Author Archives: Jodi

Guatape and Jardin. Both worth more than just a day trip from Medellin, Colombia!

Our Colombian journey continues from Tayrona. A little slice of paradise on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

Guatape January 30-Feb 2

At 4.30 am the alarm went off Turns out there was no rush as our flight ended up delayed due to “weather” in Medellin.  Nobody really understood that as it seemed to be nice there too.  

Txell at the Galleria hostel in Guatape had arranged a driver for us as getting there by bus is a big pain. We’d been in touch with Mario via WhatsApp so he was aware of the delay and didn’t have to sit at the airport.  While there I swear I hear someone holler “Collectivo for Guatape”.  So if you’re going there it’s worth looking into.

Just 7 km before our destination, we hit a pothole and one back tire blew. The rim split in half! Mario had a hard time getting the replacement tire on but eventually we were on our way again.

Anita was really not well by this time. Too much sweating over the last few days, not enough water and then a plane trip seemed to have left her really dehydrated. At the Mirador, close to our hostel, they served a nice fish soup which was just what she needed. That, some rehydration salts and rest were in order.

I headed out for a walk and ended up at the base of “the rock”.It was closed for a few days due to unpaid taxes or something but I could at least see it and enjoy the views.

The view from the Galleria hostel just outside of Guatape

My first view of La Peidra del Penol

A good night’s sleep was just what she needed which was a huge relief as being sick while travelling is NOT fun. Our hostess made us a delicious breakfast and then we caught the bus to Guatape. It’s such pretty town! As is typical in Colombia, the fronts of the buildings are painted and decorated nicely but what can’t be seen from the street is left untreated.

People we’d met at the hostel suggested a “nice hike” just outside of town so we did that. It was good but parts of it were pretty brutal. Climbing over all the rocks made for a slow walk. Oh well. We were in no hurry. The views were spectacular. We never did find the waterfalls though

Back in Guatape we went to a vegan restaurant fellow travellers had recommended called Namaste. We both had a smoothie bowl with granola and cacao beans and it was wonderful.

We tried to take the bus back but didn’t feel like waiting so took a tuk tuk. Besides. Anita’s never been in one. She HAD to experience it 😀 I

Friday night must be party night here. It was much nosier than the night before.

Here’s a lot of pictures of the town of Guatape as I really thought it was pretty! 😀

My delicious smoothie bowl at Namaste 😀

Saturday we finally climbed the steps of the giant monolith. First we had to climb the hill up TO the steps which adds at least a few hundred more. The actual climb isn’t too bad first thing in the morning. The steps are well built and mostly shaded. The views from the stop ARE spectacular! After enjoying a mango nicely sliced we headed back down. You go down a different way and those steps are more narrow and steep. My knees weren’t happy by the time we got down.

We climbed in the back of a jeep gong to Guatape and wandered the town some more. After a nice lunch at a Mexican place we hired a tuk tuk to take us back where we enjoyed some down time.

After talking to other travellers, we decided to skip Medellin completely and visit Jardin instead.

It rained in the night and the morning was drizzly. After breakfast we walked down the road where Txell said we’d be able to catch the bus to Medellin. I asked a man in a cafe and he said yes “Medellin aqui” Just a few moments later a bus came, flashing his lights to let us know he was going to stop and then pulled over. We shoved our bags up front by the driver and sat behind him as there were no seats left on the bus. I struck up a conversation with couple in the front row. They too had to switch stations in Medellin and they’d been there before so knew how to take the subway. They kindly offered to allow us to follow them. Perfect! That certainly saved us some time!

We followed the Dutch couple to the subway station, purchased tickets and boarded the train, getting off at the Poblado stop. There they pointed the direction we should go and we parted ways. Rather than walk the 25 minutes through heavy traffic, we took a taxi to the Terminal Sur. At 7,000 pesos it was worth the time savings as well. By the time we purchased tickets to Jardin it was 11:15 so we just had a 45 minute wait for the bus. It even left on time!

Once we got out of Medellin, the ride was gorgeous! Bumpy and windy but the views along the way were spectacular.

By the time we reached Jardin it was almost 4 pm. So we checked into the Hostal Jardin and immediately set out to find the place were you’re supposed to be able to see the “cock of the rock” birds. It’s just outside of town. A lady met us at the gate. We paid her 10,000 pesos each and she led us to her garden. There were SEVERAL beautiful, odd, squawky bright red birds! I asked a man about it. Apparently the family built the house there, noticed the birds liked to come there and play and they started getting visitors. It developed into what it is today with pretty gardens that attract many different birds in addition to the cock of the rock. The birds are protected, not afraid of people and come and go as they please.

We wandered around town before deciding on a cafe near the church called Macanas. A family was eating pizza that looked delicious. The man noticed us looking at them and brought a piece over to show us, encouraging us to order it. So we did. YUMMY!!

The morning started oddly. I got up early to use the bathroom and heard someone knocking. A man was stuck in one of the bathrooms! I tried several things, including getting a knife from the kitchen. I couldn’t get it open! Eventually our host heard the struggle and took over. He ended up having to drill out the door knob. Anita and I were afraid to use the doors with push locks after that. Poor guy.

Breakfast at Hostal Jardin isn’t served until 8:30 so we had a lazy morning. Being well fed we set off exploring. The first bridge we tried was under construction. The cable car was closed. After leaving that we ran into an American couple trying to find a cable car as well. After some discussion we all set off to find the “La Garrucha” That was interesting! It’s a home made metal box a family created to cross the valley as an easier way to get to town. Others were leaving, saying it looked too sketchy for them. I’d read that the ride was “hair raising”. We got on anyway. It was fine and the views very nice.

We walked down the hill at the other side and back into town.

Macanas is supposed to have the best coffee in town so we sat at a table outside the church enjoying a moccichino for me and a cappachino for Anita plus some interesting lentil biscuits and humus.

Next we found the bridge to “Cristo Rey”. There we just explored the river a bit and walked back to town.

Further up town we found a bridge to the trout farm where you’re supposed to be able to catch your own dinner. It looked deserted other than two dogs, a cat and a couple of trout ponds full of fish. So we sat for a bit. Eventually a man came out and offered us a drink but the restaurant was closed.

Oh well. Back to town we went. By then we were tired, hot and kind of hungry so we found a bakery to try one of their famous sweets. Again we were reminded that we rarely like baked goods. Oh well. We had to try.

Having heard conflicting stories on the buses, we headed to the bus station to ask. There we purchased a ticket for Rio Sucio and were told we could get a ticket to Salento there.

That left us an hour or so to chill and shower before finding dinner. Destino Sylvestre is a vegetarian restaurant and was delicious.

They rode these beautiful, high stepping, dancing horses all over town.

The odd cable car we rode to the top of the hill

The view from the Cable car

This is why it takes so long to get anywhere in Colombia. This is the route we took to get to Rio Sucio.

 

Tayrona. A little slice of paradise on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

The journey so far

Further on the Colombian journey after Into the Sierra Madre Mountains, coffee, cacao and beautiful Minca

TAYRONA National Park

January 27-29

The Dreamer’s hostel provided a shuttle to Tayrona. 18,000 pesos vs 8,000 for the public bus but it got there quicker, gave us instructions and went direct.

Entering Tayrona is a shmoz. First we lined up to make camping reservations. Thankfully a German girl helped interpret. We caught most of what the girl was saying but it was nice to know for sure.

Next we had to line up to buy insurance. 24,000 pesos for 3 days. Oky doky. Doesn’t matter if you have your own insurance. You still have to buy their’s.  You don’t get to know what it covers or IF it covers anything.

Then you line up to get in the park. I had purchased our tickets online so there was a separate line. I’m not sure it saved any time but at least I could pay with a card that way.

By the time we boarded the shuttle it was 9.30 am. We’d arrived shortly after 8.

The 2 hour hike to Cabo San Juan wasn’t exactly easy, but not difficult either. It was just really hot and the terrain varied. There were stairs up and down, roots and rocks to climb over, beaches to cross trudging through sand, mangrove forests and lots of other vegetation.

Gotta take the odd selfie!

At Cabo San Juan we lucked out with a tent in a premium site. Tent #1 has a beautiful view of the beach and is on the outside so not surrounded by possible snorers. We dropped our stuff and immediately went for a swim. The beach a little further had some really nice snorkelling so we were glad we brought a mask and snorkel.

We’d brought our own food but found it wasn’t really necessary. Yes, the food’s a little pricier but it’s not that bad and there are random vendors selling pastries and fruit all over the place.

There’s even a place you can charge devices. While eating our nuts, crackers, cheese and fruit bars we watched people coming and going to use power. The funniest thing was watching a girl use it for her hair straightener! We were sweaty messes and couldn’t imagine caring that much about what your hair looks like.

By 9 pm we were sound asleep and nothing woke us till dawn.

The morning view from tent #1 on Cabo San Juan

The next day we made our way to Arecefice. First we stopped at the Piscina, a natural pool with really great snorkelling. If you swim out to the edge there’s a reef with lots of interesting fish and even some pretty coral. We stopped at a few more beaches and enjoyed a pasta meal at the Rincon beach.

Arecefice was a disappointment. Others had said it was nicer than Cabo but we didn’t like it. It was crowded.  The tents are grouped together under a roof with no room to even walk between.  The beach is further away and, yes it’s beautiful, but you can’t swim there. We walked quite a ways to the next one where you can swim.  It was also incredibly noisy. They turned on the generator and watched a big screen tv in the “restaurant” area which is right in front of the tents.  At midnight I went out and pointed at my watch and said “it’s VERY loud!”

“Oh” he said “sorry, just 20 minutes more” HUH? We’re CAMPING?! They finally shut the really loud movie off and a bunch of people kept yapping and singing until at least 2 am. GRRR. Add to that the lumpy, plastic covered matt on a hill and we were NOT happy campers.  

Oh well. Sleep is over rated 😉   We were up at the crack of dawn and made little attempt to be quiet. 

Before 7 am we were walking out.  The park is beautiful and the hiking really nice with varied terrain and lots to see.  At one point an eagle flew right in front of us with a snake dangling from it’s claws! At the last campground in the park we stopped for a coffee and one of their infamous natural juices, then caught the shuttle out of the park and took the bus back to Santa Marta.

