Steps: 30.027 (27,4km)
Temples: 39
It is 9 in the evening and we are bathed, fed, and have a hotel booked for Tuesday (we try to book 3 days ahead, that seems to work for us).
I have picked up Jonas new shoes from the Lawson across the street, and almost made a young employee implode in the process, when I didn’t follow proper procedure (despite my very best efforts I swear!) and showed up without a delivery code (I never received one on my email).
A combination of my passport, Amazon tracking information, the fact that the delivery man had just called me on the phone and was still standing there as a I walked in – plus a lot of apollogizing – did the trick though.
This morning we waved goodbye to our hosts in the mountains and set of towards temple 39.
This temple marks two big milestones on the pilgrimage.
For one it is the last temple in Kochi prefecture, meaning that when we cross the border to Ehime on Monday, we will have officially completed the “ascetic training” part of the pilgrimage.
And Kochi really has taught us much about ourselves and what we are capable off, in terms of both distance, endurance and overcoming physical pain. Just as importantly, it has taught us when to let go, how to ask for help and how to accept it when it is given.
Secondly, temple 39 also marks the half-way point of the pilgrimage. According to the book, the temple is roughly 550km from temple 1 in each direction. Pretty wild to think about.
On the way to the temple we stumbled upon a riverbed full of cherry trees. And I know I keep saying it, but this time, this time really was the most spectacular cherry blossom display we have ever seen. Both sides of the river completely covered in flowering trees, pink petals flowing around us in slow-motion. We felt like we were walking through a movie set.
I know it is terribly boring reading about people being happy and content, but I really am just so deeply grateful and full of awe for all the things we get to see and experience every day on this trip. I am that annoying person who blurts out every ten minutes “how did we get to be this lucky? – can you believe our eyes get to witness all of this?!”
So yeah, we might be halfway there, but I am nowhere near done.
Hvor er Det dejligt at se jer så glade og ja den flod med kirsebærblomster på begge bredder!!!