Friday 17.08.13 81,15 km
The departure has been set to 9 am. Nori wants to lead me to Road 6 and he's
postponed his meeting
at the school. He has only to meet with one, namely she whose lessons he'll
take over for half a year.
I've come to think of one thing that is forgotten: a tin of gas for the burner.
When I've said it Nori
opens a cupboard and asks if it's this type? And it is, and I also get a
lighter to lit it with. And
do I have toilet paper? I was going to buy some, but now I get a roll - in a
plastic bag. One feels
he's long distance biker himself.
I also borrow his old camera. Mine has gone crazy in the heat and in a photo
shop in Tokyo they ment
it couldn't be repaired in Japan if it was bought in Europe. It'll have to
wait for the winter to start
functioning again. There's this advantage to his Nikkon Coolpix, that is uses
a SD-card. When he said I
could put it directly in the computer, I didn't think it had a card reader,
but it HAD. I just never used
it and forgot all about it. That's nice and easy just to take out the card and
put it in the computer-
8.55 we leave. Yesterday I got a bottle of Sake from his father. Just in case
I would need something
strong. And his mother came and wished me a nice trip and welcome back to her
house. She's the more
talkative of those two. My t-shirt that I couldn't find had been washed this
morning by the mother
and as it hadn't dried completely the father was ironing it. It's touching how
the family take care
of me.
We say goodbye at the main road. Now I just has to follow it a little more
than 50 km. When I cross
the expressway there will come a Road 16 to the right which should take me to
Oarai. It sounds easy
I'm only confused once when a mysterious arrow shows Road 6 to the left.
But it's 36 degr. and the sun shines from a hazy sky - and it's humid! I have
to check in with my
reservation number between 3 and 5 pm. (Nori again) and I prefer to be there
early, so I push it a
little. It's hard in this heat. I've estimated it to be 80 km, but is that
right?
In the map in the computer we've dissected the spot where Road 16 is. And that
was good for at the
map it looked like I'd be paasing over the expressway. I do, but it's in a
tunnel sp I don't see it.
But all the rest fits. After I passed a small river (VERY small indeed) come
the Cosmo gas station.
And right after the green sign from the other gas station and the 7-eleven. So
it's NOW. I also
caught a glimpse of the expressway far away to the right. So the change of
roads goes fine and for
the rest there's no doubt whatsoever. There's even a poster telling about
Oarai Marine Tower 10 km,
and that should be next to the terminal.
Now I stop to eat. I stopped at a supermarket earlier. They don't come in
numbers at the main road.
And they didn't have vegetables like bananas. I bought a soda (which is long
gone) a bag of salted
cakes, a bag of white bread and - a tin of pineapple. Now I eat it. All of it.
The juice is wonderful.
I'm stading in the shadows and the sweat is pouring. It's actually more
convenient to cycle. The wind
cools you off a bit.
Now 7 pm. I'm in the ferry and we're at sea. I haven't looked out yet. It must
be the Pacific Ocean!
It's the first time I'll see it - from this side.
Nobody spoke english in the terminal. Neigher in the ship. It's not like in
the train to Tokyo where
every announcement was repeated in english. But that's like in Denmark. Only
around the capital.
Sailing can make you sleepy