highlights of 2006 - part 2

april 29th - may 5th (or around there)

my good friend jan and i decide to take an over-night ferry to sado island. we have about $150 each, a tent, sleeping bags and a mission to travel only by foot or hitch hike. with a small budget, we really didn't have much of a choice.

we leave our tent in a park. this is not a camping ground, it isn't even sheltered. one side is the ocean, the other a road in the middle of a busy port city. i am sure camping is prohibited but we pitch the tent anyways, staying two nights. we leave our packs during the day. only in japan would i feel so safe about breaking rules and knowing my gear is safe.

we greet the same old man each morning we are there as he is very friendly to us. one night is very cold and wet. the local oba-san at the coffee shop gives us hard boiled eggs which are still hot. she explains we can put them at our feet to keep warm and eat them in the morning.

another good friend, kate, and her boyfriend decide to meet us on sado. we start a hitch hiking race - kate and yuki versus jan and i. kate and yuki take the easy way and jan and i take the longer, more scenic route (and we had already traveled the other path). we head off and see who will arrive first.

jan and i have some bad luck. we get dropped off in the middle of no where. no cars. no villages. just 2 white girls getting hot and tired. suddenly a car drives by. we basically dump in front of the car. it stops and a man gets out. it's the man from our morning conversations!!! small world. we are as excited to see him as he to see us.

we jump in his crammed car. his wife and mother are also inside and they have gifts of fresh flowers and homemade sweets to offer their ancestors. we drive to an old grave and say a small prayer. i feel privileged to be a part of this. i eat oba-san's sweets.

kate and yuki beat us. i don't feel bad about losing. how can this perfect day get any better? right. mary jane on a hill side running naked with your mates.