The Dreamer’s welcomed us back and said they could print our boarding passes plus call us a taxi at 5 am the next day. NICE!! Love this hostel 😀

Into the Sierra Madre Mountains, coffee, cacao and beautiful Minca

The Colombian journey continues from Rincon   .The Colombian journey continues on the Caribbean coast. Cartagena and Rincon

Minca!

January 23-26, 2020

The bus pulled into Santa Marta which we assumed was the last stop so when not everyone got off, we waited. Then the driver hollered “SANTA MARTA!” Oh. Okay. I guess that’s us.

We wandered into the bus station, hoping for an ATM as I’d only just realised our next accommodation also did not accept credit cards. There’s no ATM in Minca and there certainly wasn’t one in Rincon. We didn’t even see one in Onofre where we caught the bus. Who ever said you can go anywhere with a credit card, never travelled to small town Colombia. 😉 Lucky for us there was a nice secure ATM at the back of the terminal. Unlucky for me it didn’t like my debit card so I had to use credit. Oh well. Pay it off right away and there’s no interest.

While wandering we passed what looked like a dead cat. Or maybe a small dog? I don’t know as I didn’t want to look too closely. Nobody else seemed bothered by it. Weird.

More wandering, looking for anything that would indicate a bus to Minca and I finally asked a man in a uniform. Eventually we figured out we’d missed the last bus so our only option was a taxi. 60,000 pesos isn’t bad for the drive the poor guy had to do. It’s only about 22 km but you can’t go faster than 40 km per hour on those incredibly windy roads. Once in town he dropped us off at an intersection. That’s as far as he’d go. Okay then. We hopped out to be immediately confronted with moto taxi drivers. Once we established that it was more like an hour walk, not 30 minutes, we told them we’d have dinner first and asked for their recommendation. That was interesting. I asked for a menu. Hmmm. Turns out all they had was chicken. OK? Sure, why not? We like chicken. Next thing you know she appeared with a large plate of chicken cut up in about 6 pieces along with some boiled potatoes and yucca and a dipping sauce. Nice. We looked for cutlery and she handed us each a plastic glove. I guess we eat with our hands then. Regardless, it was delicious and cheap. The bottle of water was 4,000 and the dinner 11,000 (less than $5)

After passing on another couple of offers for a moto taxi, we found the first guy who offered as he was first and was kind enough to wait. A little anxious, we each handed our driver our bag and he tucked it in front of him while we climbed on the back. We drove up, up and up, the windy, muddy, pot holed road and I began to wonder WHERE this place was and if I gave him the right name?! Upon arrival we were greeted by a few dogs and our host who did find our names. Phew. We thanked our drivers and paid them.

Our host, Manuel, showed us around the Finca San Rafael, offered us coffee or chocolate and said a bunch of stuff we didn’t understand. Again. I REALLY wish I could speak Spanish. It was dark so it was hard to see the place but we looked forward to morning and the beautiful views from this coffee, chocolate, fruit farm in the middle of nowhere. No wifi either 😀

The church in Minca.

Friday January 24

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter MELANIE!! Much as I don’t mind being without wifi, I hope Melanie realises I’m thinking about her and haven’t forgotten her birthday

After breakfast we decided to walk back into town (it really is only a half our walk but we were glad for the moto taxis as it was dark and it’s uphill and we really didn’t know where we were going) and then to the Marinka waterfall. Nile, the fellow doing the English bird watching and coffee tours, told us of a shop we could visit for a drink and use their wifi so we decided to pop in on the way so I could wish Melanie a happy birthday. Good thing we did as I found out Melanie’d had an accident and broken her heel in two places as well as being covered in bruises. She was in extreme pain and needed to talk to me. Poor girl! I finally got to talk to her on the phone for a bit but the staff at the shop were looking annoyed so we wrapped it up and decided to top up our sim cards so I could keep in touch. THEN we headed to the water fall. Through town and up, up, up hill for an hour or so and we finally arrived, hot, sweaty and ready for a nice swim. The water was COLD but really refreshing. By the time we got back through town again and up, up, up hill to the farm we were pooped and ready to chill for a while before our fish dinner.

Marinka waterfall

The road to the waterfall is a nice walk. Only the last 20 minutes or so is steep.

Anita trying to figure out how to cross the creek that runs across the road

The next day we enjoyed watching the birds and enjoying the surroundings and then joined a tour of the finca (farm). Turns out Nile had too much to drink the night before so wouldn’t be guiding today. Manuel speaks only Spanish but lucky for us, Matt, a fellow guest, was willing to interpret. Nice!!

We weren’t prepared for mountain climbing. I guess that’s what you should expect on a coffee farm. I thought I’d sworn off climbing mountains yet every trip I end up climbing something.

We followed Manuel up the mountain, stopping for explanations along the way about coffee and cocoa. All the way up to a view point at 1,500 metres. That was all very fine and dandy but now we had to climb back DOWN again. I hate that part. I had a solid stick with me that really helps for going down and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Back at the finca, Manuel treated us to a chocolate facial…or where ever else one felt like smearing it. It was really nice and I’m sure I look 15 years younger. A little later Manuel made a point of showing me his water filter. I thought it was kind of odd until he pointed out that it came from Rotary Calgary. Nice! OOOh, it’s from Canada!

After a nice swim in the pool we relaxed for a while before heading into town again. The King of Burgers had been recommended but they weren’t very friendly and seemed down right annoyed that we might want to eat there so we left.

The Lazy Cat was much nicer, also had wifi so we could connect with home again to find out Melanie was settling in ok with her pain somewhat under control. Our meal was delicious too! On the street a big blue and red macaw flew right in front of us and perched on the power line. By the time I thought to get my camera out, it flew away.

Another gorgeous day in the country side of Minca!

She prepares some amazing meals in this kitchen

Coffee beans drying on the patio

The view from the top of the coffee farm

The road up to the coffee farm

Hummingbirds entertaining us while we eat breakfast

The road (4×4 track) to the finca. You can see it off to the left there.

Manuel pointing out the stages of cacao

The road to the finca

View of the finca from below

 

Roasting cacao

It’s hard to capture but this tree is full of toucans.

So many birds!

The next day we took our time preparing to leave and just wandered the property. Manuel took it upon himself to help us find birds and was intent on finding the elusive toucan.  He wants the big ones, not the small ones as we’d seen several of those.  Even got pictures although most are blurry :/  We heard the big toucan,  along with the howler monkeys but never spotted them.

After saying our goodbyes we loaded our bags and walked the 1/2 hour to Minca where we caught the collectivo to Santa Marta. They kindly dropped us off right at the Dreamer hostel. Nice!

The afternoon was spent just relaxing, enjoying the pool and preparing for our 2 night trip to Tayrona early the next morning.

The Colombian journey continues on the Caribbean coast. Cartagena and Rincon

Saturday January 18, 2020

A lazy morning was enjoyed dawdling over coffee at the Hipilandia Hostel in Leticia. We had breakfast, caught up up on work email and watched the antics of their two small children. Juan even shared the giant grapes Elliot provided. The post on our jungle adventure can be found here:  The Colombian journey begins in the jungle. Leticia and the Amazon rain forest, here we come!

Latam airlines flights from Leticia to Bogota and then to Cartagena were uneventful and pleasant and we enjoyed the down time to just read. In Cartagena we walked out of the airport following signs to official taxis. I told the lady where our hostel was and she issued us a ticket with a price (13,900 pesos – approx $5.50 CAD, I thought was pretty reasonable for an airport taxi) We handed that to the driver and he battled the traffic and then the narrow streets of Getsemini and dropped us off. MUCH smoother than I expected! Espiritu Santos de Maos exceeded our expectations with a really nice loft type room, a huge bed, AC and our own bathroom

After a nice breakfast at the hostel we went exploring the Getsemini area. The graffiti walking tour didn’t pan out so we wandered a bit and made our way to The Castillo San Felipe de Barajas There we rented an electronic guide thingy and spent several hours exploring the castle and fort. The tunnels were really cool!

Once we’d returned the gadget, we headed back to the old city. Parched, hungry and very hot, we found a cafe and immediately ordered our favourite, lemonade sin azucar. It came as a slushie and so refreshing! We both enjoyed a huge salad.

Next we found the meeting spot for the free walking tour I’d signed us up for and spent the next two hours learning Colombian history and strolling the old city.

Dinner was a gelato. I got coffee flavoured. YUM!

Back at the hostel we picked up our laundry. Love that luxury! All our stinky jungle laundry washed, dried, folded and smelling MUCH better done for 15,000 pesos. (about $6 CAD)

Another cold shower and early to bed as it was a 21,000 step day in the hot sun.

Rincon del Mar.

Monday, January 20

Mel at the Dos Aguas Lodge in Rincon had messaged me a while ago asking if we’d be interested in sharing a ride with other guests coming from Cartagena and we agreed as the price wasn’t much more than public transit would be. It also took less time.

Daniel was there before the appointed 9 am. We picked up Mark and Rebekah who also happened to be Canadian, from Montreal. Go figure.

The roads were decent with a few stops for construction until Onofre. Then it changed to dirt road, pitted ashphalt, then hard sand. In Rincon, Daniel dropped us off and pointed in the general direction and we walked the beach to the hostel. Another pleasant surprise. Mel gave us the tour and explained the place, their contribution to the village and attempts to provide sustainable, eco friendly tourism. Guests are encouraged to take a garbage bag when walking the beach and pick up trash. Once we settled in, Anita and I did just that.

Back at the hostel we handed in our bag, went for a swim, then enjoyed a lemonade and some reading on the beach.

Later we found dinner in the village and relaxed “tranquillo” for the evening enjoying the warm breeze off the Caribbean sea with a nice cup of basil tea.

Over the next few days we spent a lot of time in the sea, walking the beach and relaxing. One night we signed up for a tour that took us to a lagoon full of bioluminescent plankton The ride there was rough and our driver seemed to thoroughly enjoy bouncing the small boat over the waves as we all got soaked. He paddled up a mangrove path and into the lagoon. There were other boats using motors but ours paddled as it’s an agreement he has with the Dos Aguas hostel. Motors harm the plankton.

We jumped out of the boat in the pitch dark which is a little freaky but one of the crew went in first so it looked safe enough. Movement in the water makes the plankton glow. It’s the coolest thing! Water running off my arms glittered. One woman said she felt like a unicorn. I suggested someone try farting to see if we could fart glitter. Unicorns do that you know 😉

The boat ride back was just as rough. The driver still ridiculously happy. It was warm though so no big deal.

