You can take the ship from Paloom to Poft, then walk to Salamand.

• Enter the house in the northeast, then talk to Josef. Choose "Ask -> Goddess's Bell".
• Josef joined the party.
• Important Note: Josef won't stay for long, so unequip everything from him.

If you follow my recommendation, you should have bought "Esuna", "Protect", and "Shell". Let's level these spells to level 2, especially "Esuna" because level 1 Esuna cannot cure "Poison".

• Enter the battle
• Kill all monters but keep one.
• Cast "Esuna" a few times on any ally even if it misses, then end the battle by killing the monsters.
• Repeat until it reaches level 2.
• Repeat Other spells.

Approach the blue stone in the north, then examine the wall on your right.

• C-018: Snowcraft - Inside the hidden room.

With this key item, we can now access snow surface area in the north.