Astrid's mystery trip this year was to Jeju-do in Korea. A quite remarkable little island south of South Korea (apparently Korea's number one honeymoon destination). On the first day we were there we climbed the volcano (Mt Halla) which rises up in the centre of the island. True to form Korean mountains are not to be underestimated as hiking in Korea is synonymous with 'steps' - Mt Halla accumulated to climbing steps three hours up and three hours down. On top we were above the clouds and because it is autumn all the leaves on trees were yellow or red - very pretty. To reward ourselves for the hike we feasted on Korean BBQ (we love Korean BBQ). Next day the weather turned and it rained. For lunch we tried Jeju black pork (it happened to be another BBQ, but we didn't mind). Afterwards we went to check out Jeju's lava tube - one of the worlds largest underground tunnel system created by magma flows. Only one small area is open to the public. Leaving the lava site we headed to the Haenyo Museum. Haenyo means 'sea woman' and they are the female divers who are the main breadwinnders for their families. The woman's financial success let to a matriachal family structure. During the Japanese occupation of Korea the strong spirited Haenyo provided a lot of opposition and resistece. The life of Haenyo is a harsh and young woman today rather work in Jeju's blossoming tourist industry. Thus, making the story of the Haenyo a remarkable yet sad one as their numbers are drastically declining. [There are similar female divers in Japan (Ama) and all the way to Russia]. From the Museum we went with 'our driver' (a cabbie who decided that it is better to wait around for us than to find new rides) to our final sight - Seongsan Ilchulbong or 'Sunrise Peak' - a bowl-like crater rising up ~180m (yes more steps to climb up). In Jeju you will also find stone statues called 'Grandfather statues' outside gates for protection - they are very cute.
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