Apparently we’re gluttons for punishment as the next day we got back in a boat. Again the driver (different fellow) laughed every time we got soaked. I’m sure they find it hilarious that tourists pay them to torture us like that. One of many times on this trip I wished I spoke Spanish.

We stopped for a snorkel at one point over a small reef where we saw lots of pretty fish. Then onto a few of the San Barnardo islands. One was the most densely populated island in the world. Crazy how many homes are packed on it!

Murcura island was the next stop and we spent our hour walking around and exploring. Next was Tintipan with it’s beautiful white, soft sandy beaches. They really wanted us to have lunch but we just wanted ice cream. A nice lady found a man with a cooler with some cones and 5 of us bought one from him. They were more than twice as much as in town but tasted great so we were happy.

We found a nice beach away from all the people and spent the next hour or so snorkelling.

The ride back to Rincon wasn’t as bad. We still got wet and the driver still found that hilarious.

There are several restaurants in town but they’re hard to identify as they all just look like people’s homes. The food was really good in the two we tried as well as at the hostel we stayed.

Dos Aguas Hostel is a great choice if you visit Rincon and you really should. They’re doing their best to be eco friendly and encourage guests to pick up garbage for a free drink. One fellow we met, Marc, took it as a mission and managed to fill 4 large bags before we left. He had another day so I wonder how much more he did.

The pictures I took don’t really represent the place. There were so many experiences I couldn’t, or didn’t want to photograph.  Sometimes snapping pictures is intrusive.  The main street in Rincon is sand. Some business and home owners rake it now and then and children run barefoot or ride their bikes up land down constantly. There’s the odd donkey or a man pushing a wheelbarrow, sometimes a motorcycle but rarely a car. Taking pictures just felt invasive so you’ll have to go yourself 😉

It was early the morning we left so we’d packed up the night before and quietly dressed and left the room. I went for one last walk on the beach before a granola, milk, coffee and tree tomato juice breakfast. We walked along the beach, over the rickety bridge and to the “parking lot” where we met Jose who took us to San Onefre. There we struggled to buy a bus ticket with our limited Spanish. The bus was only 45 minutes late 😉

Here’s the Dos Aguas Lodge on Booking.com. It’s very highly rated for good reason! https://www.booking.com/hotel/co/dos-aguas-lodge.en-gb.html?aid=357029&label=yho748jc-1DCAsoMkIPZG9zLWFndWFzLWxvZGdlSDNYA2gniAEBmAEJuAEXyAEM2AED6AEBiAIBqAIDuAKiuMqqBsACAdICJGYwNDhkZDgyLWVkNDctNGU0Yi1iYjAzLTU1YjQzYzA3ZDUzNtgCBOACAQ&sid=ede38db3336e143b319764c98610fbf0&dist=0&keep_landing=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&

The Colombian journey begins in the jungle. Leticia and the Amazon rain forest, here we come!

Colombia January 10 to February 15, 2020

We left on a miserable, rainy day that delayed our flight over an hour. They called for boarding on time and we stood in the loading dock for a good 15 minutes before we were told to turn around as we couldn’t take off.

Mexico city airport is one of the most confusing I’ve encountered. The board said our flight was leaving from gate B, yet the gates are numbered. After asking someone we found it to not be an actual gate so asked there about the gate. She told us the flight was closed so we’d have to go back out and book a new flight. Huh? We had over an hour before departure?! Sure enough, she did some more checking, there was some conversation and she told us to go to gate 28 and they would tell us what gate. Of course, that gate was at the other end of the huge terminal. On our way, we met our seat mate from the previous flight, also looking for gate b so we told him the story and he followed us. There we were told to wait 10 minutes and they’d tell us. Shortly after the flight was posted at that gate with a 1/2 hour delay.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Bogota and we found a yellow taxi to take us to our guest house where Martha greeted us with a kiss on the cheek like we’re old friends. We settled into her lovely home and went exploring. Right next door was a man selling sim cards. We didn’t buy one in the airport as they were $50 USD for what we needed. He spoke no English but we managed with our sparse Spanish and google translate. We left with 2 working phones for less than $10 CAD each Later we went to find the restaurant our host recommended and he saw us walking by, called us in and gave us each another 1,000 pesos. Wow, that was nice! Apparently there was a discount for buying two.

At the restaurant we ordered two meals and we understood the man telling us we needed only one. Another patron with more English confirmed the portions are huge and we wouldn’t need two meals. He was right We could barely finish it.

Back at the guesthouse our host offered us a coffee but at 7 pm we were exhausted so were in bed by 8 pm

Breakfast was at a bakery down the street where again we were challenged by our lack of Spanish. REALLY need to learn more of it. It didn’t matter. We ate what we got and it was good. 😀

Our hostess found us a taxi. The fare TO the airport is half what it is FROM the airport. Interesting.

LETICIA

Although it was only supposed to be a 20 minute walk from the airport, the heat hit us like a wall so we took a taxi to the hostel. For 10,000 pesos (about $4) we were glad we did as we would have never found it. Maps.me wasn’t accurate and there was no sign for Hipilandia.  

We were warmly welcomed by Stephanie, settled in, dropped our bags and went exploring. There’s not a lot to see in Leticia. It’s the capital of the region but basically a jumping off point to get to the jungle.  We had booked our tour with Hipilandia hostel and travel and were excited to get started!

Leticia central park

After dinner of roast chicken and potatoes we spent the evening sorting our bag and figuring out WHAT DOES ONE TAKE IN THE JUNGLE?? We packed a few clothes in ziplock bags as chances were good we’d get wet. Most of our stuff we left at the hostel.

Monday.

We met Pauline and Martin, our fellow travelers, were issued rubber boots and set off to catch the 9 am public boat to Puerto Narino (70 km). We met Juanita who would be going into the jungle with us and walked around after visiting an interesting museum where we learned about some of the jungle critters and what to expect. Puerto Narino is the most eco friendly town in Colombia. There are no cars. Only an ambulance and a garbage truck. Nobody even uses bicycles as they’re kind of useless. The streets in town are nice interlocking brick but between villages it’s just muddy paths.. They walk (or boat) everywhere. After lunch at the Waira hotel, we met our boat driver who took us up the Amazon river. 2 hours later we arrived at Atacuari. Near the tiny Indigenous village is a cottage built by Elliot. We dropped our stuff, put on long sleeves and pants and headed off on a Jungle walk. Our guide lives in the village and told us Ticuna stories about Cura peda.and the dolphin man. You’ll have to talk to me if you want those. OR visit the jungle yourself! Every Indigenous person we met had a story of a friend or relative having had some kind of contact with Cura peda or the dolphin man.

As we listened to stories it got dark and the jungle came alive with the night sounds. It’s NOT a quiet place!

Dinner back at the cabin was fish rice and patacones cooked over a fire in the kitchen. VERY basic facilities but they produced a wonderful meal.

After dinner we enjoyed a boat ride up Amazon River and a tributary caiman hunting. We saw a small one and were back shortly after 11 pm where we fell into bed, exhausted.

Tuesday

Up at dawn with birds, I relaxed and enjoyed the place, walking around, sitting by the river and drinking coffee till breakfast at 8 which was lots of fruit and eggs. About 9 am we took a  boat ride up Amazon and another tributary. It was gorgeous!  You can walk it when it’s not flooded. Now it’s under 3 metres of water. The Amazon basin is currently at 80%. It’s expected to continue to rise till April or May then decline as it does every year..

At one point we got off the boat and tried to catch crickets. Good thing for Juanita and our guide as we’d do without otherwise. We tried fishing but had no luck. Good thing we’re not counting on feeding ourselves. Further up river we saw dolphins frolicking.

Back at the cottage we went for a quick swim before Lunch at 2ish.

3.30 back in boat to go upriver again. We fished for piranha on the Peru border. People living in the jungle don’t pay much attention to borders.  Martin, Juanita and Christian managed to catch a few piranha. Next we went up a tributary looking for animals. Just the ride is beautiful.  We saw squirrel monkeys and lots of beautiful views. Once it got dark we saw pretty tiny, bright green frogs that made a big sound but no luck with the caiman hunting. Again we just enjoyed the sounds and views of the amazing night sky. With NO light pollution the stars are incredibly bright

Back about 8.30 for dinner. Fish cooked in banana leaves rice and yucca

 

Concentration. Piranha are elusive!

Washing dishes in the Amazon river

Grey dolphins. The pink ones don’t come up as high

Funny, prehistoric fish that jumped into our boat

See his funny mouth?

Fishing on the Peru Colombia border

Pretty proud of that baby piranha

Wednesday 

Up at dawn and again wandered the property but this time I ran into some nasty bugs that stung. I endured 3 bites that hurt for a few hours. OUCH! . While enjoying the view  Christian brought me a coffee.  Nice!

Again we boarded the boat for a tour. I saw squirrel monkeys but they aren’t good at posing for pictures. Fished for piraña and Anita caught a baby.  Went up another tributary and saw dolphins.  The tributaries are like a maze.  Good thing our guide knew where he was going

We visited an indigenous community of Atacuari where they were electing a new leader.. 80 families live there. They farm the giant fish Pirarucu.  It’s a weird fish that has lungs and gills and feeds it’s babies with nipples on it’s back. A couple of the men managed to find one in the pond and show it to us. 

Pirarucu wiggled it’s way back into the pond

There are only two stores, both selling alcohol drinks and junk food

From there we walked back to the cottage where we cooled off in the river and then had lunch and packed up for our next place.

Looked up and saw this lovely critter while I was sitting on the toilet. Hmmm

The bathroom visitor.  See the snake? I’m glad I didn’t notice it till I got OFF the toilet.

Pretty green frog

Giant frog

The cottage we stayed in near Atacuari on the Amazon River

This time we went down river in the boat. Some saw pink dolphins but I missed it.

We went past Puerto Narino on the Amazon then up the river behind it to Lake Tarapoto. There we stayed in a tree house in hammocks. I slept surprisingly well!

More caiman hunting then a late dinner and fall into bed.

Up at dawn. Explored the property where I saw squirrel monkeys, blue morph butterflies and lots of birds.. Coffee courtesy of Christian again. After breakfast we again packed up. I could have stayed there longer.  The tree house was nice and the surroundings so peaceful.

bathroom

Cooking us breakfast

Back in the boat downriver to Puerto Narino. We dropped our stuff off at the Waira hotel.. Back in the boat we headed down river to visit San Antonio in Peru. A villager took us on a canoe ride into jungle.  Next came a walk where we slugged through ankle deep mud and battled mosquitoes. We learned more about medicinal plants and how to survive if lost in the jungle. Back in the canoe and back to the the village, we walked past homes and people doing various things like preparing yucca for things like tortillas.

