summer on the mountain

some of you might recall that i started hiking mount sineo in mid-winter. there were no leaves on the trees. the streams were but a trickle of half frozen water. the air was cool. i really enjoyed it and went up about 5 times in a couple of months.

on thursday i had the afternoon off (thanks to exams) and figured what better way to spend the afternoon? it was actually sunny out for the first time in a while and thought i could get a little colour on me before the trip to thailand. i also wanted to check out those 'trickles' during the rainy season.

it was a whole different world.

i took pictures to compare and contrast the difference...

before:

i took this because i KNEW it would be a lake in summer... there's been some kind of 'work' done on the area so it looks a little different, but i swear it's the same spot.

after:

don't know where that concrete came from... but look at all that water!!!

before:

it's not exactly the same shot, the direction is a little off, but it's the same place...

after:

isn't it incredible what a little (or a lot) of rain will do.

i know it's just nature, but how often in our hectic lives do we really have the time and opportunity to just enjoy it? i know when i go home i won't be a ten minute walk from nature... and if i want to hike a mountain, i'll have to drive to it... so i'm going to enjoy it as much as i can before leaving korea.

here are some extra shots i took just because things are pretty now.

this is the "bridge" over the stream... it was barely wet in winter and now you have to walk through the water.

the bottom of the mountain is host to farmers fields. little plots of land that remind me of community gardens in montreal, but on a bigger scale. they grow lots of different food and plants.

like corn.

and potatoes. i don't think i've ever seen potatoes this close to their "natural habitat".

it was a nice afternoon. i'm a lot faster at getting up and down the mountain than i was, so i guess all the cardio i've been doing for the past five months is doing something. i've actually lost a total of 25.5 pounds now... and i'm still going!!!

coming soon, some korean weirdness that i've been meaning to write about: "service" and "the bacteria killing man"... so stay tuned.