I know, I know. It's been a while.
The winter months were pretty quiet. The dwindling sunlight hours and the cold, grey skies did not lend themselves to the spirit of adventure.
On top of that, I had the unfortunate experience of having to spend my week of winter freedom quarantining in my apartment.
I'm definitely not still bitter about that...
I did quite a bit of traveling during the summer and fall, so honestly, it was nice to have a bit of a break and just hang out in Daegu. In fact, there will be a post coming soon about the adventures I've been getting into here in the city.
But, inevitably, the itch to travel set in once again. Fortunately, a friend of mine had heard about paragliding in the nearby city of Danyang and I thought, why not?
Danyang is about 3.5 hours from Daegu and requires taking both the KTX and a bus to get there. Since we didn't know how long paragliding would take, we decided to make it an overnight trip so that we would have time to see other sights in Danyang as well.
The town of Danyang was smaller than I expected it would be, but it absolutely charmed me, nonetheless. It is wrapped around a river the cuts through the mountains surrounding the town. Much of what Danyang offers visitors revolves around various outdoor activities. If you like hiking, rafting, paragliding, caving, etc. then Danyang is THE place to visit in Korea.
It quickly became one of my favorite travel destinations in Korea so far.
I'm already planning a trip back for rafting this summer.
So, originally we had signed up for paragliding on Saturday, but due to high wind predictions, our flight time was pushed back to Sunday. Which meant Saturday we spent the day exploring the popular sights in Danyang.
First up - Dodamsambong Peaks.
Located on the southern reaches of the Han River, this particular stretch of the river is home to three towering peaks.
The big rock in the center of Dodamsambong is known as the 'Husband Rock'. The rock to the left is called the 'Mistress Rock', while the rock on the right is known as the 'Wife Rock'.
Legend tells us that the rocks symbolize an angry wife turning away from her husband, who has taken a mistress in order to help continue the family line. The heavens, who saw this mistreatment, supposedly turned them all to stone.
It has one of those "Yikes!' effects on you when you read about it.
There are inexpensive boat rides available for those who want a closer look at the peaks and I will definietly be signing up for that next time I visit!
Next up - Gosu Cave.
By FAR my favorite activity of the day.
Why is that? You ask.
Because.
Bats.
Real. Bats.
Normally, I don't edit the photos I post all that much. But, I did mess with the lighting on these photos because there is nothing worse than someone who wants to show you dark, blurry photos of a cave that look like absolute nonesense. So just know that the cave was not nearly this bright in real life.
Gosu Cave is a multi-level limestone cave and is a designated Natural Monument of Korea. Metal walkways and stariways allow you to explore over 4,500ft of stunning geological features. There is a pre-set route for visitors to follow, but it is not for the faint of heart! There were times when I had to squeeze through narrow crevices, or bend over at the waist in order to avoid hitting my head on the rocks.
Unlike the caves I have visited in the States, walking through this cave felt very up close and personal. We were given a set of gloves at the visitor's center and this allowed us to reach out and touch the rocks and walls around us without damaging the integrity of the cave.
But what absolutely SHOCKED me were the bats. Tell me, right now, the last time you saw a bat sleeping...just...out in the wild?
Not only that, but the bat in the picture above was so close to the walkway that I could've easily reached up and touched it.
I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that these bats were so comfortable sleeping that close to the presense of humans.
The only thing I could conclude was that Koreans as a whole have a respect for wildlife that will NEVER be realized in the States. For the bats to feel safe enough to sleep within easy reach of humans, it must follow that no one bothers the bats as they walk through the cave. And, if that's true, I have never had more respect for the Korean people.
America. Take note.
Look Ma, I'm a bat.
Unfortunately, by the time we were finished with the cave, the sun was starting to set, and there wasn't going to be time to visit the last stop on our list for the day. So, we decided to walk back to our Airbnb and look for dinner on the way.
Danyang has an amazing river walk that takes you pretty much the whole length of the town. It was roughly a 3 mile walk back to our Airbnb, but the views of the mountains at sunset were absolutely worth it.
The next morning everything boiled down to one thing - paragliding.
We met our driver at 10am for the 45-minute drive to the top of the mountain. And I will tell you, with 100% certainty, that the drive was the absolute WORST thing about paragliding. I haven't been that carsick in YEARS.
But once out of the car, the nausea passed and the excitment set in.
We watched a quick how-to video, signed the paperwork, and got geared up in our flight suits. It was a tandem flight so there was a lot of equipment to get loaded into.
The flight time was approximately 10 minutes, and once my pilot realized that I wasn't afraid of flying he kicked it up a notch. We soared and dove in equal measure for most of our flight. He even took us down in a few - very dizzying - spiral circles before launching us back into the air again. His skills and knowledge were very impressive and led to a GREAT flight experience.
I paid the extra $10 for the Gopro video, and it was well worth it! This is a short clip from the flight.
And please, I beg of you, do not ask me what was happening with my legs...they simply had a mind of their own for the entire duration of the flight.
Paragliding ended up lasting about 3 hours from start to finish. We finished just in time to hit a cafe and refuel before we had to start our return journey home.
Overall, the trip to Danyang exceeded my expectations, and I would highly recommend this town to anyone looking for a fun weekend.
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