A 260km cycling journey around Jeju through volcanic landscapes and fishing villages
The South Korean island is known for its beaches, black pork and haenyeo divers, but a bike trip reveals traces of history that still shape it
The colours dazzle under the midday sun, even through squinting eyes.
Aqua blue sea, sparkling and dancing with the waves, a bright baby blue where the sea floor turns to sand, a deeper marine hue where the water deepens. The sea tears itself into dashes of foam along the shore, surprising me as the white rears up and falls with a whoosh right next to my wheels.
Then the volcanic basalt, jagged and hot as it absorbs the sun’s rays, stretches clean and black as far as the eye can see. Finally, the lush green vegetation, buzzing with insect song and dappled with pink flowers, appears impenetrable in its unchecked growth.
