Oct. 8, 2018 Day 20 Kochi, Japan

I was up early, well, early for me, like 7:45 even though i had set a wake up call for 8:15. I got ready and went the meeting place at 9:15 and in the vestibule an employee was selling bottled water for $6. and it wasn’t that big of a bottle. So i went back to my cabin and got the free one we had been given by our steward the day we moved down to this cabin.

I disembarked and it was a very long walk to the buses and hot out already. Once in the air conditioned bus the excursion guy said it was going to be 84º today. I was glad I had on appropriate clothing and didn’t have to carry a sweater or anything. I sat with a nice Japanese lady and we talked of all sorts in between the guide reading us the brochure he had given everyone. Some people were annoyed as we all know how to read and didn’t need or want to listen to his strange accent and weird pronunciations of English.

So up we go into the mountains on switch back roads and arrived at our destination which was the Makino Botanical Gardens. There he gathered us out in the sweltering sun to tell us how to view the gardens instead of going over it all while we were on the air conditioned bus. Some people couldn’t hear him at the back of the crowd and so they asked questions and nobody got a straight answer. He kind of talked in riddles and everyone noticed he had said this is the east gate and then minutes later he’d say so this is the west gate and then switch back and forth on it. Nobody knew where we were supposed to go and when someone asked if we were going completely around the garden he said yes at first and then he said no, we’ll meet at the bus, like he had heard a totally different question. Well, it turned out that the bus moved to a different parking lot and it involved climbing a mountain.

I was completely lost a few times but always ran into someone with a number 10 sticker on their shirt so it was a relief to walk with them even though we had to backtrack a few times. I figure better to be lost with a few other people than alone. But even so most people walk way faster than i do and as well i’ll sit whenever i find a bench or rock or something to sit on and the others keep going and they’re off around a corner out of sight and by the time i got to the corner they were out of sight and then the path branched either right or left. So it was inevitable that i’d be lost and on my own unclear as to which direction to go.

When i met up with two ladies on my tour i tried to stick close to them but somehow we too got separated a few times but then reconnected again. Finally we arrived at the place to climb the huge rock steps to a pagoda. The guide suddenly appeared so i asked him if we climb all the way up there will we be coming back down these steps or will we continue on higher and over the top of the hill to a different route down. Well, he didn’t understand what i was asking or why. He would just say oh, we will all go together or something. He also couldn’t let me know if there was something spectacular up there to see or if i could just wait at the bottom to continue with them when they got back. I just really wanted to sit in the shade on a rock and wait but it wasn't clear on where they’d go after that.
Well, it was ridiculous trying to get up that hill especially once i was up there and saw it was obviously not worth the climb. All i saw was a house like building, not what i’d call a temple. We had to take our shoes off to go in and some people walked up to the landing in front of the door before removing their shoes and that upset him a lot, enough that he was shouting at people. So, there we all are shoeless walking into a building that really wasn’t worth the climb or the view or the few buddhas that were in a room that had signage to not take pictures. Well, i took one because everyone else was taking pics.

Then walking down those stone steps was made a little easier or worthwhile because a bride and groom were climbing up. I always consider seeing a bride and groom on their wedding day a good luck omen so it helped my pain at being in this predicament. Then at the bottom nobody from my bus was around and i had to decide whether to wait in case i had gotten ahead of the group or to go right or left in hopes of catching up to them. I picked up on a clue or two and went left. The guide had earlier said it’s just 500 meters to the buses from there. Even though Canada has been using the metric system for many years I don’t know how far 500 meters is. It turned out to be yet another steep mountain to climb which i managed but with a lot of resting along the way. Not seeing anyone with #10 was worrisome but also the fact that i could be way off in the wrong direction on the wrong mountain.. Decision time.....go back down and wait or forge on even though i was dying in the heat and that dam steep rocky trail. I had already backtracked once before and then met my bus people coming so it was a hard decision. How the heck i had ever gotten ahead of them was a mystery. So i decided to keep going forward and amazingly rounded a corner at the top of the hill and there was a parking lot with my bus. Would you believe i was the first person back to the bus?! I couldn’t believe it either but i found out the reason why was because they had all gone to a beautiful tall ornate temple somewhere up on that last mountain that i didn’t know about.

Back at the ship it was pandemonium with all the buses arriving back from their various tours all at once. It was another long trek to even get near our ship. There were a few vendors alongside the ship where i found two items to buy and then i saw a currency exchange booth but there was a lineup a mile long so i passed even though this was the last chance to trade our Japanese money. Maybe I’ll get a little less at my bank but i just couldn’t face another long wait in the blazing sun.
I forged on again thinking of how nice it would be back on my beautiful cool ship and then i saw the next line up. We call it an expo lineup ever since Vancouver hosted Expo 86 and they had to use that back and forth zig zag line formation to enter the different pavilions. I could see another 40 mins or more was going to take place and that i had to get in that line because it was only going to get worse.

It was brutal and then once on the ship there was the face to face inspection with the Japanese authorities and more waiting in another Expo line up. Eventually got through that only to find there was another inspection to wait for after another long walk. By the time i got to my room i was exhausted but the room steward had thoughtfully cranked the AC up to the max. So much though that i suddenly became so cold i decided to get into my pjs and climb into bed where i lay shivering for awhile listening to whatever that loud noise is that’s been bugging us for 3 days now before i finally fell asleep.

I awoke 2 hours later warm but tired. I hadn’t had anything to eat all day so when i saw the plate of treats that the cruise director had sent us i pigged out and ate them all (sorry Annie)

Later we got ready for the evening stuff, visiting the Spinnaker Lounge where there was a very good singer and a reception for us. A lot of brass attended and they all took their turn to say a few words. Drinks were served, and while i don’t usually drink alcohol i was intrigued by a green drink so ordered one along with a non alcoholic drink that was really good. I don’t know what it was made of but it was like a newly invented fruit drink that was awesome.
The solo group gathered and off we went to the opposite end of the ship for dinner at Tzars Palace. It was a very long dinner but very interesting and i enjoyed it. One of the men at my table Steve told me about his best cruise which visited Dubai and Eygpt and it made me instantly interested. I had wondered where i might want to cruise next and other than maybe the south Pacific I really didn't have anywhere in mind.
Finally it was time to leave for the show which was supposed to be very good tonight but i was bone weary so said goodnight and went to bed. It was before 9 pm! Not only that but tonight we turn our clocks another hour so it will be an extra hour of sleep for me tonight so i will survive.