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Photo essay: Beolgyo to Wando
    Beolgyo to Nokdong (50km) to Geumil (by ferry) to Iljeong-ri (15km) to Dangmok (by ferry) to Sangjeong-ri (20km) to WANDO (by ferry) (Total of 75km, 47mi, by bicycle)
Points of Interest: Island hopping (three ferries), fish factories, multiple kinds of open water aquiculture
  Western style house in South Korea Consistent with traditional Korean land use, the farm goes almost up to the door of the house.  Unlike traditional housing in Korea, this has a very Western suburbs design, right down to the white vinyl windows.
  Korea: southern end of mainland, beginning of islands At the south end of the Korean peninsula the question is whether the mountains sink into the sea, or whether the mountains immerge from the sea.  In any case it is a picturesque transition.
  taxi stand in small town Another aspect of South Korea's comprehensive transportation infrastructure is the taxi stand in even small towns. They enable people who are car-free (including the elderly, disabled and students), even in rural areas, to have a high level of mobility.  The rates are affordable and all the drivers have cell (mobile) phones so they are easy to dispatch.  Most of the taxis are powered by clean burning LPG (liquid petroleum gas)
  farmland and sea Besides the forest and the farms, this photo shows Goheang Bay Seawall, which seems to be part of a scheme to reclaim Goheang Bay for an airfield and agriculture.
  rice drying by monument Even the flat space around monuments can be pressed into duty for drying rice.
  irrigated vegetables For a brief stretch the nature of agriculture was noticeable different; a lot of the fields were being irrigated.  The systems were generally low tech, just involving hose and oscillating sprinklers, but their presence is unique.  Even though it was Sunday morning, all most every field was occupied and a lot of people were working.
  Nakdong harbor fishing fleet Nakdong harbor fishing fleet.
  Assorted dried fish for sale along the wharf of Nakdong harbor Assorted live and dried fish, and seaweeds for sale along the wharf of Nakdong harbor.
  "Hoe" (fresh fish) restaurants The water front street of Nakdong (and most other coastal towns and villages) is lined with "Hoe" (fresh fish) restaurants.  The restaurants are identifiable by the array of fish tanks in front.
  typical inter-island ferry South Korea has hundreds of off-shore island and many of the are serviced by car ferries.  The area off the southern tip of the peninsula is criss-crossed with ferry routes.  Most routes have service at least a couple times a day.  It will be an end of an era soon for some of the ferries as bridge (right) are finished between the islands.
  passenger area on inter-island ferry The passenger facilities on this inter-island ferry were "ondol" style.  Some of the ferries are even smaller and don't have any passenger compartment and others are larger and have rooms with chairs.
  floats supporting some kind of open sea aquaculture project Floating pensA vast area of floats (left) supporting some kind of open sea aquaculture project.  This may be for growing seaweed.  Floating pens (right) for an aquaculture project in protected waters.
  Building for land based aquaculture project There are also land based aquaculture project like this one on Geumil Island. Hundreds of similar windowless buildings dot the shores of the South Sea islands.  Most are doing fish production.
  Dirt tracks We had to go out of our way and ignore a beautiful paved, almost car-free road, to find this track on Geumil Island.  Dirt tracks are very much the exception.  Except in the national parks most primary, secondary and tertiary roads are paved. 
  Wildflowers, forest and fiord bay on an island in the South SeaWildflowers, forest and fiord (well, not exactly a fiord, but the alliteration is good), on Geumil Island (left).  A bay (right) with boats and buoys and some other marine based farming activities.
  Orange groveExchanging greetings with a couple of young students (left) on their way home from school.  Orange grove (right) -- the islands of the South Sea is the primary citrus growing area of Korea.
  "scenic drive" The sign says "scenic drive", with an arrow.  On the one hand the entire island is a scenic drive, and on the other hand I couldn't figure out what the sign was pointing to.
  convergence of three "iron-horses" This is a unique moment of heavy traffic on a rural road.  The convergence of three "iron-horses" (two-wheeled tractors) at once was very rare.  These machines, with different accessories, can be used to haul goods, till fields, pump water and take the family to town to do the marketing.  There are rural roads like this all over the country that make for very scenic, relaxing and enjoyable bicycle touring.
  New bridge connecting Wando (island) with Sinchido (island) New bridge connecting Wando (island) with Sinchido (island).  It won't be too long before the ferries in this area are redundant.
  Changdo (Island of General) Changdo (Island of General) is a small island that sits off the east side of Wando.  Chunghaejin controlled the military, economic, cultural and political links between Shilla, Japan and Tang China in the middle of the 800's.  Excavations have confirmed a perimeter wall, door sites, vessels for sacrificial rites, buried ditches, wells, a wooden fence, 30,000 relics such as earthen vessels, pottery and metal products.
  West side of Wando Island West side of Wando Island (left) and a gem of a bicycle (right).
  Wando harbor and fishing fleetDowntown WandoWando harbor and fishing fleet (left), and downtown Wando (right).
  Hotel Seattle Hotel Seattle.  It is not uncommon to see Hotel California's and Hotel Florida's in cities on every content, but this is the first time that I had seen a Hotel Seattle (my hometown).
In front of the passenger ferry terminal in Wando is a park that attracts locals to pass the time playing games and reading the paper.

Beolgyo Jeju

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