Sunday Marathons (24 April)

Catfish and M have signed up for the Saemangeum Seawall Marathon in Gunsan.  The Saemangeum Seawall is one of Gunsan City’s biggest sites and proudest achievements.  It is basically a long bridge that connects Gunsan to Buan – a city approximately one hour south of us.  Catfish and M have signed up for a marathon along this seawall and so have had a very early start to the day while I opt to stay home and do some work before meeting them at Lotte Mart after the marathon.

From there, we head to Paradiso Perduto, an Italian themed restaurant overlooking Eunpa Park with magnificent views of the lake, a peaceful and relaxing deck and the best brie/pastrami Panini sandwiches in Gunsan.  It’s easy to while away the next five hours relaxing on the deck of the restaurant, enjoying the balmy weather and just generally lazing about.  When we finally decide to move, it’s a mere 100m migration to Santa Rosa, the famous coffee shop next to Paradiso.  From our table on the second floor, we have an even better view of Eunpa Park and notice that the cherry blossoms in the park have finally bloomed – something we’ve been eagerly awaiting for weeks!

After relaxing in Santa Rosa for another hour or so, Catfish and I finally say goodbye to M before going for a walk around Eunpa Park to see the cherry blossoms.  The trees are beautiful and the park is busy with many people as eager as us to see the promenade of blossoms at the entrance to the park – a site that is apparently one of the most beautiful in Gunsan.  The cherry blossom trees are a special sight that mark the beginning of Spring: The flowers are small, delicate white blossoms that look like little icicles or crystals from a distance; they also only bloom and last for approximately one week.  Quite simply, it’s easy to miss the cherry blossoms altogether because the blossoms do not last very long; by next weekend, the trees will simply be green.

Fresh from our walk around the park, it’s time to take care of a few admin details like doing the transfers to secure our places for our next two adventures with AK: the Pumba Festival with sea rafting and the Baek Islands trip in June.  It’s still a month to go until the first of these trips but, as we all know, time flies when you’re having fun in the ROK…