Borimae Park

While North Korea was debuting their much anticipated rocket over the skies of Japan this morning, Jes and I decided to go to a climbing wall at Borimae Park.

We met a few other friendly Americans there, one of whom knew enough Korean to help us rent a rope, a caribiner and a harness.

In my life I have only bouldered and never top-roped climbed, and while Jes has passed her belay test, she couldn't recall how to tie off a rope to a harness or thread a rope through the belay device. Fortunately, our American friends did know what they were doing and offered us a few quick lessons to get us up and running as well as taught us a few climbing techniques.

So we spent a few hours climbing, practicing our new skills. I practiced setting a top rope as well. I can tell there is no fear in the regular rock climbers on that wall, but it was very different for me. Once I was more than 4 meters above the ground I began to grab and hold on to every hold too tight; I stop using my legs to move up the wall; and then there I am 15m high, shaking from fear of heights, shaking from lactic acid build up, shaking from fear of the rope not being to withstand my kilonewtons. Well I fell several times and my compadres kept me safe. It was lots of fun.

Afterwards we stopped by the foot park. That's right! a park for therapy for your feet. You take off your shoes and walk over various surfaces, some painful, some soothing, and then some painful.

On our way home, we stopped in Itaewon to meet a friend and had some cocktails at a restaurant that has sandboxes which you sit in to eat and drink. I think Jes thought it might ameliorate my longing for an ocean. It was less like a beach a more like an ashtray.