While technically Seongsan Ilchulbong or Sunrise peak was on our to-do list for the day and we did stop there and see it, we didn’t actual climb it. The cool rains of the morning disappeared as soon as our lunch was over we found ourselves parking at the path towards Seongsan right as an emergency alert was sent out saying not to do any outdoor activity due to the heat. It was miserably hot, too hot for us to make it to the top without possibly negative health affects, especially for my aunt and uncle who are even more sensitive to the heat than I am. Instead we hiked down to where the diver women show would be. The 해녀 Haenyeo show happens a couple times a day depending on the weather. Our guide called several times on our way only to learn that it was cancelled due to the rough waters. He assured us though that the Haenyeo would be out and about if we headed down left towards #5 and #6 on the map rather than going up. He headed back to chill in the van where it was cooler. We went down to see what we could and found a small restaurant where we grabbed a seat and some drinks to enjoy with the view and tried to stay cool.
The whole area was packed with a little creatures. We didn’t have a clue what they were and I still don’t. They were of varying size depending on location and crawled everywhere.
After cooling off a bit and ready to head back up to the van we stopped to take some pictures of the tephra and tuff cone which were caused by the island’s volcano.
I would love to go back to the Sunrise peak, preferably when the weather is less intense and with luck I could catch a show. According to our guide the show is 5,000 won extra. Visiting the peak is 2,000 won a person. The best time to visit the peak is considered to try to be at the top by sunrise or sunset.