A Great Time Had By All - Jeju Part 2

Hey look a photo, I should have added some of these before.
Well it was Wednesday and Margaret and I made it to Jeju by 8 am and left he airport to explore Jeju City and wait for the rest of our friends to get there. We took a bus into town and got some breakfast before checking out a temple complex, and old fortress wall and then headed to a seaside rock formation that looks like the head of a dragon. It was pretty cool but still only took a minute to see. After that we went to the harbor to sit in the sun and wait out the last couple hours until our friends got in. At 330 we went back to the the airport and waited for them to get in. Once both groups of friends got in we went to a fantastic samgyupsal restaurant and had our first group dinner in Jeju before heading to the bus station to get a bus to the city we were staying in on the east coast called Ilchulbong, the location of Sunrise Peak.
Our group consisted of Margaret and I from the Nokchiwon; Jameson and Brian from the middle school; Brett, Hayley, James, Alex (the non Britt), Kim, Arthur, and Frank from the elementary school; and Blake the new Avalon Lancon member.
On our second day a bunch of us went to the waterfalls located on the South side of the island, one of which is said to be the only one in Asia that falls directly into the ocean called Jeongbang Falls. We could stand right in pool the waterfall fell in while the tide was out and feel the mist. After that we went to the beach to get some sun and play in the ocean. We stayed until the sun was going down then grabbed dinner and headed back to Ilchulbong.
Several of us, Kim Blake, Arthur, Brett, Jameson, Brian, and I got up on our third day and made for the volcano in the center or the island that gave birth to Jeju Island so many years ago. Called Halla Mountain it is the highest peak in South Korea rising some 2000 m above sea level. They said it would take around 4.5 hours to get to the top but since we got their late we hustled to make it to the top before the check point 2/3 of the way up closed, disallowing us to pass on to the top. It took us 3.5 grueling hours to get to the top, some of us reaching it before others strictly because of fitness levels. the view from the top was amazing, as we were above the clouds and looking out over and entire island. The climb down was much easier but still took 2.5 hours because we could afford to stop for breaks and pictures. Once we were back in Jeju City we all went to a jimjilbong (sauna) to shower up and change our sweaty clothes before getting some dinner and drinks.
Feeling incredibly sore the next day; Blake, Brian and I got up and went to the Manjanggul lava tube, which is a 1.3 km underground cave created by years of underground lava flows as the island was forming. It was pretty cool to be down there walking around so much history. After that we met up with Margaret and Jameson on the south side of the island to try and take a submarine ride around the coral reefs. Unfortunately they schedule was full for the remainder of the day so we had to leave without getting a look under the sea. Margaret and I were especially disappointed because she had really wanted to go and it was the closest thing I would get to scuba diving because that was all booked up too. Instead Margaret and I went to a nearby temple while the rest went to meet up with the rest of the party a the beach. We eventually caught up with them to get in one last dip in the ocean and beer on the beach.That night we stayed late in Seogwipo City, the city I've been referring to as the south side of the island, and have some drinks before we left the next day.
The next day, Sunday, we were all scheduled to leave at times ranging between 830 and 11 am. But, before we left Ilchulbong Brian, Blake, Frank, Arthur, Brett and I walked up Seongsan Ilchulbong, Sunrise Peak, to see the sun come up at 530. It was hard to get up that early after only going to bed at 3, but the early morning jog up the mountain helped and was well worth it to see the sun come up over the ocean before heading out. After seeing the sun come up we returned to the hotel to get our bags and clean out our room. Then we had some breakfast and took cabs back to the airport in Jeju City to wait for our flights.
Once we got back to Seoul, for the third time haha, some of us grabbed Dos Tacos then headed home to get some vacation from our vacation. It was an amazing time and just what we all needed. Unfortunately when I got home there was news of Russ's baseball accident, and Tim's arm injuries which made me wish for the first time in a while that I could be home to help when things go bad.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer. Talk to you again soon.