Sokcho - vol 1

First day in Sokcho. Our original plan was to climb Seoraksan Mountain today and enjoy hot springs tomorrow, however due to the weather we had to adjust our plans slightly. Instead we spent the day on getting lost around Sokcho and seeing as much as possible. 

We started with Yeonggeumjeong Pavillion overlooking the East Sea. It was very windy making the waves so high and beautiful. There was something extremely soothing in looking at the waves hitting the shore. We lost the track of time and spent over half an hour there. We leaned over the Pavillion and gasped at the sight of these waves. When we left towards the Lighthouse, I could feel the taste of salt on my lips!

There was nothing special about the Lighthouse that would particularly stand out. Like every lighthouse it was based on the hill guiding ships to the port. It was very windy at the top making it difficult to enjoy the view.

From there we made it to the Abai Village for lunch. This is a village formed by the refugees of Korean War who have left their homes in North Korea and settled in Sokcho. At the moment more than 60% of the villagers are from North Korea. Abai means a grandfather in North Korean dialect and therefore the name of this village. One of the delicacies of Abai Village is Squid Sundae and Abai Sundae - neither of these can be tasted anywhere else in Korea. We were tempted by the Squid Sundae - stuffed squid with various vegetables and sweet rice, cooked and then fried with egg. It was delicious!

Next stop was Sokcho beach, were we spent majority of the day. It was really relaxing and as we had some time to spare, we wanted this day to be as enjoyable and easy-going as possible. We had a pint at the beach, Klaudia reviewed her crazy photographic nature by deleting all the triple photos and making space on the memory card for tomorrow, while I spent the afternoon collection the seashells. How blissful!

Seoraksan - we're coming tomorrow!