Saturday, May 05, 2018

9 pics from Day 2 of the Incheon walk

Day 2 stats:

Steps: 45,969
Minutes walked: 444
Distance: 22.99 miles (according to phone; more like 30 km, i.e., 18.6 miles)
Calories burned: 4149 (i.e., really about 3800)

Today was a slower, more painful walk than yesterday's, but I made it to Incheon and the West Sea Lock Registration Center, where the Gukto Jongju bike path ends (or begins), in decent time. Today's step rate was less brisk than yesterday's, but more consistent with my usual rate of about 6,000 steps per hour. As with last October, the view at the end of the route proved dull and anticlimactic, which is a reminder that, if you want to walk the path and be rewarded with an awesome view at the end, don't start in Busan.

That said, today's leg of the journey provided the same wealth of interesting sights as last time. Part of the path along the Ara Canal takes one under the flight path of the planes landing at Incheon International Airport, so I tried snapping some shots of incoming planes (you can enlarge the images by right-clicking and selecting "open image in new tab"):



A selfie taken along the way:


Some flowers in bloom—a sure sign of spring:


Another selfie taken at the finish line:


And the first pic of one of my obsessions: that huge blue mama bear that stands proudly at the rest station not far from the finish line (on her head is a brownish/orange cub):


A shot of one of the two impressive wind turbines close to the finish line. Their huge blades make loud whooshing sounds as they scythe heavily through the air:


My first thought upon entering the rest area was to get some food in me. I'd had chicken donggaseu yesterday, but the only exciting thing on this restaurant's menu was wang-donggaseu, i.e., king-sized Japanese schnitzel, so I got that. Today's meal was okay, but next time, I'll be scraping off most of the sauce, which was cloying and gooey:


And because I can't help myself, here's one last shot of the she-bear and her cub:


I'm at the Techno Motel again, like last time. This motel is a lot cheaper than the place I stayed last night in the Gayang district, but the facilities are arguably nicer. Price isn't everything, I guess. Tomorrow morning, I begin the two-day trek back. It's going to rain the entire time I'll be walking, and the rain is supposed to stop right as I arrive back in Gayang. If ever there's a day on which I'm going to end up with foot blisters, tomorrow will be that day. But Monday's weather will be great, so I'll end the walk on a cheerful note, at least. Gotta think positive.

I'm way the hell more tired today than I was yesterday, so after I hand-do my laundry and take a much-needed shower, I'll be spending the rest of the evening and night off my very sore feet.

More tomorrow.



No comments: