Traveling in Our 60s: Sharing My Beloved Geoje with Old Friends
Some Places Already Have a Place in Your Heart
Some places are beautiful because we are seeing them for the first time.
And some places become even more beautiful because they have already found a place in our hearts.
Geoje has always been one of those places for me.
My husband is from the Geoje–Tongyeong area, so I had visited this part of Korea several times before.
And every time I came back, I found myself falling in love with it all over again.
The peaceful coastline.
The mountains meeting the sea.
The little islands scattered across the water.
The slower rhythm of life.
There was always something about Geoje that made me feel peaceful.
I loved it so much that I had often thought,
“If I ever lived in Korea again, I think I could be happy living here.”
So after our trips to Yeosu and Gijang, when my friends and I began asking our now-familiar question —
“Where should we go next?”
—I knew exactly where I wanted to take them.
Geoje.
This time, I wasn't discovering a new place with my friends.
I was bringing them somewhere I already loved.
And somehow, that made this trip feel different from the very beginning.
This Time, We Took the Premium Bus
Getting to Geoje was a little different from our previous trips.
Because of the transportation connections, we decided to skip the KTX this time and try a premium express bus.
The ride was long.
But once we settled into those enormous reclining seats, nobody seemed to mind very much. 😂
In fact, we kept saying,
“This is more comfortable than business class!”
Plenty of space, comfortable reclining seats, and no rushing through an airport.
For a longer trip, it turned out to be a surprisingly relaxing way to travel.
And perhaps that is another thing we've learned about traveling in our 60s.
Comfort matters.
We're perfectly happy to take a little longer getting somewhere if we can enjoy the journey too.
Arriving at an Island I Already Loved
As soon as I saw the familiar coastline again, I remembered why I loved this place.
Geoje doesn't need to shout for your attention.
Its beauty feels quieter than that.
Mountains fall toward the sea.
Small islands appear in the distance.
Fishing boats move across the water.
And around every curve in the road, another beautiful view seems to appear.
This was the Geoje I wanted my friends to see.
Our Home by the Sea - Casa del Mundo
This time, there were six of us, which made finding the right accommodation even more important.
We didn't want to divide ourselves among separate hotel rooms.
By now, we had learned that one of the best parts of traveling together happens after the sightseeing ends.
So we found Casa del Mundo, a seaside pension where all six of us could comfortably stay together.
And it turned out to be exactly the kind of place we wanted.
And then there was the balcony.
With a jacuzzi. 😄
At this stage of life, I have realized that accommodation can be much more than simply somewhere to sleep.
A comfortable room.
Enough space for everyone.
A beautiful view.
And somewhere we can all sit together at the end of the day.
Sometimes the accommodation itself becomes one of the best memories of the trip.
Maemiseong — A Castle Beside the Sea
One of the places we visited was Maemiseong.
Its stone walls rising beside the sea create such an unusual landscape that the whole place almost feels like a movie set.
Stone.
Blue water.
Distant islands.
And plenty of places to stop for photographs.
Which, naturally, meant we stopped often. 😂
By our third trip together, we had developed a very predictable travel routine.
Walk for five minutes.
See something pretty.
Someone says,
“Wait! Let's take a picture here!”
Twenty minutes later, we're still taking pictures. ㅎㅎ
But I've stopped thinking we're taking too many.
These photographs are becoming our record of growing older together.
Yangjiam Sculpture Park
Another place I wanted us to enjoy was Yangjiam Sculpture Park in Neungpo.
Set high above the coast, the park seemed to unfold between the mountains and the sea.
The sculptures were beautiful, but what I loved most was the way the art became part of the landscape.
Open sky.
Green hills.
Blue water.
And artwork appearing along the walking paths.
Of course, we couldn't simply appreciate the art quietly.
That would have been far too mature for us. 😂
Someone would call out,
“Stand over there!”
Another would say,
“No, move this way!”
Then:
“Raise your arms!”
And somehow a peaceful walk through a sculpture park turned into another photo shoot.
This photograph makes me laugh every time I see it.
Maybe one of the nicest things about old friends is that there is no need to impress anyone.
We can simply be silly.
Good Food Is Always Part of the Journey
And naturally, we ate well.
Very well. 😂
Fresh seafood, grilled fish, Korean side dishes — the kind of meal that makes everyone quiet for the first few minutes because they're too busy eating.
Then the talking starts again.
I have come to believe that meals are one of the most important parts of traveling with friends.
Not because the food needs to be expensive or famous.
But because sitting around the same table gives us another reason to slow down.
We also found time for cafés.
Of course we did. 😊
Years ago, I might have worried about whether we were wasting valuable sightseeing time sitting in a café.
Not anymore.
A beautiful window.
A cup of coffee.
A dessert to share.
And friends around the table.
That is part of the sightseeing now.
We may travel more slowly now.
But we definitely haven't lost our appetite. 😂
Five Rings, Decades of Friendship
This is one of the photographs I treasure most from our trips.
Five hands.
Five matching rings.
Such a small thing.
And yet it represents something that feels increasingly precious as the years pass.
We have lived different lives.
Raised families.
Gone through joyful seasons and difficult ones.
And somehow, after more than 45 years, we can still sit around a table together and laugh.
When we were young, we probably assumed friendship would always be there.
Now we understand what a gift it is.
And Then Night Came...
This is why we wanted one place where all six of us could stay together.
The day ends.
We change into comfortable clothes.
Someone finds something to eat.
Someone starts telling an old story.
Another person interrupts:
“That's not what happened!”
And then everybody starts laughing. 😂
I think this picture explains our trips better than almost anything I could write.
No sightseeing information.
No beautiful scenery.
Just old friends being ridiculous together.
And maybe that's exactly why I love it.
When we're together, we don't have to remember how old we're supposed to be.
Two Nights Were Simply Not Enough
When we planned this trip, three days and two nights sounded like enough.
When it was time to leave, it didn't feel nearly long enough.
Maybe that is the best way I can describe Geoje.
It is an island that makes you want to stay — and a place that makes you want to return even before you have left.
I had loved Geoje long before this trip.
I knew its sea.
I knew its mountains.
I already knew the peaceful feeling this island gave me.
But this time, something was different.
When I looked around at the scenery I had loved for years...
my friends were there too.
And suddenly I had new memories attached to an old favorite place.
Sometimes We Discover a Place.
Sometimes We Share One.
Maybe that is one of the gifts of traveling in our 60s.
Sometimes we discover new places together.
And sometimes, we bring the people we love to the places we already love.
Geoje was the second kind of journey for me.
I came wanting to show my friends an island that had held a special place in my heart for years.
But I left with something I hadn't expected.
A new reason to love it.
Now, when I think of Geoje, I won't only remember the peaceful coastline or the thought that perhaps I could live there someday.
I'll remember six women laughing.
A long, comfortable bus ride.
A home by the sea.
A jacuzzi overlooking the water.
Stone walls at Maemiseong.
A sculpture park high above the coast.
Good meals.
Too many photographs.
Late-night conversations.
And two nights that somehow weren't nearly enough.
We met as girls. We grew older together. And now, in our 60s, we travel together.
Yeosu was where our journey began.
Gijang taught us to slow down and enjoy the moment.
And Geoje gave me the joy of sharing a place I already loved.
Our next journey would take us to Gangneung.
And by then, one thing was becoming very clear.
This little travel tradition of ours was only getting started. ❤️
Coming Next
Traveling in Our 60s: Five Old Friends Head to Gangneung
From Yeosu to Gijang to Geoje, our travels continued — this time toward Korea's beautiful east coast and another few days of sea, food, laughter, and friendship.
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