Korea's Secret Island Paradise--Somaemuldo

Saturday morning, Min Gi and I hopped on a 30-minute ferry from Geoje-do to Somaemul-do (소매물도, literally "small out-water island"). This place is the most beautiful that I've visited in Korea. No contest. The rocky islands reminded me somewhat of Vietnam's Ha Long Bay (though the rock formations were a little less steep).

When we first arrived, we were overwhelmed by the green of the trees and the blue of the water. Here, I've stolen Min Gi's cowboy hat to express my joy.

The island, though Min Gi had been informed otherwise and so we were carrying quite a bit with us, has a few small restaurants and pensions (in Korea this is like a vacation condo) and min baks clustered around the dock. From the dock, you can hike up the mountain to the other side of the mountain. Along the way, there are some interesting sites, such as an old one-room schoolhouse and an abandoned lookout post at the peak.

However, nothing is quite so breathtaking as looking down at the other side of the island, with a lighthouse (made famous by a commercial)

We hiked down the mountain and crossed the little bridge made out of stones that connects the smaller island with the lighthouse to the main island with the dock and mountain.

The water was shockingly clean and beautiful, even from really far above it.

Can you tell why I love this man? The view from the lighthouse. Notice to the left the stone bridge crossing and the solar energy panels that power the lighthouse.

Cowboy Min Gi is the same shape as the lighthouse. This was where we stopped for a nap in the sun. This was a stupid thing to do without sunscreen.

When we got back from the island around 3 p.m., we went to go check out some other tourist sites around Geoje, but it being a major holiday weekend, the lines were RIDICULOUS. We decided that we couldn't beat the day we'd had tomorrow, so we set out for Daegu. Unfortunately, rain turned the 3 hour ride into a 5 and a half hour odyssey (kudos to good driver Min Gi and our trusty navi system) thanks to traffic. We returned to Daegu exhausted, and I was sunburned so I had a headache. I crashed until about lunchtime the next day.

However, as Min Gi said, this was the best trip we've taken yet (and we've been on quite a few trips around Korea)! It bodes well for our travelling together in other situations, which is good because we have big plans for this summer.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures from the most beautiful spot in Korea:

Somaemuldo