day 6, 8:14pm, taking cover

again, i'm not in cellphone coverage so this post will arrive a little late.

i made it up and down the mountain this afternoon. not with enough time to get up to temple 21 before they close. with rain coming i didn't want to be stuck on the mountain, so i'm down in the valley at a henro hut. just an old empty house, but it's dry.

these two mountains i'm inbetween are 2 of the pilgrimge's 6 major nansho. a nansho being a "dangerous" place on the pilgrimage where people die, get injured or quit the pilgrimage.

i'm doing alright. last post i was going to say my feet were fine. however, this afternoon i got my first blister. i hope it doesn't slow me down tomorrow. today i stopped after 20km. despite tomorrow's nansho, i hope i can have a big day.
night

day 10. 6:09am, on the road again

the surfers were up early today so i was was up early today. nice weather, nice waves.

i should make temple 24 today, it's only 17km away.

later,

day 9, 9:06pm, surfer oji-san

so much happened today.
i was invited into a cafe where i was served a small breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice.
i ate lots of fresh fruit that i bought at roadside stands.
after 33.5km, i was ready to stop anywhere. i found a nice beach and while i was looking around a old guy invited me to have a seat at his friends surfing hut.
he boiled some water for my noodles.
his friends were coming for a drinking party and he said i could stay. it was an interesting night. mostly old man jokes and drinking.

i've givem up alcohol for the pilgrimage, but that didn't stop them from trying to get me to drink.
going to bed now, i'm sleeping in a surf shed on the beach. i'll get a pic tomorrow,

night

day 9, 10:08am, entering kochi!

day 8, 8:01pm, clean and dry

it cost me \3000, but i no longer smell like a kendo bag. and i don't have to sleep in the rain.

today's walk, 27.4km and all of it on highway, although there is less traffic the further south i get.

for those following on a map, i'm staying in kaiyo-cho (海陽町).

tomorrow i enter kochi prefecture. it's another big day. i best get to sleep.

night

day 8, 12:47pm, choco-pan?

i bought my lunch at a bakery and stopped at a rest hut to eat. another ohenro coming the other direction also stopped for lunch. she is 40, and doing the pilgrimage anti-clockwise. she gave me some good advice on places to stay tonight.
there is a minshiku (japanese hostel?) 12km up ahead that is only \3000. i think i'll stay there tonight and finally get my laundry clean.
oh, for lunch i bought anpanman bread, but it was really choco-pan! i was so shocked. when you spend all your time walking, i guess the entertainment value of bread goes up. :)

day 8, 8:23am, i'm off

leaving yakuoji now, it's 75km to the next temple. i have a lot of highway walking to do.

i'll try not to daydream to much. i must be mindful of the present.

later,

day 7, 8:50pm, tired and smelly

yeah, 33.8km today. i climbed a mountain and saw some beautiful things on my trip. tairyugi, temple21, was the nicest one yet.

but over half of my walk was along the highway. my feet are tired and i smell like a kendo bag (hockeybag).

i'm staying in a zenkonyado (a place givem to ohenro as an act of charity). it is quite a famous one on the walk. it's a converted bus.

i also have a roomate. he's been going around the pilgrimage for a year and two months as penance. he took \3,000,000 ($30,000) from his company and spent it on hostess bars and gambling(pachinko). he was fired, his wife divorced him, and i'm not sure what else.
i hope he finds what he's looking for.

tomorrow, temple 23, it's just down the road, and beyond.

night

day 6, 11:50am, aches and pains

yesterday i finished walking just short of temple 18, making it a 24km day.

a farmer let me set up in his field and after i was finishing up dinner he said i could use his shower. i think i was really lucky again last night.

as for aches and pains, the worst of it would be my sunburn. the backs of my calves are cherry red. after that it would be the insect bites and plant induced rashes. (a question for everyone in japan, are there many plants that can cause rashes?). i've got some strange looking bites.

i'm just having lunch at the base of the mountain which temple 20 is on. i don't know where i'll be tonight, but there are a couple of henro huts and a hostel along the way.

cheers,
(picture- my strange bite)

oh, i saw two more snakes, so i think the snake count is 4!

day 5, 12:55pm, o-settai day

yesterday i ended up just short of temple 13. while i was looking for a place to camp a woman came out on the road to see me. i told her what i was doing and she said i could camp in her garden.

when her husband came home from work, they offered me a shower. they were so kind. this morning i had another shower and they invited me to breakfast. to top it off, they gave me some bread and sweets for lunch. i couldn't thank them enough. thank you hayashi-san.

yesterday's mileage was 21.5km. today is a bit easier so i'm hoping i can make it to temple 18 today. i'm having my lunch at temple 17 right now. i've received a lot of food as osettai. umeboshi (pickled) seems to be a popular thing to give out. it's going to take me a week to frinish them.

ps. i've been receiving lots of e-mails of support. thank you, it's good to know i'm not alone. it's difficult to answer as often as i like. that is why i made the blog. but if i get some freetime i'll try to get atleast one letter to everyone. and please, send as many as you like. :)

cheers,
colin

temple 18 is another 17km. wish me luck!

day 4, 12:26pm, bigger hills

i've just finished climbing three mountains this morning. the first to get into the valley, the second to reach temple 12, the third to get back out of the valley.

i'm currently at the top of the third, about to descend back into civilization.
i've stopped to eat and dry my laundry which wasn't yet dry from last night.

all of my worldly possesions are laying all about to dry. that includes the clothes i've been wearing today. that's right, i'm sitting in a mountain pass, on the side of what i hope is an unfrequented road, stark naked and eating dried squid, pickled plums, and a kitcat candy bar. but i'm dry and fed. :)

today i'll try to make it to temple 13. t14 and 15 may be a bit too far for me today.

yesterday's distance was 24.6km. let's see if i can exceed that.

later,

p.s. snake count for today is 2.

day 3, 9:05pm, making friends

well this post will be late because the area i'm in doesn't have any phone service.

also, to clarify on my last post, what i meant by "strawberry tent" was an unused fruit venders tent which had the word strawberry <ichigo> written all over it.
tonight i'm sleeping in a ohenro's hut in the mountains. i'm about half way between temples 11 and 12. i was able to heat up some water and have a sponge bath. i also washed clothes and made a hot meal.

i don't have much time to relax. i should be sleeping right now.

actually, maybe i will go to bed. the friends story will have to wait.

night.