Well, it was quite a day. My friends at Adventure Hokkaido had planned a 14 km hike visiting the different capes and promontories of the northernmost end of Rebun Island, so close to Kamchatka I could almost smell the borsch. I figured this would be a good start, and would tell me how fit I was if I were to attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Rishiri. I woke up early in the morning, showered and carefully dressed in layers, was the first one at breakfast, and by 7:30 am was in line to catch the bus to Cape Sukoton. I was so much Johnny on the Spot that I forgot my day backpack, with my water and snacks. Rats!
The drive was very pretty, and following an old habit I kept glancing back, to make sure I would recognize the road on the way back. We got to the end of the line an hour later, and I had a blast walking around the tip of the island, sometimes climbing high unto the watershed divides, and sometimes coming down to the shore. At some times the "blast" was quite literal, because I got buffeted by gale force winds; still, I was warm in my cocoon of layers, so the whole walk was very enjoyable. Imagine you could walk around Catalina Island in Southern California, and you might have an idea of the spectacular view I had of bays, rocky promontories, sea cliffs, and mountains.
But 14 km is a lot, and toward the end I was beginning to drag my feet. According to the map I still had 3 km to go to reach the town of Fudanomari, where I was supposed to catch the 16:45 bus back to the Rebun Ferry Terminal (aka Kafuka). All that was left was walking along the main paved road, which I didn't fancy, when ahead of me I recognized one of the stops the bus had made on the way in, and right across the street was the corresponding stop for the bus back! Excellent. I just had to sit in the little cabin and wait for the bus. Admittedly it was quite early, around 1 pm, but I figured I could catch an early bus, so I waited ... and waited ... and waited, and the bus never came. There was a posted schedule, but it was in Japanese and it did me no good. Then, like descended from heaven, another hiker came along and looked at the schedule, so I asked him at what time was the bus expected? He pointed to an entry that said 16:06, but like it always happens he gave me a lot more information than I had expected, pointing down the road. He came into the small enclosed area and took a seat, so I figured he was settling to wait for the bus, and I took the opportunity to go for a little walk given that it was then only 3 pm. When I got back the other hiker was gone, which I should have taken as a clue. But I didn't and waited ... and waited ... and waited. Nothing. So I looked at the map and saw that Fudanomari was at the intersection of the road I was on and the road that comes from the airport. What if the bus I was supposed to take was the one that came from the airport?
In a bit of a panic I started down the road for the last 3 km I had been too lazy to walk earlier in the afternoon, but by then it was too late. I figured I had missed the bus, and was stuck 20 km from my final destination. Alright, I figured it was time to stick out my thumb, uncover my gray hair, and look like a helpless foreigner. I stood for a bit out there, pondering if I would have to walk those 20 km (which I could probably cover in 4 hours to arrive in my hotel at 21:00), when a Good Samaritan stopped his red shoebox of a car and gave me a lift. He had very little English, and goes without saying that my two or three Japanese sentences would not hold the conversation, so I just started telling him that I was from Mexico, that I had been traveling through Hokkaido for s week, that I was a geologist, that I was planning to hike up Mt. Rishiri, and so on. I can tell he wanted to chat with me, and how I would have loved to hold a conversation with him. At the end he brought me to the door of my hotel, and we said goodbye with many expressions of thanks on my part, and lots of short bows and smiles on his part. Japanese are such lovely people.
No comments:
Post a Comment