Day: August 14, 2006

We overslept this morning: 3H15, Serge stopped the alarm then nothing.  I woke up with a start, my watch read 3H50!  In less than a second I was heating the water and calling Ludo and Eliane, who were ready to leave.  Serge wasn’t upset a bit, at 4H15 he was at the car.  A 15 minute delay isn’t catastrophic.

Getting out of Nigata took forever. We left the coastal road but the traffic remained heavy.  The vehicles we saw came from all over Japan.  I can imagine that big cities like Tokyo must be empty during this holiday period.  This long weekend means that the Japanese can visit distant family and it’s also the day to pay respects to the dead and visit the tombs of ancestors.

At the 40th kilometer, Serge went through the small city of Marukami, then he took route #7 for 20 kilometers.  After the village of Budo (the Japanese word for grape) a mini ski resort on the East side of a mountain (the West side being on the sea), Serge took the small route #6, which lead to the coast.  The day was particularly hot so it was a relief for our runner to have some shade under the trees.  On the down side, horseflies were out in numbers and he got bit several times.

Fatigue showed on Serge’s face, but he didn’t want to give in.  When I said that five hundred meters more or less didn’t matter he replied “Don’t say that! They do matter and the day I have a problem I will be happy to have done the extra five hundred meters today.”

Tonight we are sleeping in a true Japanese style home, the equivalent of our B&B.  Our dinner consisted of raw and cooked fish, with fresh and cooked vegetables and a bowl of rice.  Everything was prepared by our 80 year old hostess.  This woman still grows her own rice and all the food she served this evening came from her property.  We all slept in a big room with only a sliding door between the French team and the Japanese team.  No air conditioning tonight.  His homely atmosphere will surely leave us with unforgettable memories.