Steps: 28.668 (25,7km)
Temples: None
We got a late start this morning as we wanted to have breakfast with our new friends from yesterday, before they hopped on a train to Matsuyama. This also meant that we could buy provisions in some of the bigger stores that didn’t open until 9am (since we’re heading into the mountains, we won’t come across any other shops until we reach temple 44 by tomorrow afternoon)
The first part of the day took us through the charming antique streets of Uchiko, and over a mountain pass with great views on all sides. From there the path went straight down to the river, which we then followed for the rest of the day.
My ankle still hurts despite taking various measures to protect it. We were bickering a little about this as we walked along the river, because Jonas thought I wasn’t taking good enough care of myself, and I thought he was being a bit condescending for not trusting me to know my own body.
As usual, we were both a little right, and ended up agreeing that we were probably just tired and ultimately wanted the same thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
13 years of prior experience with solving disputes are coming in handy on days like these where we are both feeling a little under pressure 😅
I am quite nervous though that the pressure we felt today will be nothing in comparison to tomorrow, where we will climb over the highest peak yet, at 800 meters above sea level.
But we will take off early so there is time for plenty of breaks and see how it goes.
I must admit, enlightenment feels an awful lot like ascetic training at the moment, but who am I to question the path 😅