Olle 5

This is Namwon, at the start of Olle trail 5. You can even see the top of our red Kia Morning car over the harbour wall. The end was 14.7 km to the west, along Jeju’s south coast.

The trail wasn’t all about the black volcanic rocks of the shore; at times it moved inland, through the little settlements and the mandarin groves, past a Buddhist temple, over dried-up river beds. The river beds look as if they can and do carry significant quantities of water, but I haven’t seen that anywhere on the island yet. The rainy season didn’t happen last year, and most of the water just disappears into ground anyway.

So, the water in the photo below is seawater, rising and falling slowly between the rocks like someone breathing in their sleep.