It's July, so I bravely planned an island adventure. There is an island called Deokjeokdo that is off the coast of Incheon. It is a popular getaway for people living in the northwest. My guidebook mentioned that there were great views from Pijopong Mountain. So my plan was to spend a little time on the beach and hike to the highest point on the island. How hard could that be?
I started off by making my way to Incheon Harbor, which was the site of MacArthur's Landing. This is the veiw from Chayu "Freedom" Park.
From the harbor, I boarded a small passenger ferry to Dokjeokdo. I was the only non-Korean on the boat. When I got off, it appeared that maybe this would be harder than I thought.
This is the first site that greeted me on the boat ramp after getting off the ferry on Deokjeokdo--live chickens in a cardboard box! About 12 of these boxes were loaded from the boat onto a pickup truck.
It was not the touristy signs-everywhere-visitor-booth-when-you-arrive type of place that I expected. This was a quiet island without a resort or tourist trap in sight. Exactly what I preferred, but I had no idea how I would find the trail to Pijopong Mountain or even a different beach. It appeared that I might be wandering rural roads in search of a trailhead, which is exactly what I set out to do. About 30 meters down the road, a young woman and her husband caught up to me. I had talked to her a little on the ferry. She had recently returned to Korea after living in Japan for a few years, and was visiting the island for the first time in several years. She asked where I was going, and I told her I was in search of a trailhead. She said I'd never find it on my own, and she convinced her husband that they should help me find it. So off we went. She was right - I would have never found it on my own. We wound down unmarked roads, walked up grassy pathways, and eventually walked between two houses (I was nervous about trespassing) and through a vegetable garden to a trail.
And thus started an adventure that has now forever become family lore. There was a very old woman working in the garden. My new friend explained what we were doing, and more specifically, where I was going. The old woman began waving her hands wildly and saying very animated words that I could not understand. Mind you, she's still kneeling in her garden. I must have looked bewildered because she then started pinching my legs and saying, "Snack, snack!" Oh, of course, she must have thought I was not prepared for the hike. (I remember this feeling from living in Mexico. The realization that someone thinks you are not that smart because you can't speak the language fluently.) So I opened my backpack and showed her my lunch, my snacks, my warmer clothes, my water. See? I am very prepared, I guestured. She again pinched me over and over while saying, "Snack!" "I have a snack," I said. "No," my younger friend explained, "She means 'snake'." Oh, snake! Well, I don't even need to be prepared for that. My guidebook said that there are no poisonous snakes, or any other dangerous animals for that matter, in Korea. And I'm not afraid of a little garden snake. I thanked the lady, who of course did not understand a word I said, and then thanked my friend and her husband for showing me the way to the trailhead, assuring her I would be able to navigate my way back to the ferry. And away I went!
Trail signs on the way to Pijopong Mountain. It's a wonder I find my way anywhere!
After a good hike (note the sweat), I made it to a viewpoint. And it was a beautiful view. But of course I like to get to the highest spot I can find, so I opted to scramble on the rocks (similar to the one next to me in the picture). I finally made it to the highest spot I could reach. I climbed up on hands and knees... and came face to face with the largest snake that I have ever seen in the wild! My scream may have frightened the snake away from his sunning spot, but I did not stick around to find out. I hurried off the rock and ran at least a half mile back down the trail. So now, when something is tough or when we think we might actually see a snake, my family pinch each other and say, "Snack! Snack!"
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