That night was my first restful night’s sleep on the trip! The weather didn’t start as planned (the forecast for the next day was even worse, though), and I thought it would be a good opportunity to lament the loss of my jacket. But I was able to grab an umbrella from the hotel, which I didn’t need it, as we were given raincoats later. After the light morning rain, we ended up with perfect hiking weather and only encountered a heavy rain shower in the final minutes before reaching the car.
But first, we had breakfast at a restaurant where you had to wait in line because it’s so popular. We were able to confirm that it was justified. Perhaps I should mention, for those who only know beef and chicken soups besides vegetable soups, that this one was made with pork. Tony had just overheard me talking to Reini about skipping the meat topping and immediately told the man making the soup to give me one without meat.
The ten of us had the same drivers as yesterday, and it was a long and winding road. The scenery was beautiful from the start, so I wondered if we were driving so far “just” to hike. Later, I knew!
We met two men and a woman who were accompanying us. We grabbed the those rain jackets, bamboo walking poles, water, and a lunch box, and set off. It only took a few minutes before we were in a forest near a stream or small river, and the landscape transformed into a gorge.
What can I say?
We had only walked 5 km, but with all the necessary photoshoots, it took a few hours until we reached a rest area where we emptied our lunch boxes. We descended, and to our surprise, it was another gorge, and I had forgotten to count all those beautiful waterfalls.
Then the aforementioned rain caught up with us, but before we got really wet, we got into the cars and were driven to a place where we were greeted with skewers of meat.
They were roasted over an open fire, and before you’d even finished the first one, you’d be given another, and it was hard to resist, firstly because of the taste and secondly because of the friendly insistence. When we thought we were finished, we were led to the actual dining table to receive the actual dinner.
For the sake of simplicity, I’ll call part of it a hot pot version (with charcoal heating), surrounded by vegetables and a new specialty: steamed egg, an egg scrambled with twice the amount of water in a special bowl (similar to a Bundt pan).
We still had some time to enjoy a warm spring bath (up to our knees) before heading home, stopping at a combination supermarket, billiards hall, and other entertainment venues. Four guys spontaneously decided to stay a while longer (with a driver), while the rest went home, some straight to their rooms after this full day.
Michi was the last man standing, conducting botanical research with drawings, razor blades and magnifying glasses.
The hotel lay in silence…
