Pilgramige

Prologue

Mat Koya

On the second day I had to take it really slow. The last peace of way towards Jisoin were really hard. Steep downhill on a street is a burden especially for the knees. The price I had to pay the next day with knee pain, which slowed me down a lot until I decided to stop, realizing that I walked less than 15km. Nevertheless this was the right thing to do and the knee stopped hurting the next day.
That night the North Face tent proofed itself the first time. I stayed on the shore of Kinokawa river. Rain and thunderstorm was knocking and wrenching on the walls of the tent. Next morning the sun was smiling down from the sky and I moved on. In the evening I allowed myself the luxury of visiting an izakaya in Iwase, a place in the outskirts of Wakayama city. He was so kind to invite me stay in his house over night. I felt so blessed! Hot shower, a big futon and a solid breakfast – with beer instead of coffee! – the next morning.

20120521-011422.jpgmy hosts in front of their shop
The next day I could still walk for some time along the river but at one point I had no chance than to use the street until I reached the ferry port. In the evening I finally reached Shikoku. From Tokushima ferry port until Ryōzen-Ji it’s still some 30km mostly along streets.

20120521-011630.jpgRyōzen-Ji

First day

Mat Koya

Late starting is not a good idea. After I was done with packing, going to Okunoin, writing mails and saying good bye to dear Takeshi, it was already 2 in the early afternoon. I thought Koyasan – Kudoyama, that’s half am hour by car, won’t be to long. On the end I came into the night and lost the way on the last 2km. These last couple of kms are the toughest part. It goes down hill, very steep on a concrete road through plantings of peach trees and this is burden for the knees, so it slows one down.
Now I’d like a shower or hot ofuro, all what is available here is a toilet, at least I can wash myself 🙂
The tent I bought before (North Face Mica1) is really small, but sufficient and built up in a couple of minutes. The low wright of 1.6kg is also a big plus.
Anyway I still have the feeling of carrying to much weight around, I’ll see if there’s anything I can throw off the next days. The sleeping bag,although it,s down, is quite big and heavy. On the other side it feels very cozy and it’s still fresh during the night.

20120517-090401.jpg