Jindo: Puppies, Pink Cherry Blossoms, and the Parting of the Sea

cropped-20160409_063036.jpgWe had seen the sea parting once, not knowing it would part two more times again by sundown.  Some of us (self included) were a little worried about getting seasick on the boat out to Modo Island, so instead of braving the sea we actually ended up having a leisurely morning getting ready (after a well-deserved, post-parting nap!) before heading down the cherry-blossom lined paths and street over to the festival.

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The 4th floor of our hostel high on a hill afforded us some beautiful views of the cherry blossoms, as well as a view of the sea.  In the afternoon we were actually able to see the third parting from our balcony.  We had already been told that our Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival trip was cancelled.  I was super bummed, but all these beautiful cherry blossoms in the relatively empty area between our hostel and the sea parting festival made up for lost tourism.

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The International Village was quite close to the entrance of the festival.  I particularly enjoyed the Tandoori Chicken from the Taj Mahal in Russia, as well as the sausages and coconut from Germany.  Getting your booze on was an easy feat at the “America” booth, but I was more inclined to enjoy a refreshing Tsing Tao (from China) and a blast from the past singing a song about the Jasmine flower with a new friend.

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As you can see, there were plenty of booths and there was plenty of excitement just by the entrance to the festival.  On we went to see what we could see (or sea what we could sea, in this case).

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PUPPIES!  If a pile of sleeping Jindo puppies doesn’t give you at least a minor case of baby talk and all kinds of “feels”, then I don’t know how close we could be as friends.  In the first glimmer of spring heat in Korea, we had sunshine, lollipops, and puppies.  I think this was the happiest Miss. LoZ had been in Korea up to this point!

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Jindo Dogs are incredibly intelligent.  These well-trained dogs were jumping through hoops, jumping over humans, and this one was even painting!

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Granny Bbong (yes – that’s her name.  Read the history here) was found around the festival in a few inconspicuous spots.  I say that because the statue above is more covered by prayer ribbons than adorned, and the statue by the sea has a towering tiger standing by overpowering the old lady.  I guess that’s more telling of the legend than the story itself.

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We continued around the bend and walked through the village.  It wasn’t exactly well-kempt, but it was well-kelped!  There was seaweed drying all over the place.

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To get back to the entrance to the festival we walked up the hill and along the trail that felt a lot like a boardwalk.  The views were incredible, the sun was warm, and the company was unparalleled!

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We finished the day with our new friend “Donald” the MC, Chicken & Beer (ChiMaek), coffee, and homemade pajeon and hotteok.  Purely blissed out after a sea parting punctuated by pink cherry blossoms, pajeon, and perfect puppies.

Looks like most of us enjoyed our own little variation on a spectacular Festival day!  Check out Gina Bear’s Blog post on her experience in Jindo, too!

 


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