Then we loaded into another boat to another place where we slogged through more mud through a corn field. The village man pointed out sloths we never would have seen without him. One even moved!  Needless to say, we’re very thankful for rubber boots.  There’s definitely plenty of mud in the jungle!

Helllooo?

If you’re lost in the jungle you can always get fresh water from this vine

Back in the boat to Puerto Narino for lunch of pirarucu fish. It’s the largest fresh water fish in the world and delicious. We had it for several meals and enjoyed it as we likely won’t get it again.

Relaxed for a bit then walked up river through a couple of villages to the indigenous village of San Francisco. The path was good for most of it but there were lots of very muddy hills. Christian helped us  crossing a flooded creek on a board we couldn’t see. So hot! The walk took about 1.5 hours and Christian picked us a few weird fruits along the way. All of them delicious

Our boat driver was waiting in San Francisco. I never did understand his name. He was a lot of fun, always singing and laughing. There I finally saw pink dolphins. To cool off we jumped off the boat and thoroughly enjoyed a refreshing swim. Apparently it’s dangerous to swim from shore as that’s where the stingrays and caiman hang out.  Good to know!

Back to Puerto Narino we walked, still soaking wet (but it’s hot so we didn’t care) to find home made ice cream . They call it ice cream but it has no milk. More like frozen smoothie as the main ingredient is some fruit of the jungle.  

Christian helping Juanita across the river

It’s a BOY tree!

Our room had a bathroom and a shower! Nice! Only cold water but it was nice to get really clean.

Dinner was pirarucu fish again but in . In coconut sauce. So good.!

Friday, January 17, 2020

The morning dawned with pouring rain. The plan had been to walk to or from San Martin but the rain looked like it was here to stay so we got in the boat and went that way. Down the Amazon River and then up the River of hammocks (there’s a story to that name) to Ticuna community of San Martin. This community is more used to tourists. I asked to see someone’s house and was shown a home where they were preparing a tapir a hunter had shot. It was all done in the kitchen area which is just a place for a fire that hangs out the back so the smoke doesn’t come in the house. Something was cooking in a big part and there were animal entrails neatly sorted on the floor. I asked if that was the kitchen but said it wrong and apparently asked if it was dirty instead. OOPS! I apologized profusely!!  Again, MUST learn more Spanish!

Not sure what they were doing with the machetes but I wouldn’t want to mess with these ladies

Kitchen with a view!

ON the way back in the boat Christian produced a bag of fruit that had been cooked and peeled. It tasted like pumpkin and had a edible seed that tasted like a nut.

We cleaned up our rooms, packed up and enjoyed our last lunch of Arapaima gigas (Pirarucu)

Anita and I wandered Puerto Narino for a bit, enjoyed our last ice cream and we all boarded the public boat back to Leticia.

Where the muddy Amazon (brown water) meets a tributary (black water)

Puerto Narino streets

dolphin man

Back in civilization all the cars and busyness seemed so noisy! At Hipilandia we dropped off our stuff and headed to the park to see the parakeet invasion. It happens every night at sunset. The noise of all the birds is deafening, even over the traffic noise and the park was full of people. We climbed the steeple of the church across the street for the view.

On the way back we grabbed a bag of chips and called it dinner. By then our room mates had finished sorting their luggage. Pauline and Martin were going on a 4 day boat ride down the Amazon to Brazil! We exchanged information so they can share how it went.

Saturday January 18, 2020

A lazy morning was enjoyed dawdling over coffee, breakfast, catching up on work email and watching the antics of their two small children. Juan even shared the giant grapes Elliot provided.

This 4 night 5 day tour with Tarapoto Amazonas was excellent and I highly recommend them.  You’ll learn a LOT!  Hipilandia Tours

You can contact them through their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/hipilandiamazon/ 

Our Colombian journey continues onto Cartegena The Colombian journey continues on the Caribbean coast. Cartagena and Rincon

A Journey Through Japan’s Hidden Gems

Japan

October 28-30, 2019 Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Despite flying out of Montreal a few times over the last couple years, I hadn’t actually seen the city so we took an early train to Montreal and left our bags in storage at the airport. Next we purchased a day pass for $10 for the transit system and took a bus into the city. The driver asked us where we were going. I said “I don’t know. We just want to see something” After chatting a bit, he said if we’re willing to wait a bit, he’d show us how to get around. No problem. We had nothing but time. So after the last passenger got off, the kindly driver stopped at the subway station, parked the bus and took us into the station where he got us a map, showed us where to go, what to see and how to get there. Wow! How’s that for service?!

So we spent the day being tourists. We ended the day in Little Italy where we ate dinner then rode the subway to the bus and back to the airport. There we found our bags and a comfy chair to “sleep” for a couple hours. Haha. That didn’t happen.
More on Montreal on our return trip is at the bottom of this post 

Arriving in Japan!

The flights were on time and uneventful. The Japan airlines flight from Chicago to Tokyo was pretty luxurious for us. The seat was decent with a good amount of leg room and they fed us VERY well. We arrived at Narita early. We had no trouble getting a sim card and cash from an ATM. We even sorted out some details on a commuter flight for later in the trip. We arranged a self guided tour with Inside Japan tours. Their detailed instructions helped us get on the right train into the city. Which we managed to do despite being seriously sleep deprived and even managed to walk to our hotel without getting lost. Our lofty plans of settling in then going for a walk flew out the window once we sat down. It may be only 7 pm but more than 40 hours without sleep caught up to us and we crashed.

Map of our journey through Japan
Our itinerary for the next month or so

October 31

The B Asukasu breakfast buffet is an interesting combination of Japanese and Western food and I tried a bit of everything. I finished off with some Miso soup. It’s supposed to be really good for you. I was still feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.

TK met us at the lobby at 8:45 am and took us on an introductory tour of the city. He helped us navigate the subways and showed us how to load up our IC cards to use on public transit all over Japan. We visited a Japanese garden which is a peaceful haven in a busy city. Next, we visited Hukagawa Hudo. It is a fascinating sect of Buddhist temple. We witnessed an odd ceremony where they purify things with fire. Many people brought forward wallets, purses and bags they had purified. Interesting! TK introduced us to Electric town which is where the geeks go for all the gaming stuff and you can get ANYTHING related to electronics and toys.

We got our JR (Japan Rail) pass validated so we can now use that for the trains all over Japan.

Owl in the street
woman with orange hair holding an owl
Dragon building

The afternoon was spent wandering around the shopping streets of Asukasa, visiting Senjoi temple, having a ramen for dinner and watching the sky tree light up at night. We bought a snack at Don quixotes and headed back to the hotel to get off our feet

turtles on a rock
temple in Tokyo

Friday, November 1

Ginza and our first real SUSHI

After breakfast we braved the subway again and headed for Ginza and the fish market. After wandering for a bit we tried to find the restaurant where our self guided tour had pre purchased breakfast. That was interesting. We were warmly welcomed in the one we THOUGHT was right, sat down, were served green tea and showed him our voucher. There was much confusion. Yep. Wrong place. They kindly pointed us in the right direction and we headed off again. The correct place was in the middle of the market and again we were warmly welcomed and served an amazing assortment of sushi. Four or five chefs were busily preparing sushi. Each time someone came in, a waiter greeted them and called out something. All the staff hollered something that could have been “WELCOME”. It was funny as no one really noticed. The same happened when a customer left. Very entertaining.

Lots of treats
Delicious sushi!
Sushi in Tokyo
Wow! Amazing sushi

Tackling the subway and the Scramble

After wandering some more we again tackled the subway and headed to Shibuya for a walking tour we’d booked. Good thing we had lots of time as getting OUT of the subway was a treat. A new mall was opening that day. Like they don’t have enough?! Wow. The line ups were crazy and there were staff directing traffic and having folks line up correctly. Again, entertaining, but all the confusion made it even more difficult. Sue asked some young men who really wanted to help but were as confused themselves. We all laughed when they pointed “that way” as none of us could figure out how to GET “that way”. So we carried on. She asked another young couple who understood our confusion as they too were confused. They offered to TAKE us there! So we followed them. I don’t know how out of the way it was for them but it took a good 15 minutes to find the famous “scramble”.

After finding the starting point we wandered around for a while, took pictures from the ground, the starbucks and the top of the Hitarie mall where you can see the scramble from above.

The night tour was a Japan localised free walking tour and was really good. We learned a lot about Shibuya and Tokyo in general. Fascinating city!

The subway home was anticlimactic. The only issue was getting turned around in Asukasa as emerging from the ground, you never really know WHERE you are.

The famous Tokyo scramble
tokyo scramble. Busiest intersection i the world

Tokyo at night. Still busy

Saturday November 2
More Free walking tours. The BEST way to see a new city!

Today’s adventure was another free walking tour in Meiji Jingu & Harajuku. We left Asukasa a good half hour earlier than we needed to in order to make sure we got there. Good thing. Navigating the subways is fine. Getting out of the station and figuring out where you are is hard.

The 3 hour tour was interesting and left us in Ueno park. It’s a really nice park but was packed with people as it was a gorgeous Saturday in November. Why would anyone stay indoors?

Back in Asukasa we wandered some more, had tempura for a late lunch and decided on a river cruise as we were tired and sick of walking. I know that sounds weird coming from me. Walking 20,000 + steps a day at home isn’t a problem. I think it’s all the pavement that’s making my feet hurt.

The cruise was nice but kind of lame. We found it really hard to hear the commentary over the noise of all the young people on board. Oh well.

Egret on a wire

On the way back we watched a random parade, passed the Shenjo-ji temple again and the shopping streets packed with people and stopped for a green tea ice cream.

Dedication of 3,5 and 7 year old children
Dedication of 3,5 and 7 year old children
Dedication of 3,5 and 7 year old children
Dedication of 3,5 and 7 year old children

Next stop Kanazawa! Our first Shinkansen! Kanazawa and Shirakawago – a relief from the city and into the ALPS!

Then …. Kyoto, 1,000 Torii gates, bamboo forests and Okayama

And onto . . .  The Japanese journey continues into Kyushu; Hiroshima and Fukuoka

And then .  . . .  More of Kyushu, Japan. Kumamoto and Kagoshima

Then  off the beaten trail . . . Getting off the beaten track in Japan; Yakushima!

