure all was forgiven with Nick too ..... until you realized you had to walk the same distance back to get home.
I can't wait until I can see the rest of the pictures and hear more about your experiences.
Oh, and what's this about teaching in Korea?? Hey 5 months of not seeing you two is one thing, not sure I can manage a year or more!!!
Love you both
Antoinette