The Sand Vista Eco-thingie

On July 5th we attended an Eco-event in an area called Sand Vista near, Taean South Korea, to bring awareness to the stress that their recent petrol tanker spill placed on the environment. In this area the sand slowly sinks into the sea, allowing for an amazing wide beach with room o'plenty for all. I cannot venture to say how many attended but might guess well over 1,000. That's just a guess folks, maybe there were more. Maybe the "Agent Secret" that drives that car that I do not see in that picture has some information on how many people attended. Very stealth.



The Eco-walk was an 8 km stroll along the beach. It was intended that people would complete the walk barefoot. It was great to feel sand between our toes for the first time in a long time. We both missed the ocean very much. I, however, was unable to take too much of the barefoot action as I am a tenderfoot. It appears that others also found the sand to be too much and donned high heals. I wish I could say that high heals are rare in South Korean nature walks but can be regularly seen on beaches and rugged mountain trails. Maybe they can make me some in size 15...


This is our son Kevin. Honest. His father, Kang Ho, gave him to us in exchange for Stanwiches Fajita Burritos. He drove a hard bargain since tortillas are wickedly expensive here and the seasonings must be imported on a swimming donkey from the mountains surrounding Mexico City. It turned out to be a good deal since he is a great kid and a good example for his country. He is extremely inquisitive, intelligent, and good natured. I may offer his folks some homemade hummus if we can take him to the U.S. with us. His father works with Suzanne, is a very successful marathon racer, and a great dad despite selling his kid for Stanwiches Mexican food. It is damned fine food if I say so myself.

Speaking of food, after the walk we went to a local place and had a traditional meal of raw seafood and hot soups along with some beer and Soju. It is unfortunate that I cannot eat shellfish due to my allergy but it still allowed for some serious gorging on raw grouper and smoked fish followed by some hiccup inducing red soup filled with the leftover fish. There actually came a time when I said "I am full", and then I was informed that there were more courses to arrive. The lesson here is to only eat small amounts of what is offered as there is almost always more coming.

Later, we stepped outside under a gazebo to enjoy the cool sea air and some watermelon. Almost all of us dozed off at some point. Kang Ho snuck off to get coffee for all. Korean coffee is not terribly strong and is laced with sugar and cream for a tasty bump. What a great way to meet new people in such a far away place; some exercise, mountains of food, some libation, and a nap with sea breezes.