Day 10: the dawn of a crappy day


Tomorrow I will wake up early, see the sunrise over the ocean, take some nice pictures and have breakfast on the beach.

That did not go as planned. The sky was covered with clouds, breakfast was just a packet of cookies (as I couldn’t find anything better) and only a few pictures turned out to be half-decent.

Moreover, I got eaten alive by mosquitoes while I was fiddling with my DSLR camera settings and adjusting the pathetic tripod I brought from Europe.

To add insult to injury, I had to settle for a longer stage than initially planned because of the usual lodging (un)availabilty.

The waves had a hypnotic effect on me for the whole day.

The wind has been howling in my ears since I left the small inn where I spent the night. Looking on the bright side, it gave the ocean more strength in its relentless fight against the rocky shores of Cape Muroto.

I was completely caughy by this force-a-nature and stopped several times just to watch the waves rise and crush endlessly.

Like yesterday, the o-henro path goes along the Route 55. My feet became sore already after a couple of hours, due to the asphalt. The knees, on the other hand, had nothing to complain about, as the terrain was mainly flat for the whole day.

Somebody should tell these people that that is not how wine is made.

Not many pilgrims were in sight today. The smart ones probably took a bus to the next temple and avoided the ugly and perilious road.

My eyes were almost in tears when I was served some toasted bread at a café. Since I arrived in Japan, ten days ago, I had not eaten any bread or pasta, but only rice and noodles. It felt so good! I don’t think I’ve ever abstained from bread and pasta for such a long time. Well, without considering my first few years on this planet, for obvious reasons.

The Meoto-iwa rocks (a.k.a. “Couple rocks”). They are tied by a rope and represent the marriage between man and woman.

After a few hours of walk, it started to rain. It wasn’t much but it was enough for me to call it a day, do myself a solid and hitch-hike to the minshuku where I had previously booked a room.

Tomorrow, I will test my knees against two small mountains. I plan to walk around 30 Km and arrive in Nahari before 6 PM. The Kochi prefecture is long, and I need to pick up the pace if I want to finish this pilgrimage on time.

Yours in grumpiness,
Alessio