Finally Fuji . . . Finally seeing the iconic Mount Fuji. Kawaguchi-ko Japan

Then back to Tokyo

Monday, December 2.

Travel day! Back from Kawaguchicko

The free local hotel shuttle bus in Kawaguchiko nicely waited for us to run out in the rain to board. The bus trip to Haneda was uneventful and we easily found the train, then walked to the Relief Haneda airport hotel. We were early for check in and it was pouring rain. We enjoyed their generous offer of a latte. Meanwhile, we studied our options. We met a nice lady from Texas and exchanged stories for a bit, settled into our room and when the rain let up a bit, borrowed an umbrella and wandered the surrounding area. There’s not much to see but local shops are always fun. Dinner was a local ramen shop with McDonald’s ice cream for dessert. We picked up yogurt and bananas for breakfast along with some sake and liqueurs to try before we leave.

Tuesday
Team Labs and Mount Fuji

For our final day in Tokyo we headed off on the mono rail where we actually had a view of Mount Fuji, to TeamLabs Borderless. TeamLabs Planets was sold out so that solved the issue of which to choose. That was an interesting experience and well worth the 3,200 yen. We spent about 4 hours there and were starving so thoroughly enjoyed a meal at Wendy’s, right outside the museum.

Next we rode the highest ferris wheel in the world. I watched it for a bit first. It goes nice and slow so not hard on the stomach like some. Since it was a beautiful, clear day, the views were really nice.

After wandering that neighbourhood for a while we headed back to our hotel. Our last dinner was Korean barbecue. Tasty and very reasonable.

Wednesday

Our flight out of Haneda wasn’t until 11 so I took a leisurely shower before packing up and heading to the airport.

Team labs tokyo
Team Labs Tokyo

I’m going to miss the comfortable toilets and the bowing culture. Before the crew boarded the plane, they turned towards the people waiting in the seats and bowed. As our flight departed, the flag men waved and bowed. It’s just so respectful.

Team labs Tokyo

New York city

View of New York city from the Plane
One last view of Tokyo and Fuji waaay in the background

New York city

Heading into the sunrise
New York city

Back in Montreal. Time to explore this city!

December 4th, 2019

Back in Montreal and too late for the last train, we again purchased a bus ticket and headed to the city.  We spent the night at the Auberge Alternative, a nice hostel right in the Old City.  After a really nice breakfast at the hostel, we walked around town and up to Mount Royal.  I wore pretty much everything in my suitcase as it was cold but so worth the beautiful views.

Snowy trail in Montreal

Home again on the train after a fantastic time in Japan. There’s more to see there. I MUST go back someday!

Exploring Japan: Hidden Gems of Yakushima and Mount Fuji

Our 5 week journey through Japan continues from Yakushima Getting off the beaten track in Japan; Yakushima!

At Haneda, Tokyo we found bus ticket vending machines and didn’t even have to look confused when a nice woman helped us buy tickets for Kawaguchiko and explained where to catch the bus. Easy peasy!

By the time we reached Kawaguchiko station it was past 5:30 pm, pitch dark, freezing and doing the snow / rain thing. Although we’d intended on walking the 2 km or so, the taxi option looked darn good and we took it.

The fellow at the desk was kind enough to give us dinner recommendations for a place close by so after settling in, we borrowed umbrellas and headed out again. The izekiah was really good and we treated ourselves to creme brulee for dessert. Later she told us it was made with soy. I would not have known. It was so creamy!

Our spacious Japanese style room had the luxury of a chair. Nice!

I slept like a baby on the futon on tatami mat floors and woke to the sight of Mount Fuji in all her glory right in front of me! Wow!

So. Since clouds could move in anytime, we put on about 6 layers of clothes, grabbed breakfast and started walking just before 7 am. After many viewpoints and pictures we found the entrance to the rope way and joined the small line. It didn’t open until 9 am. A nice Japanese man showed me his coupon and mimed that he would include us in his 10% off. How kind! It saved us each 100 yen.

We were the first car up and enjoyed people free views of everything covered in fresh show. We climbed even further and found another stair top thing with even better views of Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. By the time we were ready to head down the place was crowded. A couple hours later all the snow was gone. Getting up and at it early is worth it!

Managed to capture this before the hordes arrived.

First thing in the morning there was still snow in the hills. By noon it was brown on top

Next we headed for the bus station, information and to find some brunch as we didn’t get much breakfast. A cute place near the bus station had a set lunch that was interesting.

Then we set out walking again and did about half way around the lake, stopped for a coffee and headed back.

It was a cold day. It never got about 5 degrees but the sun was shining so it was wonderful!

Saturday dawned with not a cloud in the sky AGAIN. We walked back to Oike park to get the iconic reflection photo then carried on to the bus station where we got 2 day tickets.

First stop was the ice cave. The wind cave was closed for maintenance. Just so you know, the ice cave is NOT worth the admission, even with the coupon. It’s just a cave and I saw no ice.

We rode the rest of the bus and got off at Shojiko where I did part of the hike up the mountain. Sue wasn’t feeling well so I just checked it out and came back to enjoy views along the lake front.

Next stop was the Yurari hot spring where we’d decided to treat ourselves. The 1,500 yen admission fee is worth it! There were 3 outdoor pools that face Mount Fuji. One was chamomile scented and not as hot. Inside there was a carbonated bath, steam bath, sauna and my favourite…the cave bath. That one is dimly lighted, has jets,warm but not too hot and is very steamy. I spent 2.5 hours in and out of each bath, occasionally using a cold shower or the ice cold pool between to cool me down. I’ve never been so clean!!

They even offer a shuttle back to town so we didn’t have to wait for a bus. Nice!

Dinner was at another small diner where I struck up a conversation with a family from Singapore. Their kids (around 7-9) wanted salmon! Wow! I’d just eaten that so explained what was on the plate. That snowballed into an interesting conversation. It often pays to talk to strangers.

Sunday started out with Fuji partially covered in clouds. We’ve had amazingly clear weather so far so really can’t complain.

Today we took the green line and visited Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nemba , a reconstructed traditional village with gorgeous views of Mount Fuji. It was interesting but pretty much just a lot of shops inside the traditional homes.

Back on the wrong bus we ended up back at the bus station so enjoyed a hot dog before getting back on. At stop 52 we got off to see the lava cave and then went for a walk in Aokigahara forest, also known as the Sea of Trees or the Suicide Forest. It grows on 30 square kilometres of hardened lava laid down by the last major eruption of Mount Fuji in 864 CE. Stepping into it feels a little creepy in that it’s dark, eerily quiet and feels like you’re the only living thing there. That’s probably made worse by having read the stories about the forest. The lava rocks are all covered in bright green moss and there are huge boulders everywhere. Once I realised the path was quite well trodden, I enjoyed the quiet beauty. It’s a gorgeous walk!

Back at the station we hopped on the red line for a final tour around Lake Kawaguchi. Wanting something different for dinner we happened upon a little diner serving Indian food. Perfect! The Pakastani owner made me a deliciously spicy, patak paneer and massive naan bread that hit the spot quite nicely.

The bus station

Fuji’s wearing a hat

Ohashi bridge

Fly fishing

Monday, December 2.

Travel day!

The free local hotel shuttle bus nicely waited for us to run out in the rain to board. The bus trip to Haneda was uneventful and we easily found the train, then walked to the Relief Haneda airport hotel. We were early for check in and it was pouring rain so we enjoyed their generous offer of a latte while we studied our options. We met a nice lady from Texas and exchanged stories for a bit, settled into our room and when the rain let up a bit, borrowed an umbrella and wandered the surrounding area. There’s not much to see but local shops are always fun. Dinner was a local ramen shop with McDonald’s ice cream for dessert. We picked up yogurt and bananas for breakfast along with some sake and liqueurs to try before we leave.

 

Exploring Yakushima: A Hidden Gem in Japan

November, 2019

Nearing the end of our Japanese travels, Sue and I head off the beaten trail a bit to see Yakushima.  Previously we visited Kagoshima. That post is here: More of Kyushu, Japan. Kumamoto and Kagoshima

Map of our travels in Japan
Our travels thus far

YAKUSHIMA!

We needn’t have left before 7 am as we did as there was no line up for tickets for the 8:30 am ferry. We were there at 7:30 am ready anyway. Then we almost missed the boat as there are no English announcements.  We just suddenly noticed there was nobody else in the waiting room!  After that, any time they announced something on board the ship, we looked around to see what others were doing. The 4 hour ride was very pleasant and the noodle shop provided a nice breakfast.

Ferry to Yakushima
A rare sight of Sakurijima NOT spewing ash
A rare sight of Sakurijima NOT spewing ash
Sakurajima errupting less than 5 minutes after the previous picture
Sakurajima errupting less than 5 minutes after the previous picture
Approaching Yakushima on the ferry
Approaching Yakushima

At Miyanoura port, the lady from Navi was waiting with a sign with my name on it with our rental car. (I had booked this through YES Yaksushima – VERY helpful).  She went over maps, recommendations, directions and finally…the car. As we drove away the wipers came on when Sue tried to signal. We could not get them off. At a stop sign, suddenly the Navi lady pops up and reaches in my window….”wipers, like this”. Then she ran away! So funny!

Yakushima doesn’t have many roads but all are narrow and windy. We found Daichon house easily and checked in. That process took a looonng time as the nice man told us a lot of stories, including horror stories of people who went on hikes and never came back, lost cars, buses that fell off roads….yeah, lots of fun;  Especially as the stories were told through google translate on his phone.

We finally set off to explore and found  Senpiro-no-taki waterfall and then just drove for a while exploring. By the time we headed back it was dark. Then trying to find a restaurant in Anbo was fruitless as parking is impossible and the couple I found were closed. We finally just ate at Mosburger.

Driving on the left side is very stressful when you’ve never done it and it wore Sue out.

Senpiro-no-taki waterfall
Senpiro-no-taki waterfall

Tuesday’s challenge was finding breakfast. Nothing opens until 10 am. Finally we hit a grocery store and just stocked up on snacks and fruit. Good enough.

We headed up the mountain to Yakusugi Land. The road winds like crazy and goes down to one lane as you climb. There are mirrors posted on corners and the odd place you can pull over if you meet another car. Thankfully we didn’t meet many, including the two buses that make that trek a couple times a day!

