Category: 88

I woke up in the dark, my face was cold, and had difficulties getting out of the bed.
All over the body aches, not only the legs and feet, but also shoulders, arms and back. Realising how effective to have stick in the mountain.
After the huge breakfast, departing at dawn.
Long down hill, all the way to Tokushima City. It feels like I have been traveling already for many days.
Lesson: How vulnerable I am.
If I have pain in my feet, I can not walk, not be able to go forward even for a meter. If the car breaks down, I can still walk ahead, but if a foot breaks down, then that’s it. If that happens in the mountains, I could be dead.

12.03.2016
13-17 38km
徳島ハイパー両国橋

闇の中目が覚める、顔が冷え、ベッドから這い上がるのができない。
足のみならず体が動かない、杖がいかに山中で効果的であったか痛みから理解する。
大量の朝食も体の中に落ちていく。空が白んでくる頃に出発。
徳島市までの長い下りの一日、すでに何日も長い間旅をしているような気がする。
教訓、肉体的な弱さ。
足が痛くなると歩けなくなる、少しも前に進めなくなるということだ。乗り物が壊れれば歩いて目的地までいけるが、歩いていて足が壊れれば前進不能となる、山の中で誰も周りにいなければ死ぬかも知れない。

Should I get to the 12th temple as I initially planed, or leave it to next day, I was wavering while walking. Recovering the delay from the first day, I had to get to the 11th temple as early as I could, from there to the 12th temple is the first tough mountain road.

11.03.2016
9-12 30km
すだち館

I reached the 11th temple before noon, but I did not have any food with me.
Going to the shop near by was 40 minutes of loss.
Lesson: Do things in advance, not to leave it until last moment.
Decision made. Getting to the 12th temple before 5pm, I did not have anytime to stop.
Around the point, where climbing gradually turns to ridge walk, there is a statue of the Kobodaishi. At the bottom of its feet, water paddle was completely frozen. I was sweating and thirsty. Walking further ahead it started snowing, then almost blizzard. Feeling of time and space are getting vague, I was walking somewhere sky high, up in the mountain forever.

十二番焼山寺まで行くか。初日の遅れを挽回し当初の予定か次の日に回すか、迷いながら平坦な川沿いを歩き続ける、どれだけ早く山の手前の十一番藤井寺にたどり着けるかにかかっていた。 昼前に十一番藤井寺についたものの食べ物を持っていないため、山に入る前に店に行く、往復40分を失う。
教訓、安易に考えず物事を後回しにしない。
決心し山を歩き始めてから、午後五時前に十二番焼山寺に着くには一時も足を止めることができないことに気づく。登りから、縦走に変わるあたり、弘法大師の足元の水溜りは汗と喉の渇きとは裏腹にすっかりと凍っていた。その先徐々に雪が降り始め吹雪に変わる、どこかはるか高い山の一本道を永遠と歩いているような気がした。

It started suddenly, the bus left me at side of motorway, when the sun was about coming up.
It reminded me of my very first motorcycle trip to Hokkaido, I drove to the port Ooarai in Ibaraki at night in pouring rain. After the long ferry ride in tiny cabin, suddenly I was at different scale of landscape, dry cool continental climate. This time was also rain when I left Tokyo at midnight, then suddenly, it feels like almost time travel for couple of decades. In fact, some places seem like hundreds of years back.

10.03.2016
1-8 25km
阿波ビジネスホテル

I have lost an hour and half at the very first Settaijyo, before the first temple. The old guy invited me, as he was almost awaiting for very long time.
He was kindly talking and telling me what and how to do. The way it should be done, Japanese way. However there are no Japanese way. Every individuals has its own way, so my way is the only way.
This was my first lesson. Other people’s kindness could cause the problems, therefore I must carefully and quickly decide if I listen or not.

Average people (who lives in busy city and walk decent speed) could go up to the 10th temple on the first day, once you start the first temple at 7 am.
You get stamped only in between 7am to 5pm at the temple.
The Second lesson, the importance of time.
I regret the loss of the first one hour and half, yet it was very good lessons at the beginning. I could manage only to the 8th temple therefore I had to find an accommodation somewhere closer to the 9th temple.
March in Shikoku, it still gets cold in the evening. Even the tiny bath was relief to exhausted body, after long bus ride, and the very first day of over 25km of walk.

突然、高速脇で日の出とともに始まった。
初めての北海道へのバイク一人旅を思い出す。土砂降りの夜、大洗港へ向かい、狭い船室から解放されると大陸的な広大な空間と、涼しく乾いた気候。
東京を深夜にバスで出た今回も雨、到着してみると数十年前に時を遡ったような、またいくつかのところでは数百年前、日本昔話のようでもある。

一番目の寺の前の接待所で一時間半を失う。待っていましたと言ったように接待所の親父は私を招き入れ、遍路の道順、作法を語る。
これがしきたり、日本式、マイウェイは良くないなど。彼は歩いたことがあるのだろうか？それぞれ一人一人、理由も思いも体力も違う、日本式など存在しない、結局自分自身 My Way 以外はありえないだろう。
最初の教訓、人からの親切も、注意深くかつ素早く摂るか否か決めて前に進まなくてはならない。
一般的に国際的な忙しい街に住み、それなりの速度で歩く人ならば朝七時に一番目を出発すれば十番目の寺までいけるだろう。
納経時間は午前7時から午後5時。
二番目の教訓、時間の大切さ。
最初の一時間半の紛失を非常に後悔したが、出だしでのとても良い勉強とも言える。長距離となると歩行速度を変えるのは非常に困難。
八番目までしか行けなかったので、九番から遠くない宿に泊まる。
三月の四国、夜はまだ冷える、小さな風呂でも疲れた体にとてもいい。