I’m sitting safely in a minshuku tonight with Eric and Dave; I finally caved after the recent typhoon soaked all of my clothing. We just finished a big meal with some Kirin and soaking in the onsen. I feel like a million bucks after the last week without showering. We have very comfy-looking futons (the traditional type) to sleep on and are watching a combination of kids anime and something like Letterman’s Stupid Human Tricks. Everything is hanging to dry and my over-sized pack is airing out. It’s a refreshing way to rejuvenate and prepare for another week of camping.
Today we walked a fairly steep climb that was made more difficult by the continuous flow of water that covered the trails. Apparently the rains caused some damage in the Shikoku area including mud-slides over parts of the trail we were walking today. We did have the chance to stop for some coffee and ice-cream midway through the day, however, which was nice after picking over the trails.
I was able to get 2 more questionnaires collected today, and nearly was able to get a whole bus-full of o-henro-san (if I can do this about twice all my questionnaires will be complete). Unfortunately, however, the bus was going the opposite direction and so we wouldn’t have been able to pickup the questionnaires and make the minshuku in time. If I get the opportunity again, however, I’ll probably end up splitting with Dave and Eric to pursue it.
O-yasume, everyone. I added some pictures to this blog as well (see bottom right).
The pictures look great, buddy.
I’m glad that you’re able to make some connections with the people.
Learn some stories.
Take some chances.
I look forward to reading more!
Miss you bud,
Joe