Alright….so I actually did write the following blog on my phone in South Korea, but then I couldn’t post it because the app sucks. ……so I’m just now getting around to posting it. Oops…..
Greetings from South Korea, y'all! I always take my computer with me on trips for blogging purposes, yet I rarely ever use it on trips because we're so busy touring, so I tried something different this time. Instead of blogging from my computer, I'm going to try it from my iPhone....if my thumbs don't kill me! ;)
Before I begin with South Korea stories, I wanted to write about our couch surfer and hike up Ichifusa. Ian and I joined couch surfing shortly after arriving in Japan, but due to where we live, no one really has ever come all the way out to our house to stay. We had a couple of times when we thought people were coming, but they canceled last minute when they realized just how far out we lived. However, finally we got a couch surfer, Hugo from Quebec. He was honestly one of the most interesting people I've ever met. He is well traveled and can go anywhere on a whim. He said that he doesn't travel to see places but to meet people. I thought that that was such an incredible way of traveling that I've never considered! What was even more interesting about Hugo was that he worked for Cirque de Soliel as an acrobat and currently owns his own company but still tours as an acrobat. (I know it sounds kind of weird to say that he worked for the circus, but he was legit. More on that later!)
Since he was with us, we decided to scratch an item off of our list of things to do before we leave....hike Ichifusa one more time. Mollee and Margo joined us, and we had an amazing day! The weather was absolutely perfect for a day of hiking. As we hiked up, Hugo would do risky things like climb way out on the branch of a tree or leap from rock to rock (with a severe drop below).....stuff none of us would DARE try, but he had to remind us that doing stuff like that was his job. Nearly every time I saw him, he was balancing his walking stick in his hand or juggling something. I had to stop myself one time from saying, "What...do you work for the circus or something?" .....because he actually does!
The hike up was grueling, but once we made it, it was worth it. The view was beautiful, and since there was no one else at the top, we had it all to ourselves! We opened our backpacks and dug into our lunches because we were ravenous!! After devouring everything we had, each of us laid down in the warm sunshine and took a nap. It felt wonderful to do so!
After that little break, the real fun began. Hugo said that he wanted to take a panorama picture of the scenery but didn't want the scrub bush and trees in the way, so he suggested that someone stand on his shoulders. All of us looked at him skeptically, thinking YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT?!?! In the end, Ian was peer pressured to do it. Hugo said to trust him, but when you're on the top of the mountain looking down trying to do a cute circus move, you begin to question trust no matter how much you do or do not believe in someone. That one trick led to a series of tricks in which we all did something with Hugo. Hugo told us that most people are capable of doing these stunts, but the mind often gets in the way and makes you shut down. If you can get over the mental aspect of your mind telling you no, then it’s completely possible. Mollee was brave enough to go first. She had to hang off of his neck with one of her legs. (Remember....this is on the edge of a cliff!!) Margo's trick was to climb on Hugo's back and lift her legs straight out while he balanced ALL of their combined weight on his arms. After they all did tricks, I knew that I couldn't whimp out. I gave in to peer pressure and performed. He asked me if i was flexible, but i think my idea of flexibility and his idea were polar opposites. My stunt was that I pushed all of my weight back on him while he grabbed my left foot and brought it up to my head while I pointed my right leg outward, forming a right angle. The thrill of performing that on the cliff was incredible!! I definitely understand what people talk about when they say "the rush" because after that I felt like I could take on anything!! I felt like I was ready to rush off and join the circus!
The return trip down Ichifusa was MUCH more dangerous. While the way up requires stamina and climbing ability, the way down requires agility. It was funny because on the way up Hugo lost a bottle of water. He was adjusting a strap on his backpack, the bottle slipped out, and we heard it rolling down the mountain forest for several minutes. However, on the way down, I found a giant liter water bottle. I suppose the same thing happened to someone else. The bottle was sealed, so we knew it was OK and drank it. What the mountain taketh, the mountain giveth!
Everyone went home after that to shower and change before meeting back up for dinner in Hitoyoshi. We finally got to go to the curry place that Mollee always raves about. Since it was an authentic Indian restaurant, the food was pretty darn spicy! After that Ian, Mollee, and I went to Melissa's to stay the night. It was a very short night since we went to bed at 11:30 and had to be awake at 3:30 in order to catch our ferry in Fukuoka the following morning.
Woot! So now that I'm all caught up, the next blog can be about Korea! Stay tuned for that....
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