Korea's National Pass Time

Last Sunday we went hiking.  This was supposed to be fun.
Koreans love hiking!  There are hundreds of trails to explore in the many hills and mountains of this beautiful country.  Ben did some research and we decided to head out to Namhansanseong Fortress, not too far from our place.   The day was gorgeous and the hike was breathtaking...on many levels.  As neither of us can read Korean we actually ended up taking the most challenging route possible.  At times, I really had to channel my inner Pam Duynstee to remember to enjoy myself as we scaled the mountain.

The misleading beginning of what appeared to be a leisurely afternoon hike.

And how quickly things changed... This couple pictured were probably in their late 50s and were hiking enthusiasts.  They thought we were pretty funny. They were with us during some of our most trying times and recognized our struggles.  When we finally reached the top they rewarded us with apples and a whole cucumber which we DEFINITELY needed.

This was our first view of the fortress and realizing how far away it still was after 2 hours was not the greatest feeling.

FINALLY the top... or what we thought was the top.  We found ourselves on the wrong side of the fortress wall and discovered we had another 35 minute treacherous hike to the entrance...This is where we parted with our Korean friends and sneakily climbed the centuries old wall.

Once over the wall things continued to get interesting!  We ended up meeting another man who made huge efforts to stay with us as we explored the sites (blue shirt).  He spoke pretty good english and insisted we come with him to "meet the CEO of the Cafeteria".

  In Korea, it is extremely rare that a person owns a house.  They are VERY VERY expensive.  The only houses we have actually seen were on this hike.  

This guy was sort of weirding us out at this point but he was really nice so we were just going with it...and we are so grateful we did!  He ends up taking us to this elderly man's home near the top of the mountain.  He is actually a retired CEO of some construction company that built oil rigs in Saudi Arabia ($$$). He just so happens to own a Cafe these days, which is probably where the cafeteria thing came in? Not too sure.   We had the best time! We started with coffee then four of his friends showed up and we ate and drank with them for over 2 hours...then they drove us down the mountain.

Before anyone freaks out, in no way is this weird or dangerous!  The people of Korea are SO kind and hospitable and we were never a yell away from crowds of people.

This was our Korean Easter!
xoxox