Another 25 Km under the belt. While I’d have planned for more than that, the rather scarce lodging availability was the real decision maker.

My knees are thankful that I didn’t have to walk more than that. The left one, in particular, worries me most. If I bend it more than the regular “walk motion”, it starts hurting. It hurts especially when I have to climb (or go down) some steps.

A present from the mountains I encountered days ago, for sure. Luckily today the walk was mainly on flat terrain. I followed the Route 55 from start to end. The landscapes were really beautiful, with different beaches and rivers that I had to cross.

The weather was also very nice: sunny and warm until the late afternoon. I even got light sunburns on my arms!

If it goes on like this, I will end up with my tipical “pilgrim” tan: arms and knees, while the rest of the body is as white as milk.

The strength of the ocean allows surfers to have a ton of fun on the beach. I saw many of them and was very jelous, although the last time I tried to surf it didn’t go so well.

If it weren’t for these amazing landscapes and weather, the walk would have been super dull. Many tunnels, all asphalt and very few pilgrims. 

I spent some time with a fisherman on the Nasa river and got some a rice ball as osettai. It was very needed, actually, since my reservation tonight was possible only sudomari (without meals), same as yesterday.

Today I also left the Tokushima prefecture and entered the Kochi one. As a matter of fact, each prefecture has a special meaning for the pilgrimage.

Tokushima is the place of spiritual awakening while Kochi is the place of ascetic training. My spirituality has been awake for quite some time now, even too much if I have to be honest, so Tokushima for me has been more of a place for self “de-bourgeois-ation”. I’m sure this word doesn’t exist but I hope you’ll get the meaning of it.

Tomorrow, I’ll have to continue following the Route 55 and get as close as possible to the 24th temple. 

Maybe I should take it easy for a few days and have my knee recover first. But what if it doesn’t? I don’t even want to consider this option right now.

The kneecap is just a glorified mouse ball in the end. As long as it doesn’t crack open, it will still be good for walking.