Cycling west of Seogwipo, Jeju

I rented a bicycle and explored south and west of Seogwipo in southern Jeju. On my travels, I dropped by my honeymoon Airbnb accommodation, had grilled mackerel, explored quiet coastal roads and revisited some of the Olle Trail (7), had a lovely filter coffee in the garden at Ruddy’s by the sea, before heading back east and north to explore more country roads. I finished the day at Seogwipo market (again!) with some street food and local beers.

DAY 6 OF 7-DAY stay on Jeju

A relatively late start for me (blame yesterday’s beers!) meant I opted getting bus to Jeju E-bike (제주이바이크) in the southern part of Seogwipo. I rented battery assist bike for a day; 35,000 KRW, same as yesterday’s scooter! Cycled west past the harbour and entrance to Cheonjiyeon falls and bought water for the day and and a breakfast pastry. The fish meals were too pricy at the two restaurants here, so kept on cycling, past the famous Rose Marine bar and Saeseom Island (새섬), and then up a substantial curvy hill; it was here I started to appreciate the battery assist on this bicycle. I’m not entirely used to this kind of bike but it did the job of getting me up the hill with minimum effort.

At the top, I decided to check out Palm Tree Villa, the accommodation my wife and family used after the wedding in 2018. Well, it’s still there! I didn’t go inside or course, but it was a nice nostlagic drop-by. It is such a great place to stay if you have a big group (pricey) with views to the mountain and the sea from the second floor.

Lunch

After looking at my map app, I found a few likely candidates for lunch. The first stop promised sushi on the outside menu, but no such luck inside, so I continued to the next option; too pricey and fancy. Next. Perfect1 Grilled fish for a reasonable price. I recommend Country Jeju (고향제주), a no frills family-run restaurant with all your favourite Korean dished. I had grilled mackerel. Very nice.

Well fed, I continued further west to the coast, then found various little roads near streams and coast, plus a few dead end roads. One such road took me down a steep hill alongside a valley covered in lush overgrowing green and lots of palm trees. Down at the coast, I recognised this as place I’d passed on section 7 of the Olle Trail. It’s kind of nice revisiting places from different directions and joining the dots! There wasn’t anywhere to go by bike from there, so again, the battery assist got me back to the top where I continued west.

Ruddy’s Cafe

I followed a road that took me south to the seaside again. I cycled to some rocky coastline and watched a local fisherwoman (해뇨) diver go into the sea. Then I continued west to Dumeoni Park (두머니물공원), a seaside park I recognised park from a trip with Romana a few years ago. The cafe we went to then has closed (nothing in the building as of yet), so after enjoying the small park, I went to a cafe across the road called Ruddy’s, which has a nice garden looking out to the sea. I got a filter coffee and stayed for quite a while, relaxing.

Sombancheon

I headed north inland a bit, going uphill and then eastwards to look for more small country roads. I came across quite a few lovely spots hidden from the main roads; a hill with some nice large villas on and then later, a small village called Seogun (I think) built around a deep waterway. It’s along a stream called Sombancheon (솜반천). After spending a little time there, I continued north east along small roads then headed south to streamside park next to another section of Sombancheon stream (솜반천). I took a few photos there and relaxed a little. A lovey peaceful place.

It was getting close to 5 pm and the bike was due at 6 so I made my way back. I returned along some of the way I headed out, going down the long hill road to Seogwipo Harbour, back past Rose Marine then up another hill back to the bike shop. Unfortunately, the battery was struggling to provide the power I needed in these last uphill sections; I wasn’t sure if I’d lost the knack or if more power was needed (battery indicator seem to show enough charge). Returned bike, but forgot about the cycle lock. I dropped that by layer while my washing was in the dryer; did a load of washing at the hotel for 8,000 at the hotel.

Seogwipo Olle Everyday Market

Once I was showered and rested, I headed back to the market and being well-practiced, I ordered the food then grabbed a Magpie Porter nearby, took it to the food stall, then ate and drank on one of the market benches in the main thoroughfare. This was a Friday, so there were quite e few people around. On the menu tonight was a pork filled pastry bun. Once I was done here, I returned to Jeju Beer Fountain for a nightcap. This had been a lovely long Jeju trip, my longest so far (7 days counting tomorrow).