Day 28-29 -30 Aaaaand relax!

We drove back to Ishigaki airport and after a peaceful flight we did... absolutely nothing. And Sâ it was good ! So we did the same the following day.

I'm now already on the plane, heading back towards Europe. A lot happened in this month yet it flew by like... like one of their evil mosquitoes !

Day 27 - Driving around Ishigaki

On that final day, right the one we've booked a rental car to enjoy the beau of the island while recovering from our emotions, on that final day, the sun finally showed up. Yes, my sunburnt hands were only the result of an afternoon outside on a rainy and pretty cloudy day.
But I have to admit, every time we went back in the car from going to see a beach, or a lighthouse, I was really thankful for the air conditioning.
































In the evening we went to the restaurant and enjoyed some fine Ishigaki beef (you know Kobe beef? Well that's where they import their calves from. Very marbled meat.)




They bring the pieces of meat raw and you cook it yourself to your liking.

Day 26 - Kohama

This is the last day our Island hoper pass is valid, so we decide to go to Hatoma, a tiny Island with about 30 inhabitants and beaches all around.
But, at the ticket office, Laura asked for tickets to Kohama, so... that's where we went!
The island is a bit bigger than Taketomi but has much more hills. So we hired bikes again, but we went through hell with them ! Still, the island was quite pretty and we happened to find a neat little cafe just before the heavens decided to unleash their wrath upon us.

Day 25 - Iriomote: sea kayak and snorkeling

We were so happy with our guide that we booked him again for the following day. This time we arrived at the other port of Iriomote and took kayaks at sea. Laura and I shared one and we went to a beach that's only accessible by sea. Sadly, I didn't take my camera with me on that journey. So no pictures apart from the one of the result:



I know, I never learn... At least the rest of me was protected by the wetsuit jacket.

Day 24 - Iriomote: mangroves, kayak, and trekking

The island were off to now is preserved, 3/4 of it by national law and the rest by local authorities. One coast is inhabited, although for no more than 2 or 3 generations, and the rest is wild. The reason it could be preserved so well is apparently malaria. Humans stayed off it. For a time they comuted from nearby Islands to exploit the land.
Some now call it the Galapagos of Japan, because so many species are found there and nowhere else, like the Iriomote wild cat, which is a type of lynx.



Anyway we hop on the guide's van, pick up some canoes on the way, and attack the river.






This turtle stated at us for quite a while and decided to walk away just as I had grabbed my camera from the waterproof bag...





After some canoeing and a little trekking through the jungle we arrived there:






We had a nice swim and headed back slowly




I played hide and seek with this little man


And we found more friends




Our guide took us to a nice coastal point of view and proceeded to cooking our lunch over his camping gas.





Now he had to improvise a little, since his normal for brings him to the waterfall we saw earlier for lunch time and the trek back is the afternoon activity. I guess we were a bit too enthusiastic... and it was for the best ! He also had helmets in his van so we went to see a cave.

We entered through there


And came out of that


After the cave the was still time, so we went to another waterfall.





These crabs are specific to the island and they look awfully like spiders when there's so many of them crawling around. Isn't it Laura ?







An interesting spider Web.