Route 07

8 September 2024

My first "Olle", arranged by a colleague with a bus to take us to the start and collect us from the finish point. I was by far the oldest and also the least fit! Things were not helped by carrying a DSLR and about 3 litres of liquids. I had little idea as to what to expect and did not realise that we would be passing cafes to refuel.

The route starts from the Tourist Centre where we could buy our Olle passports and stamp it for the start of Olle 07.

The early parts of the route were the best and I would have liked to have taken more photographs but every time I stopped to take a photograph, I dropped behind and had to catch up the rest of the group.

The waterfall in the third picture is Cheonjiyeon Waterfall which is 22m high. I believe that the waterfall is a short walk from a car park and I will be sure to check it out further.

The Olle Trails are well marked with blue and orange signs and ribbons between the sign posts, but there is still some potential for a wrong turn. We headed steeply uphill in hot (~ 30°C) and humid conditions. I was already becoming dehydrated. My fluids were bottled and I did not want to have a drink and then get left behind. We reached the top of the hill where there was something resembling a bandstand that offered shade and a place to rest. From there we dropped down to the coast and the Oedolgae sea stack.

We continued to the Olleyo rest area where there was a cafe with air conditioning and cold blue lemonade. I believe it is just a blue syrup that adds the blue colour. There were several sculptures outside the cafe.

Much refreshed, we continued along the coast. In places the path was rockier or pebbles at the top of a beach. I was definitely going a bit better at this point though I still found the heat stifling. There was a stamping station to add evidence of our completion of the route within our Olle passports.

Onwards to Wolpyeong-pogy and five minutes win a shop with air conditioning.

The next stage was largely along road and while the sight of large cruise ships added interest, it became just a case of "heads down and reach the finish line". It was beginning to rain. I think I was the only one carrying a waterproof jacket but I did not bother putting it on as it was far too hot to be putting on extra clothing. On reaching the end, we stamped our passports and took a few photos of the team.