Once there we paid our fee and decided on the 50 minute trek, only because the longer trails were not in good condition. The trail is gorgeous so we strolled along and enjoyed it immensely.

Back in the car we went up further to see the oldest tree on the island. It’s a big old tree. Yep

Deer and monkeys on the road

 

Tiny deer on Yakushima
The deer are tiny!
Me and a turtle
Beautiful view of Yakushima
Deer

Monkeys

The drive down wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be so we decided to drive around the island. That too was a gorgeous drive. We especially enjoyed the Seibu forest path through the national forest. That road is closed at night as there are so many deer and monkeys. There sure were!!

After a quick stop to check out the Huuki hot spring (which we really didn’t understand) we didn’t manage to make it back to Daichon house before dark. It also started raining. So I asked our host if he would drive us somewhere for dinner. Google translate is great but doesn’t always get it right as he replied that he had “more important guests”.  I’m assuming that’s not exactly what he intended to say 😉  Either way, the kind man drove the car for us and walked back to the house himself!

Dinner at his choice Haruto was tonkatsu made for us by a nice couple and was delicious!

Wednesday.

After a late start we drove up the mountain again to visit Shiratani Ravine. The drive up is breath taking with sheer drop offs on the left (a little scary with no guard rails!) and gorgeous views. There were even a few monkeys.

The park is beautiful with huge boulders, a raging river with lots of rapids and waterfalls, moss cover trees and rocks and massive trees. We took our time and enjoyed the hike before heading back down the mountain.

Then we decided to drive around the island again and see what we missed the first time. We stopped at different places including the Nagata beach. There we found a cute little onsen in what looked like a dive shop.

Hot spring

The national forest was again a treat. It’s beauty is different from the other two areas. There’s not as much moss but there are huge ferns, trees growing out of huge boulders and of course, monkeys and deer.

Next we stopped at Yudomari onsen. That’s just a place where hot water springs out of the ground and they’ve created nice pools for people to sit in. It wasn’t terribly hot but it’s right at the edge of the ocean and a really nice experience. We met a nice young couple from Israel whom we chatted with for a bit, then changed and headed back to Daichon house.

We left the car and walked the 40 minutes to Anbo. Of course the restaurant we were looking for was closed so we happened upon Series. The girl seated us next to a couple of young Japanese men who were just receiving their food. It looked interesting. The friendly fellows explained what they had and we ordered much of the same. Flying fish is a dish commonly eaten on Yagoshima so why not? The salad was topped with sesame dressing and lots of assorted sashimi. The dumplings were stuffed with flying fish and the tempura shitake mushrooms were a nice finish. YUM! We chatted a bit with the young men, (who noted that I was using my chopsticks properly!) thanked them for their recommendations and walked home again.

View
Spectacular views and this one actually has a guard rail
Shiratani Ravine.
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima. A group of school children
A massive tree with space cut out for the road
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima
Shiratani Ravine in the National park on Yakushima

Thursday, November 28

TRAVEL DAY!

Upon returning the rental car the lady jumped in the car and brought us to the airport. It was a foggy, rainy, miserable day. A kind woman interpreted the announcements for us when it was apparent the plane may be delayed. If the incoming flight could see the mountain we could leave. If not, he would turn around and go back to Kagoshima. Love the matter of fact, clear communication!  Chatting with the others in a tiny airport is fun as you know everyone’s getting on the same plane.  We all had connections so prayed it would clear enough to go. Meanwhile we enjoyed conversation with an interesting Japanese couple who had been living and raised their kids in the US.  So embroiled in our conversation an airline person actually approached us and told us we had to check in now.  Everyone else had already done so.  Oops.

The plane took off just a few minutes late so the connecting flight in Kagoshima wasn’t a problem.  Sakurijma volcano was behaving herself so we even took off for Tokyo on time.

Our little plane ready for take off!

Exploring Kumamoto: A Journey Through Japan’s Hidden Gems

Our 5 week journey continues in 2019.  The previous post can be found here.  The Japanese journey continues into Kyushu; Hiroshima and Fukuoka

Kumamoto

Wednesday, November 20

Today’s Shinkansen took us to Kumamoto where we walked the 3 km to our hotel. Again, a good reason to pack light. The kind man at the GR Ginzadori answered our questions about the town and how to get to Mount Aso. He was way more helpful than the staff at the last two hostels had been. That seems to be another oddity about Japan. In other countries we’ve found hostels are much more informative to budget travellers finding the hidden gems

We left our bags since it was too early to check in. Another thing with Japan. You NEVER get an early check in. I’m sure they had empty rooms but check in is 3 pm. Those are the rules. Follow them.

Suizenji Park and Kumamoto Castle

We walked the 3 km or so to Suizenji park. It’s a typical Japanese park but this one has a miniature Mount Fuji.

Next we boarded the tram and rode that to Kumamoto Castle. It was closed as it’s under construction. They’re still rebuilding it after damage done by the 2011 earth quake. You can walk around it and see the outside a bit.

The bus station is near there so we figured out how to reserve tickets for a bus to Mount Aso for the morning.

After checking in to the hotel and a brief rest we found some dinner and wandered for a bit. A Family mart stop was in order for breakfast food since we’ve got a fridge, an early morning and a long bus ride.

Cat in a Japanese garden
Can you spot the cat?
Mini Mount Fuji at Suizenji park
Mini Mount Fuji at Suizenji park

Mount Aso and a hike up Eboshi-Dake

Thursday;  Always be on time for Japanese buses as they wait for no one. Ours left a minute early. Once outside the city the ride was scenic and soon we could see the volcanoes I even took pictures through the bus window which I rarely do.

At Aso station a kind young lady helped us purchase bus tickets to get up the mountain which, she assured us, was worth it in spite of the high trails and ropeway being closed. Aso is spewing lots of ash lately and they’re afraid of a major eruption so the top is closed to all visitors.

There’s not much to do on the top when you can’t climb so we messed around with photos and talked to random strangers until the bus came again and took us down to the museum parking lot. There we talked to a woman in the tourist info booth about hiking trails. One was not good as the wind was dumping ash on it so we chose the trail to Eboshi-dake. “It’s easy” she said. “It should take about 1.5 hours”

Right.

We forgot to ask the most important question “Have YOU done it?”

We allowed 3 hours, just in case and set off. The first pass was really easy. Up hill gave us a nice view of the spewing crater and there were lots of people there. Further on there were fewer. Then there were none and we started climbing.  That should have been a big clue as to what lay ahead. There were steps but they a lot of them were broken. The path was narrow, often muddy and sometimes very slippery. Finally we reached the top and enjoyed the beautiful view of the caldera and behind.

Then down. We met a lady coming up with trekking poles. THAT would have been smart. She asked about the trail from the other way as she said this was was slippery. Uh oh. She wasn’t kidding. There were spots were I got down and did a crab walk, trying not to get my bum in the mud, grabbing the grassy stuff on the sides that was covered in volcanic dust.

At one point Sue was beside herself and I could only just reassure her that she was going to make it. For sure I couldn’t carry her!

Eventually we got past the worst and the rest of the hike was enjoyable.

Back at the centre we made sure to let the woman know that path is NOT easy and is very slippery. A wrong move could have you tumbling down a VERY steep mountain!

It took us just over two hours. Not bad for 2 crazy old women afraid of heights!  We DO like to push ourselves outside our comfort zones 😉

A few buses last we were back in Kumamoto. Despite having the least amount of steps yet, we were tired and in need of comfort food. McDonald’s it was! We don’t have spicy terriyaki chicken burgers at home so we rationalised that we’re still trying something new.

Me on top of the Eboshi-Dake volcano
I made it!
We climbed that volcano Eboshi-Dake
Yes. We climbed to the top of THAT
Aso volcano spewing ash
This is as far as the bus takes you. The rope way is closed because, as you can see, the volcano is VERY active
Climbing a volcano
Going up!
Us in front of the ASO volcano
As close as you can get to the volcano
View from the top
The view was worth the climb
view from the bottom of the Eboshi-Dake volcano
See the tiny people?
Mount Aso

Ubusuki and a volcanic sand spa!

Friday, November 22

We were lazy today and didn’t get started till about 10 am. It was a wet, miserable day anyway. The shinkansen got us to Kagoshima in less than an hour and we found our guest host, Little Asia, without a problem. For the first time this trip, he let us check in early. Nice!

We wandered around in the rain for a while. Then, we climbed a ridiculous amount of stairs for a view we couldn’t see because of the rain. We thought, why not use the last day of the JR pass to get to Ubusuki? So we did.

The train trip took a good hour. It was just us and a bunch of high school students. Then a half hour walk to the spa. By that time it was almost 6 pm, dark and still raining.

After checking in and receiving our yakata and towels, we stood in the dressing room looking lost. A nice young lady drying her hair noticed and explained the process. We removed our clothing and did up the yukata correctly. We walked outside and were given shoes and an umbrella. We were then told where to go. There a man dug a space in the coarse, black sand for us and we laid down. Then he shovelled it on top. It was heavy and warm and at first I felt suffocated but then it just felt like a cozy warm blanket. We were told only 10 minutes. It felt SOOO good but digging my hands down made me realize it was hotter than we thought.

10 minutes up we put our shoes back on, picked up our umbrella, went back to the building and turned the stuff in again. In the change room off came the yukata and we rinse off the rest of the sand. Next was a sit down shower to use soap and remove the rest. Then it was time for the hot spring bath, sauna, cold pool, sauna, hot bath….yep. It was lovely!

We walked back to the train and took the train ride to Kagoshima. It was pretty much 9 pm, so we found a restaurant in the station for a bowl of ramen. Then, we headed back to our guesthouse. A great way to end a rainy day!

Sakurijima Island. An active volcano

Saturday

With access to a free washing machine we took the opportunity to spruce up the wardrobe.

Then we headed for the Sakurijima ferry port and headed for the island. There we purchased a day pass for the island bus and did the whole one hour tour before choosing places to get off. First stop was the highest observatory. You can’t get closer than that to the volcano, as well, it’s ACTIVE, unpredictable and quite dangerous. They say there’s lots of warning before a major eruption though.

Next was the lava walk. That’s a nice 4 or 5 km walk through various stages of lava formations, all with a view of the bay. Sakurijima isn’t always visible but you can’t miss the ash constantly falling on you. It gets in your eyes and every where. I tried to keep my camera in my bag or covered all the time as that kind of dust can kill a camera.

