Fun Family Fact: South Korea plays home to 3349 islands. Fun Personal Fact: I have set foot on exactly 6 of those. Fun Personal Goal: Set foot on as many islands while I am on the Korean peninsula.
My latest expedition was the island of Oedaldo, a short ferry ride from Mokpo Port. Oedaldo was not my 'Plan A' island, but it certainly made a menace of itself for being surprisingly odd and fun.
My preparations for this trip began in the late hours of Saturday night. Because of a few logistical complications I came to the conclusion that I would have to train to and sleep in Mokpo. I got to Mokpo at the stroke of 00h00 and, through frustrated efforts, could not find a hotel or jimjilbang in which to sleep. I tried to sleep in the train station, but some Korean dude was shouting about the end of days (or something along those lines) in Hangeul. I then tried my luck at dozing off in a couple convenience stores but got kicked out at each. Eventually Mokpo Ferry Terminal opened its doors at about 4am so I went and attempted to catch a Z or two...
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Earlier in the week I had made a new friend in Madeleine Maree of Capetonian descent. We met up around 8am on Sunday. Our goal was to explore Oedaldo and, in colloquial terms, to 'fart around'. 'Fart around' is an expression from back home meaning that you'll do nothing in particular with no purpose or end goal in mind. We caught the ferry at about 10h30. Along the way to our destination we had a bottle and a half of makgeolli between us. If you're wondering why only 'and a half' was drunk, you can blame my new adventure partner for losing the other 'and a half'' overboard en route.
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| Adventure Crew of Two |
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| Mokpo Ferry |
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| A failed attempt at a 'pinching the bridge' illusion |
We then touched down at Oedaldo. After spending a few minutes on its shores, it immediately had a quirky feel to it. One highlight of the trip was stealing picnic/garden chairs and table off a random deck so that we had basic creature comforts while sipping on more makgeolli at one of the island's beachfronts. Oedaldo, from what I could gather, had become all but derelict and deserted. I forgot to snap pictures of the town, though I'll tell you it was colorful, quaint and had traces of 'cabin fever' eeking from its neighborhood.
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| 'Hiking' back to the ferry along the scenic route |
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| Ferry races on the way home |
As a first experience with a 'proper' Korean island, Oedaldo most certainly outdid itself for offering a solid foundation as a reference point for future island expeditions. 11/10 experience.
On a note of gratitude, thanks to all you people, prawns and pollapaloolers for giving this blog a read. I have a really fun time going out and coming up with content for these posts. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I've enjoyed creating.
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