Cheongdeok-myeon to Hanam (58 km)
We were a bit optimistic in assuming that the trail was all “downhill” after the summit at Ihwaryeong Pass. Although we are following the Nakdong downstream, there are places where the path leaves the easy embankments and goes up into the hills. These roads are often extremely steep, forcing us to push our bikes.
When we started out this morning, It was bright and sunny, the path was flat and we were expecting to cycle the 30 kms to Namji for coffee at the Paris Baguette by 10. But, the path soon veered off into the hills again and put paid to that idea. Today, the inclines were long and steep or short and even steeper. When we finally did arrive at the Paris Baguette, we were disappointed to find they had neither tables, nor a proper espresso machine!
The rest of the afternoon was slightly easier, but we were getting tired by the time we got to Hanam-eup.
We should note how indispensable the Naver and KakaoMap apps have been. We got these on Shinyoung’s advice and would have been lost without them. In Korea, Google Maps is next to useless. This evening, using Naver, we found a local restaurant that serves only Chueo-tang -loach soup, a specialty of this region. Made from the fresh water pond loach, the soup is flavoured with chilies, garlic and mint or perilla powder. Served with rice and side dishes, it was delicious.