A few more stops later and we’d had enough so boarded the ferry back to the city. There we found a McDonald’s and had one of their amazing, but cheap ice cream cones.

A lot of the streets are covered, not for rain, but for ash. Now I know why the city looks so dingy. It’s always got a dusty black / grey coating on it!

It took us a while to find a dinner place and settled on one where we got whale sashimi, deep fried fish paste and, cos you need veggies, cucumber salad. It was good to try but I wouldn’t want it all the time.

Sunday started with pouring rain. Which it proceeded to do all day. So we didn’t do much. Period.

The forecast said rain all day but then, lo and behold, around 2 pm the sun came out so we did as well. Wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas just in case, we walked down to the pier to check on ferry tickets. You can’t purchase them until 7:40 am on the day of departure so I guess that means we leave early.

More wandering and checking out the myriad of stuff you can purchase and we ended up at a restaurant suggested to us by another guest at the hostel. At Keri we tried the local dish of tonkatsu which is a deep fried pork with assorted sides. It was delicious!

Beautiful clouds.....or ash?
Sakurijima Island. An active volcano
Splashing bird
Pretty hawk
Harbour at Sakurijima Island.
Sakurijima Island. An active volcano

The Japanese journey continues into Kyushu; Hiroshima and Fukuoka

The journey continues.  The previous post can be found here: Kyoto, 1,000 Torii gates, bamboo forests and Okayama

Friday, November 15, 2019

Hiroshima

Breakfast at the Comfort Hotel was really good with blueberries and apples to put in my yogurt today. YUM!

Catching the shinkansen today was easier and we sped off to Hiroshima. The Hana Hostel was pretty easy to find and we dropped off our bags and set off again to explore.

Hiroshima castle was first then on to the Dome, peace memorial and the Peace Memorial Museum. Wow. The museum is very well done and tasteful. There are many awful pictures and personal testimonies that really help you understand how horrific the whole situation was. The facts are laid out and there is no blame placed anywhere. It’s obvious the whole purpose of the museum is to keep the memories alive so this kind of thing never happens again. It’s well done but its a gruesome, distressing museum and there were many times it made me emotional. To me the most meaningful thing was seeing the pictures drawn, painted, and sketched by those who lived through it. They were done years later but the memories were still so vivid. It was incredibly moving.

Hiroshima Castle

View of the peace memorial and the dome from the Peace memorial museum

Peace memorial with the dome in the background

The dome. The only building left standing after the A bomb

The city was flattened.

 

We had no idea what to do for dinner so just went in the general direction of the hostel until we found something appealing. The menu on the outside of a place I can’t remember the name of looked interesting so we entered. Japanese places have a way of announcing the arrival of customers that I find really amusing.

We ordered horse sashimi to share as it’s supposed to be a Hiroshima speciality and I ordered an oyster hot pot. I didn’t know what that meant but it sounded good.  It turned out to be a big bowl of food that you cook yourself over a burner. The oysters were the biggest I’ve seen and delicious!  The horse sashimi was really tasty.

Saturday

After going to the JR station to make sure the tickets we had were for the right place (They were. I was just having a brain fart) we boarded the train, then the ferry for Miyajima. There we spent the day wandering, taking photos, riding the funicular, eating treats and people watching. Great fun.

While sitting waiting at the rope way, a little boy sat beside us and started chatting away, of course in Japanese so we didn’t understand a word. We just responded to what we thought he was saying. He was part of a kindergarten class. His teacher thought it was funny and asked to take our picture with him. Sure! She got him to say “my name is…” We told him our names, that we’re from Canada and taught him a few words, like pine cone as he had one in his hand he seemed quite excited about.

By the time we got back to Hiroshima it was almost 6 so we picked up a light dinner, plus breakfast for the next morning at the 7/11 That store has everything.

He was showing me his new toy. At the temple for the dedication of 3,5 and 7 year old children.

Shooing the deer out of a restaurant.

Chatting with 6 year olds in the rope way

The deer joining his buddy?

Sunset on the way back from Myajima

 

 

Sunday, November 17

Fukuoka (Hakata)

I’m not sure where my head was at this morning but we got off a stop too early. I stood there trying to figure out why google maps said it would take me an hour by bus to get to our hostel. That’s when we realized this wasn’t Hakata. Oh well. Back on the platform to wait for the next train

After dropping the bags we headed off to figure out what to do in Fukuoka. Apparently hostels in Japan aren’t nearly as helpful as other places in the world so we went to the tourism information in the train. Yeah. More shrines and temples. No thanks. We happened upon a Christmas market and some very energetic dancing groups performing. After asking a few people we found it it’s a traditional type of dance called yogasaki and it’s really fun to watch.

Dancers at the Christmas market

As the canal city mall is a number one thing to visit (a MALL? Really? SIGH 😦 ) we wandered around for a bit and saw crowds of people looking over a railing. We found a spot and asked a young girl about it. That turned into a conversation with her and her very shy friend. She seemed keen on practising English so we chatted with her while we waited for the fountain show.

Canal city mall light show

Canal city mall light show

A grocery store near our hostel had LOTS of interesting things so we picked up dinner and breakfast for the next morning and searched the internet for ways to get to Yufuin and Kawagawa Onsen. I found and booked a bus tour for Tuesday

Monday’s weather forecast was miserable and rainy so we postponed heading out until about 10 am. Then we took a JR train from Hakata to Kashii, switched to another and spent the rest of the day walking around Sea side park. It’s a huge park and really nice with practically no people due to the weather.

Sea side park and zoo

Sea side park and zoo

Sea side park and zoo

Checking out his reflection

Sea side park and zoo

Sea side park

Back in Hakata we checked out the observation deck on the train station, then searched for Fukuoka ramen, Tonkotsu. Shin shin was highly rated and deservedly so. Delicious!

After checking out the beautiful Christmas lights we called it a night.

 

Tuesday.

I’d booked a tour with veltra.com today. It was just bus fare but made it so much easier to get to Yufuin and the highest suspension bridge in Japan. It was really cold at about 6 degrees with a bitter wind. We were supposed to go to Karawakawa Onsen but the driver dropped us off at a place where it was just a few ryokans. We didn’t want to do an onsen for 600 yen when we’d done it lots and will do it some more in visits to come. We really just wanted to wander the village but didn’t get there. The driver didn’t speak english so I sent a complaint to the company. Oh well. The drive was nice and the views beautiful.

**Note the company did give us a bit of a refund but the description of the tour hasn’t changed.

We picked up fruit at the local grocery store after being dropped off and found a udon place for dinner. I’ve decided udon is my least favourite noodle. It’s too thick and gooey. There you go 😉

Yufuin

Yufuin

Yufuin

There were 3 dogs in this buggy. One is being photographed.

Kokonoe Yume Suspension Bridge

View from the Kokonoe Yume Suspension Bridge

Kyoto, 1,000 Torii gates, bamboo forests and Okayama

Sue and I continue on our 5 week journey through Japan.  The previous post can be found here:  JAPAN! The journey continues into the Kiso Valley. Takayama, Matsumoto, Magome and Tsumago

Our journey thus far.

KYOTO November 10-14, 2019

The Mitsui Garden hotel was a pleasure to check in to. They’d received our bags and brought them to our room even though it was early to check in. Nice!

After settling in and looking at our options for getting to the tea ceremony booked for us by Inside Japan, we decided to walk. Good choice as it took us down town through the hordes of people on the street with lots to see.

We had an early dinner at a noodle house. Ramen is delicious.  It’s different every time.  We may be addicted.

The tea ceremony was different. We watched the young woman go through the tea making ritual and then participated in it. Odd, but interesting.  There’s meaning in every movement.

We picked up some snacks at the 7-11 (you can buy entire meals there) and settled in for the night.

The Mitsui Garden puts on a fantastic spread for breakfast so we were well fed and ready to face the day. The google maps app is my best friend these days and it helped us figure out how to get to the Rakusai Bamboo park. Two trains and bus later we showed up at the entrance, just as it started to rain. A nice fellow told us all about different kinds of bamboo and what it’s used for while we waited for the thunderstorm to move on. Did you know that Thomas Edison used bamboo as the filament in the first light bulb?? I didn’t!

The man gave us a couple of umbrellas and we walked through the gardens. It was beautiful and we were the only ones there…until a photographer with a bride and groom showed up. Nice! 

Again we braved Kyoto’s transit and took two trains to Arashiyama. There were a LOT of tourists there, mostly Japanese, but the park is beautiful and well worth it. We walked along the river and climbed the stairs to a Zen Buddhist temple for the view. Today I tried adzuki bean ice cream as my nephew grows the beans and ships them to Japan. It was okay but I don’t need to have it again.

We walked and walked and walked some more and into the bamboo forest. There were a lot of people there so it’s impossible to get really nice photos but it was still nice. Even a bit of rain didn’t slow the people down. Umbrellas just popped up everywhere.

We managed to find our way home again on the Renden line which is different again as it’s an older train. Back in the city we found a ramen place and had some noodles. You can never eat too much ramen.  It’s a meal in a bowl.

We’d missed last night so a bath was in order. Again, we were the only ones in the onsen. Nice!

 

KIMONO Forest and the “Pond of the Dragon”, named after the Dragon of Tenryu-ji Temple, which serves as the guardian of the station to ensure that everyone has a safe journey.  If you dip your hands in the water you will be blessed with happiness.

 

Monday.

We figured out the train to Fushima Inari and arrived shortly after 9 am. It was already crowded. People were taking selfies and video taping their entire walk. I often wonder who actually WATCHES those videos?  I can’t even persuade anyone look at my photobooks! 

We soon found the path we’d read about (research pays!) how to climb the mountain the back way. It was beautiful. We saw very few people and walked through a bamboo forest and past a few temples and shrine. The last 20 minutes was straight up stairs that zig zagged it’s way up. Sue treated herself to an ice cream and we slowly made out way down through the thousand Torii gates. We got lots of pictures with nobody in them as not everyone makes it all the way to the top.  Bonus!

We walked to Tofujoki temple and then to the train station to head to Nijo castle. Google maps said to connect to a bus. We waited at the station but the bus didn’t come. A nice lady suggested a different one but it too was going to be 20 minutes We decided to forget it and head directly to Kinkajuki temple. Eventually we figured that one out and made it there. The golden temple is beautiful but there were bus loads of tourists. I’d hate to see what it looks like during the busy season!

