On a BOAT

I'm on the ferry now towards Mie-ken. Thanks to my haphazard plan I had an awkward moment when I had to ask a guy which ferry to take, as I didn't really know where I was going. Turns out I'm going to a place called Touba. (or Toba, not sure).

My camping place at the beach was well chosen. I felt no wind at all, and I was still quite warm in the morning, mostly thanks to the dry bag around my sleeping bag's feet area, I think. Despite being in the middle of nowhere I heard some guy yelling out occasionally all through the night. When I woke up in the morning I found out why: his car was stuck in the mud and he couldn't get out. It was a gangster-type car that I guess the guy must have borrowed from his Yakuza daddy. He and his three friends were standing next to the car freezing their asses off as a tow truck was just towing the car out of the mud. It tore half his rear bumper off too. Daddy must be happy about that. Towtruckguy made a point of shouting the price of all this especially loud so that all the laughing bystander ojiisan's could hear it: "ICHIMANYONSENHACHIJUUEN!" --> 14080 yen. Ouch.

I guess I wasted a lot of time taking the scenic route yesterday, because I was still 50 kilometers away from the ferry port. The road leading there was Japan national road 42. If there is ever a road to understanding it must be road number 42. It was incredibly hilly, going up and down all the time, but I think I'm getting stronger, cause I didn't have a lot of difficulty. My legs are fine, my arms still hurt a bit, but now my back is starting to hurt. Depending on the day of the week different body parts hurt.

Road 42 was great though. I smelled so many things! As it turned out the cold that was bothering me for 4 months is finally gone, and I can smell things again ^_^. Road 42 smells like ocean, flowers and melons. There were lots of melon farms all around the area, and even some melon tabehoudai (all-you-can-eat) restaurants. Which were all closed.

I wish I could remember more but I'm starting to forget things. It's starting to get normal now, so I'm not paying so much attention to details. Besides that, the constant uphill/downhill roads tire me out so I tend to only concentrate on the road.

I'll be arriving in Mie-ken in 30 minutes. Let's see if I can find a sleeping place there tonight. I could really use a bath..

Posted in Spirit of Japan

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