Monday, September 19, 2016

Day 24 - A Rainy Day in Good Company

18/9

So waking up in the parking lot and knowing that most of the day was going to be relaxed was really appreciated, but I was also wondering a lot about when to leave. And it isn't easy leaving, especially when the next two days will have a serious lack a familiar faces.. I can't wait till I reach Kyoto. 

Samar met me halfway to the parking lot and we went for breakfast. It was a pretty nice cafe and we sat there for almost two hours until the dormitory opened and I could log in as a guest. And I kind of felt at home there. I wished I could stay in a place like that just once more, but I'm afraid the experience in Fukuoka ruined everything for me. I will undoubtedly compare and get disappointed.

After chilling, getting lunch and doing laundry we went to a bike shop and I got some things fixed. It wasn't free, but it was done well and I have to sown some money on it once in a while. Better that than standing in the mountains with a problem that can't be fixed. 

After that Samar took the bus with some people from the I-house and went to the festival. I got my bike from the store, packed my stuff and went in the same direction. 
I was told by the staff in the store that I had raised the saddle higher than recommended, and I could do nothing but look at the kind store clerk and say: "that can't be helped, really." The bike is too small and I can't lower the saddle without considering the damage it would do to my legs and my back, so for now I'm keeping it like this. 

It was raining lightly as I went the 10 minutes to the festival. It was quite big, lots of people and food stands, dancing and a big stage. But no temple, shrine or anything. I think they just wanted to have a festival maybe, but the weather wasn't compliant at all. I found the others and we enjoyed the different food and drinks. The festival was to end with a firework show. It was amazing, but the rain was getting worse and since we only had one umbrella which we kind of burrowed, (I'm sorry, Ben!), we couldn't quite fit in beneath it. 

After the show we said goodbye and I went to my almost dry bike with my almost dry bag and went looking for a better place to wait out the rain. 

After a while I departed towards a city near the outskirts of Nagoya, but decided to sleep in Nagoya port park. I wasn't alone. I saw 30 cats hiding different places from the rain and at least 3 other people were sleeping on benches like me. Haha! 

The mosquitos were really active, but I managed and slept relatively well. Let's see what happens tomorrow. 

I really hope that Samar will go to Fukuoka to meet us, if it doesn't happen then I hope to see her again soon. It is amazing that 3 years has gone by and it still feels like we live in the old i-house and no time passed at all. Friends are amazing and I'm lucky to have been able to meet so many through my life so far.

My trip here still feels unreal. I meet people I know, people I don't know. I try new things and remember old memories. I live from day to day, sometimes from your to hour. And I'm only bound by my own stubbornness to reach my goal, Sata Mizaki, the most southern part of Kyushu. I have to bike, I want to bike, but I don't want injuries, getting drenched or putting myself in situations were I can't come back. 

But that all happens, and that is a part of this trip and a part of life. I don't know the outcome of this trip or some of the decisions I make while I'm here, but I hope that I can have the best, craziest, toughest and most memorable trip ever and that it will inspire me to push my boundaries, and sometimes my luck, so that I can live everyday and not regret what I didn't do. 

Distance: 25 km.
Time: 1.30
Condition: tired of mosquito bites.. 
Quote: just shoot all the firework off at the same time and let us go home!



 


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