After sitting on the bus google maps told us to take for about 1/2 hour I realised I didn’t recognise any of the stops. Uh oh. So we got off at the next stop that said there was a subway station. That one didn’t go anywhere near where we needed to go so back on the street we finally asked a random stranger who sent us in the right direction.

Kinkajuki with a cool filter.

The real Kinkajuki (Golden pavilion)

Finally close to where we were to meet our guide for a tour of the Gion district, we found a place to eat as again, no lunch so we were starving.

Junko met us right on time at the statue of Izumo-no-Okuni who was the instigator of the Kabuki theatre. The next 90 minutes or so we walked through 3 different geisha districts and learned a lot about the culture of Gaiko (Kyoto geisha) and Maiko (Geisha in training). We quizzed Junko on many aspects of Japanese culture and thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Today we reached over 28,000 steps. Many of those were climbing stairs and mountains so we were pooped.

Wednesday.

I had to check as I never know what day it is. We managed to get to Nara just fine and even sorted out reserving JR seats for the next couple of weeks. That was easy. I just gave her the dates and picked times in the morning. She printed tickets. Done.

Nara is different. The bowing deer are kind of strange. They roam everywhere and I mean EVERY where. Occasionally they even stop traffic. They actually WILL bow for you even when you don’t have food. It’s kind of fun.

We spent several hours walking around the various temples amongst the crowds of people before we headed back. Trying to sort out Sue’s i.c. Card issue was fun. We had to go back to the line where the error occurred. That led to several unplanned subway trips nowhere so we wasted a couple of hours. Oh well.

Back in Kyoto we managed to find the restaurant Junta had suggesting for duck but it was randomly closed. Again. Oh well. Even a restaurant we found on trip advisor….closed. Weird. It’s Wednesday. Is that some random holiday?

Ramen it was.

Back at the hotel we put our laundry in the machine and went for an onsen. That’s always a welcome reprieve after a long day of walking.

Eyeballing each other

See the deer?

 

Cat cafes I kind of understand but OWLS??

Thursday November 14th  

Our self guided tour with Inside Japan is over and we’re now on our own.  I highly recommend them as they did make planning much easier plus we covered a lot more than we would have on our own.

Okayama

We arrived at the train station good and early which is always wise as we couldn’t find the train. I finally asked and found out that the shinkansen is a different line. Aha! Good to know.

The speedy train got us to Okayama and we walked to the Comfort hotel, dropped off our bags and proceeded to explore. Okayama castle was our favourite castle yet. It had a few fun things to do which added to the experience as really, these castles are all pretty much the same. Trying on a Kimono was interesting as there are a couple of layers and lots of fabric to manipulate.

 was peaceful and beautiful with large expanses of empty lawn, ponds, forest and a tea house. It’s nice but there are no flowers. Japanese gardens don’t seem to have them Yet they grown lots of flowers. It’s different.

After checking Trip Advisor for places to eat Sue found “Fuckin Delicious Burgers and Fruit”. We had to try it. Well. It lived up to it’s name! The young man had little English but he tried, was friendly and cooked us a really good burger with a fresh, crispy bun and delicious fries.

Okayama Castle

Kerokoen park

We got to dress up in kimonos 😀

Kerokoen park

Samurai armour

JAPAN! The journey continues into the Kiso Valley. Takayama, Matsumoto, Magome and Tsumago

The previous post can be found here:  Our first Shinkansen! Kanazawa and Shirakawago – a relief from the city and into the ALPS!

TAKAYAMA

Breakfast at the  Wadaya Inn in Shirakwago was just as good as dinner. We’re spoiled.

Again we donned back packs and walked to the bus station to catch our bus to Takayama where we walked to the Yamakyu ryokan. It was way too early to check in so we left our bags and the woman kindly gave us a map, some other literature and ideas on where to walk. What a gorgeous town! There are signs for “Takayama walks” to guide you along. We got lost anyway as we’re always getting distracted. The cemetery is beautiful and warrants time to explore. We ended up in Shiroyama park which is an amazing treat. There are gorgeous trails everywhere and signs to watch for bears as well as empty drums with a stick attached to make a loud noise to announce your presence.

We happened upon an Italian couple sitting on a bench and a Japanese man was whistling for birds. The small chickadee like birds (I think they were tits) were eating out of his hand!! I took pictures for a bit and then they offered to let us try. What fun!

They left and we carried on. On one interesting trail I managed to slip and fall. Thankfully I landed on my cushiest part and was fine 😉

More wanderings later we ended up back at the Ryokan where we checked in, donned our yukata and prepared for dinner.

DINNER. WOW! It was so beautifully prepared and there was a little of everything. Hida beef is everything they said it is. It melts in your mouth it’s so tender and delicious. We tried to eat everything and left only a couple of little potatoes and again I didn’t touch the rice. NO ROOM!

After that amazing meal we tried our first onsen. That wasn’t as weird as I thought it would be. You get naked and go into the bath where you sit down to shower and get yourself VERY clean. It’s important as there are no chemicals in the water. It’s steaming hot and so relaxing. There was one outside too. Creams and lotions are provided for afterwards.

Back in our rooms we found the beds all ready for us. I could get used to this 😀

Breakfast at Yamakyu Ryokan was a delight. Well. Other that the sitting on the floor thing. This old body just can’t seem to get used to that.

Today was spent wandering Takayama and I think we managed to see pretty much everything. First we headed for the Jinya market and bought some apples for 1/3 of the price they are elsewhere. Then we browsed the Miyagawa morning market where we bought some sarubobo (baby monkey) dolls since they’re an oddity only available in Takayama. A brief walk along the river was enjoyable as it’s beautiful and there are ducks, carp, koi and I even managed to capture a photo of a hawk or an eagle. I still have to figure out what it was.

We covered the Kitiyama walking course with a side trip to the park which boats beautiful views of some of the snow capped mountains in the Alps.

At one of the biggest shrines we happened upon a wedding which was interesting as there was a woman also watching who could explain all that was going on. Very different from our weddings and fascinating. The bride wore an elaborate white silk kimono complete with a head dress the woman said hid her “horns” which she would use if she caught her husband cheating. Fun stuff

Walking about town we explored a neighbourhood of homes over 150 years old. There we followed an English tour for a bit until we got bored and went our own way.

Since it was too early to be done for the day we decided to walk to McDonald’s for an ice cream. That ended up being on the other side of town near the bowling alley. Oh well. The longer walk helped us burn off the ice cream.

After another amazing dinner we again headed for the onsen. We’ve never been so clean!

That’s a BIG tree!

The bride! We watched the wedding through the temple windows

There was a wedding happening and we watched through those windows

The temple is behind me. This is the gate

Old restored houses now are shops

 

 

 

Shiroyama Park

Jinya Market
Jinya Market
Jinya Market
Jinya Market

Takayama
Takayama
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MATSUMOTO

After enjoying our last breakfast at the Yamakyu, we cancelled the shuttle we’d booked and decided to walk to the bus station. We needed the exercise. As we checked out the kind woman gave us a picture of us in front of the ryokan.

The bus ride to Matsumoto was gorgeous! The narrow road winds through the alps and thankfully the driver was extremely careful He often honked his horn and flashed his lights through tunnels and around corners as the narrow lanes were often not really wide enough for two buses.

We dropped our bags at the Dormy hotel and found the Matsumoto castle. There was a booth offering free tours so we thought “why not?” A sweet lady whose name I can NOT remember took us all through the castle and gave us a great history lesson on the place. She’s a volunteer who shares her love of her home town with visitors. The castle is beautiful and well worth a couple hours of your time.

After stopping for a bite to eat, we checked into the hotel and then went to the JR station to reserve our seats for the next day’s train. Back at the hotel we changed into Pajamas provided by the hotel and headed to the 9th floor for the onsen. We’re getting used to being naked. Haha! This one had an indoor and outdoor hot pool, sauna and a cold pool. I went from the pool to the sauna to the cold pool over and over again. What a treat!

At 9:30 pm we’re usually in bed but the hotel offered free ramen between 9:30 and 11 and we rarely turn down free food so off we went. Yum!

Can I pull off the fierce Samurai look?

Intricate carvings finish corners of roof tops

The view from Matsumoto castle

 

 

 

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MAGOME and TSUMAGO.

November 19

Breakfast at the Dormy hotel was a really good buffet so we were well stuffed before we headed to the train station. We’d packed a small bag and had our packs forwarded to Kyoto so we were travelling very light.

The train was a couple minutes late so we figured we’d miss the bus in Nakatsugawa but it was right there waiting so we ran for it and made it. It was standing room only but better than waiting an hour for the next bus to Magmne.

There we started the walk through the cute little town, straight up hill then entered the forest. Barely a kilometre in I fell down hard on one knee. I sat there for a while assessing the damage as it really hurt. Sue right away handed me a couple of Advil to prevent swelling. I hobbled for a while but it was okay. Later I realised I scraped my hand all up too. Not very smart. 😦

The 10 km walk was beautiful. The path varied with lots of ups and downs and waterfalls to see a long the way.  There was even a place to stop and have a cup of tea served by an older man who said the villagers take turns doing it for the walkers.  Nice!   Lots of people we met had bear bells on so we figured we didn’t need to make noise. I’m thinking with all those bells, the bears are used to it and it won’t bother them anymore. We still didn’t get to see any.

Tsumago is another nice little tourist town and we wandered around there for a while before finding the meeting spot for our shuttle to the Fuki-no-mori. In that one we got jump seats.

This accommodation was the most expensive one on the whole trip and it IS beautiful. The room was huge. There’s a nice lounge and the view is really nice. BUT. The food was just okay and a lot of it was just too salty. The meals in Takayama were much better. The onsen was nice but not any better than the other ones. We told reception that the room was too hot and we couldn’t figure out how to turn off the heat. They sent a maintenance man who’s solution was to turn on the AC!! What? It’s cold outside! So we finally got him to shut everything off. I got up in the night to open the door a bit as it was so stuffy and dry. Neither of us got a great sleep. So. Paying a lot for a place to stay isn’t always the best choice.

Breakfast the next morning wasn’t wonderful either but it filled us up and we walked around the grounds for a while before catching the shuttle to Nagiso.

There we got the express train to Kisofukishima where we ran to catch the next one to Nagoya. There we found the JR station and took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. We even found the right exit and didn’t get lost.