After crashing last night after dinner, I was up this morning around 4:30 am. My leg muscles are a bit sore from the long walk yesterday, but after a nice shower and little stretching they are not screaming at me as much as when I got up.
Today is an easier day, only about 14 km. After 6:30 am breakfast the hotel had a shuttle bus at 6:50 am, which took us to catch the 7:10 am ferry.
The ferry cuts off a large amount of walking today and it goes along different stops along the inland bay. You get to see things from a water perspective. Being a NS Mariner, it is nice to see things from the water and reminded me of trips out in Kevin’s (my younger bro) cape cod boat when I visit Nova Scotia.When we arrived at the ferry there were nine of us on the boat. I took the opportunity to give each of them one of my ohenro crests.
When we got off the small ferry boat, there was a line of us walking. Last night’s dinner at Sanyo-so was amazing. Here is a picture of Linda admiring her dinner, as we try to figure out where to start first. So many dishes.
Of course there were many trees in blossoms, which I just had to take some photos. I love the beautiful cherry blossoms blending in with the Japanese architecture.
Since I had some extra time, I decided to lighten my pack and send a parcel back home. It was a lesson in humility, as I used Google translate to explain what I wanted to do. After buying a small box for 100 yen, I was able to fill it with a kilogram of stuff, which meant one less kilogram I had to carry. I thanked her for her patience and help by giving her a Canadian flag pin at the end. When I arrived at Temple 37, I can safely report that Marilyn Munroe is still alive and well in one of the ceiling panels that were painted by local residents.
The highlight of my day was when one of the guys that was on the ferry asked if he could sing a mantra prayer for me in the temple. Off we went to the temple and he did an amazing job singing the mantra. This is one of the things about this pilgrimage, it amazes me the people you meet and how they share their kindness.
After relaxing at the temple, I checked in. There was a beautiful Japanese pottery vase in the alcove of my room which I liked but would be way too heavy to carry.
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