Canadian couple driven to live and eat naturally. We're travelling the world taking on challenges that test us physically, mentally and emotionally. Visit www.naturallydriven.ca for more!
University Games). It’s
touted as the biggest sporting event outside of the Olympics. This is because
there are athletes from all over the world competing and there are lots of
events. The quality of competition is pretty high as well, but with the Pan Am
games going on at the same time back in Canada, the teams from North and South
America wouldn’t have had their absolute top university athletes. To qualify
for this event, you must be between 18 – 28 and enrolled in at least a single,
3 credit course within the nearest semester. It’s been going on since the 4th
and we’ve even been able to watch it, in English, on television. We were pretty
excited to get down there and soak up the atmosphere. 
As usual, the travel was the
biggest hurdle. There’s a brand new KTX (high spped train – 300km/h) 
station in
Gongju (well between Buyeo and Gongju and so we could take that train to
Gwangju and it would only be 50 minutes, as opposed to 4 hours! We had no idea
how to bus to the KTX station however, and so we had to take a taxi. The taxi
cost 40,000 Won. STEEP! The train tickets were 21,300 each for ‘economy class’.
The trains were nice, similar feel to flying. We arrived in Gwangju at 8:34AM
and headed out to the street to figure out how to get down to the main stadium
where we could watch the athletics events. Right outside the KTX station there
was a tent set-up with helpful ladies that gave us busing information, and then
requested a photo with us. We got on the bus they told us and while it went in
the general direction, as it got somewhat close, it made a series of
unfortunate turns that led us in the opposite direction of the stadium. After a
number of the turns, we gave up hope and jumped off. We got a taxi to the
stadium, another 8,000 Won. When we finally got to the stadium and paid our
5,000 Won each to get in for the day, we were surprised at how poorly attended
it was. It was a Saturday after all. It was such a big production to put on
with many venues and organization, it seemed like a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless,
we got settled in right in front of the action. We were literally standing at
the railing watching the long jump competition from 20 feet away. It was awe
inspiring to watch their preparation and execution. It must be a heck of a lot
of pressure to come all the way to Gwangju, South Korea (from anywhere) just to
take 6 jumps into a sand pit and hope you jump the furthest! What was also very
cool about where we were watching from is that it was also where all of the
coaches stood, so we listened in as the coaches and athletes discussed strategy
between jumps. Admittedly, most were not in English, but the ones in English
were quite impressive. The minute details and alterations they make from jump
to jump gives a whole new level of appreciation. There was a mid-day scheduled
break for 3 hours that allowed us to shoot over to where we were staying and
drop off all of our stuff. We decided to take a taxi as it was raining. We got
to the place and found our room without issue. We booked the place with Air BNB
and so you’re renting from an individual, so your place can be in any sort of
building. Ours was a small apartment building. He gave us the code to get in
and we were more than satisfied with the place. It had everything we needed and
then some! A full kitchen and laundry even!
itself. We woke up a bit early to catch the earliest bus to Incheon. It left Buyeo at 7:10 and took 2.5 hours to get to Incheon. We (I) assumed that it was going to Incheon airport. I don't know why. I guess I don't think of Incheon as being a legit city, just the place where the airport is. Boy was I wrong. We got to Incheon's main bus terminal and were still a ways from the airport. We managed to find an information desk in the terminal and asked how to get to the airport. We got so some information and knew where to go and which bus to get on, but quickly decided that it would take way too long to get out there. Our friends (Nick and Lanie) took a cab and we decided to also. The cab itself took around 40 minutes 
(and was ~$70) but took us right to the ferry, which was another bus ride from the airport. We then bought our $3 return ticket to take the ferry to the promised land. Once on the island, we caught a $1.50 bus ride across the island to our final destination, Hanagae Beach. In a word (or 4), it was worth it. The beach was great, not too busy, nice sand and the weather was absolutely perfect. Hot enough to make a day at the beach the ideal thing to do, but not too hot that we could enjoy ourselves. 
