I’m tapping this in the shelter and squalor of a former beachfront house that has been abandoned, ruined and completely degraded, though not necessarily in that order.
Respite in a garbage-filled oasis
But a fragment of extant roof provides shade and the lack of front wall permits the entrance of soothing breezes and the sound of breaking waves. It also enjoys nice views of the nuclear plant I passed earlier.
The Kori nuclear plant from the shack
I’ve been hiding from the sun and even napped sitting upright, leaning back on an overturned armchair. I think things are crawling into my pack…
Started at six today…
Dawn on the docks
Roadside statuary shop — very common in Korea
..swam at one amid schools of inquisitive plastic flotsam that nibbled, nudged and nuzzled my torso and legs to my, well, disgust…
Off to see the world
Typical crumbling coastal defenses
Every inch of level ground taken
..[and] stopped briefly at three superheated beaches where the sound of crackling skin was tangible.
Melanoma factory
Hot chillies by the hot roadside
Inter-species romance
Spruced-up beachside shanty
I walked till 11:00 pm after leaving the serial killer’s beach shack. I felt strong, practically invincible in the cool evening breeze and darkness.
A sepia sunset
Sunset heralds tolerable walking conditions
I finally realised the fantasy of what the trip would be like for a couple of hours of splendid walking along Rt 31…
Looking back to the 1st of several reactors
..when it followed some dramatic cliffs including the easternmost point in the country, the Byron Bay of Korea.
Walking paths: a nice section at dusk
On the boardwalk
Coffee shops, restaurants and…a psychedelic carriage?
Tourists by the thousand…
Most easterly point on the mainland — and big postbox
Hardy arachnids
..[and] an outdoor concert with an MC whose feverish barks could probably be heard in Busan.
Opera by the ocean
Once I’d passed all that and got upwind I was fine — except for another army base…
~ And that’s all the Goat wrote
The Goat that Wrote 
Some very nice photos again — and liked the captions too. Some crazy, surreal stuff here — that glowing carriage, and that supersized postbox! My favourite pic is the beachside shanty.
Yes, nice to a see a whimsical side to the Koreans!
Haha, I tried to brush those spiders off my screen. Well, it is early in the morning…
Sorry, man, I should’ve put a warning with that one!
Great to see the photos to follow the captivating posts. Talking to an art teacher at my Son’s school last night has given me a deeper appreciation your photographic skills – well composed and always saying something
Thanks, Robert. I’m always trying to get better. In my style of pictures I have to work fast, but I think I’m getting better at nailing the essence of the scene and I what I want to say about/with it before I lift the camera to my eye. Then it’s focus, frame and snap and on I go down the road!
Love the beachside villa you stayed at and those beaches seem a little less populated… I really love the inter species romance… very funny! A really nice part of your journey.
Thanks, Sue. Yeah! Although there were only a few truly deserted beaches as I went north (not counting the ones behind barbed wire), the crowds of Haeundae etc were thankfully never repeated.
The villa? You mean El Dumpamundo (to quote The Fonz)? If it had been a LOT cleaner, I would have considered staying there. I have a tradition of stealthing in abandoned buildings when I do long walks. But this place was truly evil except for its shade.
Stone and water–new and old–nature and humanity. Hot bodies and hot peppers. Great captures.
Thanks as always, Alice. Those hot peppers were a recurring motif on the walk — yes, somehow appropriate.
At least it’s not wall to wall people in that beach photo. Oh yeah, the Korean love affair with those floaties is a little over the top! That ‘villa’ looks passable for hanging around in, but I guess photos can’t capture smell can they?!
I doubt many beaches in the world could match Haeundae for population density on a sunny summer’s day. Far saner as I moved north, but I’m still pretty fussy about where I’ll go for a swim.
I should have taken some pictures inside that shack. If even I will pass on bunking down in a place, you know it’s gotta be bad!