Mt. Walk-forever

Hiking is a big deal here.  With 70% of the country unliveable due to mountainous terrain, it makes a lot of sense.  So in an attempt to work on our Korean cultural skills, the crew went for a little hike.

Knowing we had a bit of a climb before us on Saturday, most of us took Friday night off to lay low and rest up.... a few took their chances with Soju.  This provided a bit of entertainment for the rest of us!  

We meet up along the metro route, and made our way to Beomeosa (stop 133).  From there we took a short, crazy, topsy-turvy bus ride up to Beomeosa Temple.  Despite being under some construction to renovate the buildings, Beomeosa Temple and grounds were very cool to see.

Beomeosa Temple   1,300 years ago, the Buddhist temple of Beomeosa is one of the most renowned religious places of South Korea. Treasuring some invaluable cultural relics like three-story Pagoda and the main hall Daeungjeon, the temple is one of the top tourist sites of Busan.was built around 

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After looking around the Temple, we headed off to hike the mountain!  Well to be honest, I didn't know we were actually hiking a mountain, I thought it was just going to be a little hillside trail with interesting cultural aspects and a nice thing to do on the weekend.  

Geumjeongsan Mountain, Busan  surrounding the northern part of Geumjeong district this lush green mountain flaunting several peaks is and home to several popular tourist destinations like Geumgang Park, Beomeosa (Temple), Geumjeongsanseong (Mountain Fortress) and Sanseongmaeul Village. 

The origin of the mountain is referred in legendary anecdotes. A divine gold fish while gliding by a multicolored cloud was captivated by the charm of the place and played in the golden pond on Godangbong, the highest peak of the mountain. The valley is streamed by crystal clear flows and covered by thick wood. The exquisite natural beauty of the mountain makes it one of the most visited sites of Busan.

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5 hours later I had hiked a mountain!!  Getting to the top was a trek for sure!!  My legs can walk around new cities, in and out of castles and churches, but they have NOT been asked to climb any mountain, be it small or large, in many, many years.  There were times when we were coming down that I feared I would fall due to my shaking legs!  For as beautiful and inspiring as Beomeosa Temple and Mt. Geumjeong-san are, it was with a fair amount of relief that we had ended that day's adventure.