We were met by Nick and Lanie as we arrived and we quickly and easily rented our hut. It's 30,000 WON ($35 CAD) per night. It's super basic, but had linens and pillows which I wasn't expecting. We dropped off our stuff and went for a walk before finding food. As the tide was out, (WAY OUT) we could walk pretty far and find some cool sea life along the way. Mostly crabs and sea slugs of some kind, but also jellyfish. Lunch was Pajeon. The rest of the day involved good conversation, playing in the water and a quick down the zip line. As it was the 4th of July, there were plenty of foreigners there to party, and did they ever. Lots of drinking, singing and fireworks. ALL NIGHT. It was a bit annoying as none of us could sleep all that well, but we managed. On Sunday morning we killed time until the convenience store opened at 8AM and we grabbed some snacks and drinks, while we waited for the bibimbap restaurant to open at 11AM. It was a long wait (and they opened late) but it was soooo worth it While waiting we went for a walk up the beach and Lanie found exactly 28,000 WON randomly in the sand. Lunch was exactly 28,000 WON and that is no coincidence, that is fate. While up at the far end of the beach, we found a huge pool of soft, slippery mud and Nick couldn't help but go for a full dip, and so I naturally HAD to follow suit. We were absolutely filthy but it felt incredible and was pretty darn hilarious. We cleaned up and headed for our free lunch. After lunch we hung out for a bit and then made our way out to make the reverse trek home. It was the same, but in reverse and this time we could split the cab fare with Nick and Lanie. We got to the bus terminal and their express bus home to Andong left in about 45 minutes, while ours left in 3 hours. Luckily the bus terminal was attached to a huge department store that had an absolutely incredible food court. To kill time, we ate and did groceries at EMart. We hopped on the bus at 6:00PM and immediately fell asleep for nearly two hours, only waking up when the bus stopped in Gongju and all but 4 of us got off.
These little pieces of sushi were something like 75 cents each. They were fantastic and were the perfect food for the long bus ride home.I got these at EMart. The selection was pretty awesome. 
We had a very small outdoor wedding
on Julia’s parent’s property in the Muskoka area in April of 2012, and two
weeks later we hit the trail and started walking north from Mexico towards
Canada. This was our life for 4 months. With only a single night in a tent
prior to starting this journey, there was a GREAT deal of uncertainty and a
heck of a lot of learning to do. The ‘first 700 miles (~1100km) is in the
Southern California desert (Mojave) and it’s hot, dry, and there isn’t much
drinking water to be found. You’re constantly filthy, hungry, tired and
generally irritable. A far cry from a typical honeymoon, but it was our choice
and not once did we wish we were on a beach in the Caribbean. Tending to each
other’s blisters, chaffing, mild giardia, mental meltdowns and every other
challenge that was placed in front of us, only helped to prove what a great
team we are. Every single day of that honeymoon epitomized ‘Rise and Grind’.
We’d typically get up around 5:00AM, sore from the day before, and break camp
and start walking within 30 minutes. We had to beat the heat and get in as many
miles in the morning as possible before the heat of the day set in. After 700
miles of dealing with the heat, the lack of water, the rattle snakes and
spiders, we finally reached the Sierra Nevada mountains and were soon
consistently up above 10,000 feet of elevation. Finally we were treated to cooler
temperatures, clean, natural spring water and hardened bodies that could deal
with what the long days of hiking had put us through. We continued hiking
through California and into Oregon. By this time it was August and some
injuries (tendonitis in Julia’s foot) had kept us off trail for a week and put
us behind schedule. The injuries lingered and we decided, after hiking more
than 3000km that it was time to go home. We felt we had accomplished what we
set out to do – which was to have the most incredible adventure we could
imagine - and with a lifetime’s worth of memories, maybe now we could settle
down, buy a home and start a family. 
I write this from our apartment in Buyeo,
Chungnam Province, South Korea. We’re living in rural South Korea, where
absolutely nobody (aside from ~8 other English teachers) speaks English. We’ve
been here in Korea for nearly 4 months. We can read and write the language and
can get by with very poor (but improving) Korean and mediocre acting. This is
truly a master class in adapting to a new culture. The daily challenges we face
here were exactly what we were looking for. In four short months we’ve learned
more about ourselves, each other, Korea, teaching and in life than we could
have imagined. We’re driven to constantly challenge ourselves and are 100%
committed to being lifelong learners. We’re not exactly sure when we’ll return
to Canada and ‘settle down’ (again) but likely not in the next few years. This
weekend we were registered to race in the Spartan Beast Race Korea (20km
running with 25 obstacles). Unfortunately it was cancelled due to the current
MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak we having going on here.
What eases the pain is that we’re anxiously awaiting a delivery from Ottawa
that’s due to arrive this week that includes the newest UHA T-Shirts! 
