Japan in the Spring - Busan (Korea)

It's strange to put this under Japan in the Spring when Busan is actually in Korea..  I kept the heading just to keep everything together.  There seems to be some legality that requires a cruise ship to visit at least one international port during a cruise, in this case, it's Busan.  We joined the ship's shore excursion as it was an early port departure and we didn't want to miss the boat.

Busan looked like a busy international port with loads of cranes, bridges and containers visible on the waterfront.  Our first stop was the temple by the sea - the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.  It is in a beautiful seaside setting north of Busan.  Our Korean guide spent a lot of time talking about Korean social issues but didn't talk much about this Buddhist temple.  Some of the rooms are quite spectacular as is the seaside it faces.

The Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The lineup of animals representing the zodiac along the entrance

One of several dazzling chambers

Golden buddha 

Many steps lead to the upper levels 

The essential bamboo grove

The seaside in front of the temple

Our next stop is the Nurimaru APEC House on Dongbaekseom Island, an island of camellia trees.  The round building was the site of the 2005 APEC summit and continues to be used as a memorial hall and conference centre.  It was a nice walk by the sea with a great view of the nearby islands and the Busan skyline in the distance. 

The Nurimaru APEC House

The conference room

This waterfront trail leads to the mermaid statue on the rocks, reminiscent of that other famous mermai in Europe

Eurasian Magpie (another lifer for me!) and camellia flowers on the island

The bus took us back to the city where we were taken to the gigantic fish market - a real eye-opener.  We were rained out for the subsequent tour of the shopping street but it was interesting to see some of the shopping alleys - very Asian in character. 

An incredible variety of shellfish!  These are smaller stalls outside the actual fish market

Inside the actual fish market

The impressive building housing the fish market

Roadside stalls just outside the fish market

The shopping streets - this could be anywhere in Asia!

There is even a star walk

Containers galore

Bridges and cranes dot the waterfront skyline near the port

These look like oyster farms in the harbour

The fireboat gave us a cool farewell display

Port of Busan panorama

This short stop in Busan gave me a first glimpse of Korea - the brief insight into Korean society provided by our chatty guide (identifying social and academic pressures) helped me understand a little better where movies like Parasite and Minari originated from.  

Next post: Hiroshima

Reflections Galore and the Artic Circle

We woke up to the ship anchored at a perfectly tranquil bay with mirrored reflections of everything around it, including the Svartisen glacier in the distance.  It was so beautiful everyone on deck just held their breaths, waiting for the peace to be broken.  The mirrored surface was finally broken by the zodiacs taking us to shore to begin the short hike to the glacier. Some on board took the difficult hike option rock scrambling up to the foot of the glacier and were duly rewarded with a spectacular view. We were content to sit at the café to enjoy the view with waffles (what else!) and coffee.

View of the Svartisen Glacier from the café

I also did a short hike through the beautiful birch forest, teased by the sound of bird songs, but they were not easy to find among the leaves, unless they want to be found, as in the cocky pied wagtail below, hopping around the café grounds.

Pied wagtail

It was amazing how the mirrorlike reflections did not change even as the sun rose high up in the sky.  This was the reflection that greeted us as we returned to the ship. 

We continued our norlthward journey crossing the Arctic Circle, paying due respect with champagne on deck to note the passing of the Arctic Circle monument at Vikingen. It was an exhilarating moment for some who had also been to the South Pole and could finally be confirmed as "bipolar"...;-)  

The Arctic Circle monument at Vikingen

Next up was the island of Lovund, known for the kittiwakes nesting on a huge rock a short distance from the pier and the puffins nesting half way up the mountain. The kittiwakes were very visible but the puffins were too high up to be seen easily, even with a long lens. But we braved the rock scramble to viewing the area and was able to make it back down the treacherous wet rocks, content with having at least seen a few puffins.

Lovund, a peaceful village - it was heartening to see kids freely roaming the streets on their bikes in the mostly car-free town - not a common sight these days in the cities.

Bird condo!

Eurasian Magpie

The great view from the puffin viewing area - but also note the rocky downward path

A grey-faced puffin - apparently not all puffins have white faces!

This polished modern building was a bit unusual in this little village, population 500!  There are more birds than people here!  If I weren't already cutting it very close to the last zodiac, I would have found out more about it!