Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

We arrive to the port at Jeju Island South Korea while it is still dark. Even through the darkness, we see the preparations for our arrival: tour buses are lining up in the parking lot, walkways are being set up, and activity is bustling inside the terminal.

This is our first visit to South Korea. We have booked a ship excursion which promised some waterfalls, hiking, botanical gardens, and lunch! Our excursion departs at 7 AM, and we have fully charged batteries for ourselves and the cameras.

Our first stop is Yakcheonsa Buddhist Temple. It was originally a hermitage, and now open to the public.

The walk to the temple is on path through an orchard of tangerine trees. The trees are lush with orange fruit, and equally lush with impressive spider webs complete with impressive size spiders. The tour leaders soon learn to carry their tour flags lower so as to not sweep the spiders onto the group.

The orchard path opens to stairs leading to the lay entrance where we placed our shoes along with many others, and step inside. It is a voluminous space, and instantly a soft quiet gently settles down about all the many people inside. It feels like a quiet that has lived here for some time, and welcomes each visitor with its call to connect this place.

The Buddha statues are beautiful, each with their own meaning through the position of the hands, or mudras.

This Buddha’s hands are placed in the Vajra Mudra, the Mudra of supreme wisdom.

The Buddha’s hands on the left are in the Karana Mudra. The position of the hands ward off negative thoughts and energy. The Buddha on the right has their hands placed in the Bhumispara Mudra, representing the Buddha touching the earth to bear witness to his enlightenment.

After spending some meditative moments in the great hall, we walk up 2 flights of creaky wooden steps to the rooms surrounding the dharma hall where we find a sand mandala. These are created by hand, and take many many hours to complete. The detail and intricacy is amazing.

There are 18,000 buddha statues enshrined here around the perimeter of the dharma hall.

As we walk about the upper floor we are able to appreciate more of the detailed sculptures and beautiful artwork on the columns and ceilings. The interior of the temple is decorated in vibrant, eye catching colors.

There are many flags and lanterns about the ceiling.

Outside we have the opportunity to walk the grounds and the gardens. The architectural details on the temple are ornate and colorful. I would have loved to hear the drum.

There is a natural mineral spring on the grounds that is said to “wash away the suffering and tears of sentient beings”. The entire energy is peaceful and relaxing.

I am greatly enjoying our time here at the temple and about the grounds. From the walkway through the gardens we see the ocean, imparting a feeling of serenity. There is something special about visiting a new place and having it feel familiar. It brings to mind one of my favorite sayings by Maya Angelou: People will forget what you said, and forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel. I may forget about the bus ride, the many things our tour guide shared with us about the temple, but I know I won’t soon forget feeling the peace imparted by this special place.

We reboard our tour bus and travel on to Daepo Jjusangjeolli Cliff on the Jisatgae Coast. The rocks are bathed in sunlight, and the texture of the shoreline is varied. The cliff was formed when Mount Hallasan erupted into the sea of Jungmun.

Our tour guide tells us of the women in her family, Haenyeo (Sea Women), who free dive almost a 100 feet down in the water without any diving equipment, collecting and catching seafood barehanded. Haenyeo have been diving since the 17th century, and their roles as leaders of the family differ culturally than women in other regions of Korea. The skill is rapidly being lost as the current women divers are aging, many 60, 70 years old or more. You can read more about them in this Smithsonian Article. One diver showed us the abalone she had harvested this morning.

We are excited for our next part of the tour, a hike to visit Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls. The Seonim bridge gives a spectacular view to the ravine below. We hiked down steep steps to the waters edge and the falls.

The Cheonjeyeon Waterfall is beautiful and the perfect spot to use some long camera shutter speeds to soften the flow of the water.

Next we visit Jeju Botanical Gardens. The grounds are beautifully planted, and inside there are different halls with a variety of plant life. A path takes us around the outside of the building, offering more views and more varieties of plants.

This pond offered a quiet place to take in the reflections and enjoy the sunshine.

Our tour included lunch at a Korean restaurant where the food was cooked in a large hot pot on the table. I was greeted with my own pot loaded with fresh vegetables, rice, and some delectable sauces. Art and our table neighbors enjoyed my share of the meat dishes.

So many wonderful facets make up Jeju Island; the people, temples, coastline, waterfalls, and gardens. All were a kaleidoscope of experiences that filled our camera cards and our sprits.

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope – a slight change, and all patterns alter.

Sharon Salzberg