Bye-Bye Santa Beach Pension

It's 1 p.m. and time for us to check out from the pension we stayed for one night @ Gyeongpo, Gangneung. We should have checked out at 12, but I already told the owner (주인) asking her as to whether we could check out at 1 pm since we got to pray the afternoon prayer first before going out. Happily she said yes and okayed us to stay one more hour.

Now..it's time to say goodbye to Santa Beach Pension and for the sake of capturing the memory (again...^^) we took some pictures in front of the house.

Freya and Eyra seemed to be so tired, but then...she became enthusiastically happy again when she found out that we're about to take the sea-train trip.^^

(to be continued on our journey on the SEA TRAIN on the east coast of Korea).

Circling Around Gyeongpo Lake (part 2)

It's not even yet 2 km from the starting point, yet we already found diverse point of interest to see. Eyra and Freya just couldn't be more excited than this.

There was this large pond full of lotus. Although not all of them bloomed when we were there, some lotus indeed gave us enough impression on what it must've been like when all of them bloomed. 

Spacious enough wooden path was set to let visitors freely enjoy the lotus pond. 

But then...I started to wonder and question as to whether what we saw was indeed lotus. 

I mean...from the shape and color, they're not like any Lotus I'd seen before.

oh, well...we enjoyed the time we spend there though. 

Now girls..just sit there and let me take a pic of you. 

If only....all of the flowers were blooming when we were there. 

Now..let's go back onto our 'sepeda ceria' and continue our journey circling around the lake...and there was 4 km more to go. 

And...me doing the pedaling again? no problemo.!! 

In the midst of fresh and clean air imbued with calm surrounding around the lake, we didn't ask for more.

Oh, we found this 물레방아 or watermill when we're about to continue the journey.

so..why not take a picture of it, first, eh?

Gyeongpo Lake (part 6)

As we kept on walking around the lake, we found more and more flora too beautiful to just pass them by.^^ 

Still in the tranquil morning at the lake: I started to capture the natural beauty.

Of course, the lenses cannot capture the real essence of its charms. 

A drop of water or dew hanging on the tip of this purple flower captured my attention. It's really a sight to behold. 

Color after color of nature began to emerge and be exposed onto our eyes and senses. Never thought that this is summer. Or...was it just me who never realized that summer could be this dazzlingly stimulating? 

Yes..and all of these...I found just in a mere few meter radius from where we walked. 

Then...wild bushes that sprouted along the lake were additional beauty to the landscape. 

If we look at the lake's surrounding we wouldn't be able to closely admire the beauty, yet..if we stop and then look into every corner of the lake...we'd find those natural wonders around us.

Gyeongpo Lake (part 3)

As we kept on walking, we encountered a pretty peculiar sight of three children playing hide-and-seek in the woods. Yet, they were not real children, instead, they were statues. 

Intrigued by their uniqueness, we sneaked into them and blended ourselves in.^^ 

Eyra and Freya were having fun....pretending to play along with them.^^ 

Yes, it's a nice concept to begin with.  

But, after a few minutes, Freya started to wonder and asked,"I wonder if the boy ever woke up and started looking for us." ^^ㅋㅋㅋ 

Then, nearby, we found another statue of a girl squatting in front of a stone-bowl as if she's murmuring something or saying something wishy-washy ...uttering some spells... 

oh, well..whatever it was meant to be, the kids tried to approach the statue(d)-girl^-^

and pretended to be ....communicating with them.

역시...kids.

Gyeongpo Lake (part 1)

A serene Gyeongpo lake. It's about 6.30 a.m. in the morning (August 17,2014). 

This lake is located just a few meters away from the beach! 

Yes..it's true.^^

A tranquil lake. I wish I could take the fresh air from this lake out...and bring it to Seoul.^^ 

A calm feeling overtook me. 

As I walked into its boundaries, I was perplexed and awed at the same time by 

the lake's simplicity. 

Couldn't let go my camera off the wild flowers that dotted the whole lake 

as far as I could see. 

In fact, they're just summer shrubs,but they are quite indispensable to the natural beauty of Gyeongpo lake. 

Eyra, too, suddenly awaken to the smell and senses of the lake.

Not like the one we usually see on a daily basis, right, Dear? 

It's one of those simple lakes that need to be enjoyed with an open mind. 

And why is that? because buildings sprung up out of the surroundings that actually obstruct the natural beauty. 

Yet, if we just know how and where to look to fully enjoy this lake, we'll find endless possibilities of wonders.

LIKE THIS ONE.^^

Gangneung Trip (part 13)

We tried to see the sunrise. BUT????^-^

Clouds were hanging over the eastern horizon of the sea. 

It's not even 6 a.m. I guess we'd expected too much. Or the Lady of Luck did not greet us that morning.^^ 

But, still, we admired the view and thanked God for being able to be there. I mean..it's not everyday that we could see the view like this in Seoul. right? ^^ 

Even when the sky and clouds were sulkily grey, we did not complain a bit. Instead, we just cherished that the day would be a cooler day for us to get around. 

And we're right. The whole day was a perfect day for a day-outing @ Korea's eastern coast. (see later entries^^) 

Now, back to Eyra and Freya: They're happy enough to be there with us.

*Spending One Morning @ seaside* 

Good Morning, Eyra.  

A panoramic view of the sea. 

A harbor near Gyeongpo seen from the arched bridge in the morning.

Not many activities were seen that early.

It looked like we're the first group of people coming to the beach.^^ 

Oh, did I mention that there were numerous 'swings' available for public use. It's an additional touch to give a different way of enjoying the beach. 

It's located just near the road so as to entice people to stop and enjoy the view for a moment or two. 

너무 아침 일찍이라서인지 탈의실을 사용한 사람이 없었네.

알고보니....수영은 9시부터 가능한대요..ㅋㅋㅋ. 

That's why I didn't see anyone around. 

This is the real location of the 'swing'. It's located just in front of the under-construction Hyundai Hotel @ Gyeongpo Beach. 

Then...we're showing off our fun with the stone rocks.