Day 7, Leg 7

NB: the photos for days 1-5 are all uploaded. 

Another short walk today, and despite seeing an 86% chance of rain when I looked at the forecast last night, there was no rain at all during today's brief walk. Stats: 

Distance: about 13K

Time: from 6:45 to about 10:15

Steps: 24,752

Calories Burned: 3,325

Calories Consumed: 2,472 (deficit = 853)

Naver Map is a great app, but you can't always trust its numbers. Today's walk was originally plotted (weeks ago) at close to 15 kilometers, but today, when I verified the distance, it was only 12. Did Korea shift and buckle seismically in the interim? Anyway, walking so little feels like cheating, as if today's rest is somehow undeserved. I did contemplate, for a brief moment, just skipping this motel and moving right on to the next waypoint 20-some kilometers away. 

At least the day began with a great, big hill right outside of the Lavender Motel. There were a couple other hills, including a huge one that, luckily, I descended. That hill looked as though it'd have been a beast to climb.

Compared to yesterday, today's quick jaunt wasn't nearly as fun, but you can't expect to win them all. I got to my destination so early that I wasted time in a coffee shop, something I almost never do. I sat inside, munching on carbs, using the café's Wifi to upload photos into the previous day's blog entries (am all caught up now; captions to be filled in later, when I'm back in Seoul).

I did finally leave Gangneung after more than three days of walking. Gangneung is geographically large, it turns out, even if it's nowhere near as populous as Seoul. But I'm finally past it, and I'm now in Donghae (named after the East Sea).

There really isn't much to report today, so let's talk about convenience stores. With so much of the local economy dependent on tourism, stores on the coast close when there's no one around. Normally, I'd say that that's perfectly logical, but what if you're an eMart 24? I snapped a shot, this morning, of an eMart 24 that was closed: decidedly not open 24 hours, per the store's name. Luckily, I wasn't jonesing for anything at the time, so the closure didn't matter. But if "24" is in your brand name, shouldn't you be open 24 hours? Charitably speaking, there might have been a legitimate reason for such a closure, but in Korea, shit like this happens all the time: stores advertise X hours (if they display their hours at all), and when you get there, they're closed or there's a sheepish sign with a cell number written on it so you can call the proprietor and be let in after you wait for his tardy ass to arrive. Living in Korea means learning not to take anything literally, and always living life with a measure of distrust because, well, people just can't be relied on, and nothing here moves in straight lines from A to B. Mention this to Koreans, and they get angry. But, like it or not,  it's generally true unless you're talking about very high-quality procedures and products. This is a culture built on suspicion and inconsistency. If you're a trusting, optimistic Westerner, then you're a fool and an easy mark.

As I've been writing this, the sky has gone from bright to gray, and when I looked out at the ocean, I saw rain heading this way. The winds are blowing inland, too, so whatever storm is out there will be here soon. I'm gonna wrap this entry up, get to my motel (I'm only yards away from it), and finish up by uploading today's pictures. Sorry for the briefer-than-usual entry, but little of note happened today. If I think of anything else, I'll add it as an addendum later.

ADDENDUM: the Sunrise Motel is very old- school and has no WiFi, so I must once again avail myself of a local café to upload my pics. I guess I won't be watching YouTube tonight, either. Maybe that's for the better. I have some e-books to read. 

Ah, yes: I did try to go to a much nicer-looking pension, but the lady at the front desk of that place made the frantic Korean "eraser" gesture (a hands-wiping-the-air movement meaning "no, no, no") and said today was no good. She then added that tomorrow would be fine. I told her that her parking lot was completely empty, so she must surely have an empty room. "Tomorrow," she said again, insisting. I understood her to mean she just didn't want me there since she didn't seem inclined to explain herself, so I left. I'm not one to stand there ranting and raving about service while demanding to talk to the manager. That's Karen behavior. If she doesn't want my business, then I'm happy not to give it to her. 

ADDENDUM 2: a few minutes after I wrote the above, it started raining. Just a light rain for the moment. The beach was nearly empty when I got here; it's even emptier now, but the cafés and restaurants have some people in them. 

PHOTO ESSAY

big hill right as I begin the day's trek

It's always just my luck that I never pass these buffets at lunchtime. One day, maybe.

Chickens!

so many dead people

one of my ladies

I'm always attracted to these stairways to mystery.

And here we are: the 24-hour convenience store, closed.

Took a few shots to get the kinetic effect I was going for.

one lady

her next-door neighbor

surreal

burdz

Finally! Some harvested chilis drying in the sun.

This trip is the first time I've seen these burial mounds on low, level ground. Before now, I've only ever seen them on raised-up areas like hillsides.

guess I'm still going in the right direction

I've finally left Gangneung. Took long enough.

life's drama

The arrow points, but the route was blocked, so I had to take a detour.

I saw that this bridge would take me past the train tracks and to the beach, so I seized my chance and crossed here.

The Café Clam has a mask-ot.

the day's goal

Charles will recognize the pretentious "starring into the middle distance" look

my ratty motel, Sunrise, W50,000 and no WiFi

some crazy calligraphy