Aventuras Entre Amigas: Flu and Other Surprises

Monday was a national holiday in Japan, and unfortunately we celebrated the long holiday weekend with a spreading of the flu - a gift that had come home from preschool.

no sharing of germs!!

Em was in denial, blaming her congestion on the smog from China that had blown in and stagnated, leaving a thick blanket of gray on the horizon. She wore a fashionable 'mask' as a precaution and we kept going but slowed the pace considerably.

So, some highlights from our final days:

On Sunday, we checked out a local 'traditional village'/tourist attraction called Murasaki Mura, near Yomitan. During high tourist season, I imagine this place is bustling, and there are numerous shops where you can participate in traditional crafts and/or purchase items made by local artisans. We sort of had the place to ourselves, early birds that we were, and started our exploration by having a lively conversation with a very enthusiastic kaleidoscope maker and vendor who was not afraid to use his English skills!

kaleidoscope V

kaleidoscope Em

Murasaki Mura

We found a shop where we were able to paint our very own shisas - a fun project that we really got into. We were able to get some samples of traditional ryukyu fabrics to use as a model for extra flair.

painting shisas!

intense focus

tah dah! finished product

picnic at Zanpa beach, Yomitan village

ROARING with an enormous shisa, Zanpa Beach

Monday was a day of rest and healing for the sick, so that meant getting V out of the house to go scuba diving! She had been looking forward to this the whole time and even lugged some of her gear halfway around the world for it... so even though Em's congestion made it impossible to dive, she was up to the challenge of going solo!

Keely helped facilitate communication to set up a day of diving with a local dive shop, so Monday morning, off V went, with a bag full of gear, a lunch and a smile. Even though there was a primary language barrier between V and her diving guide, they were able to communicate through their shared knowledge of scuba, limited vocabulary, lots of hand signals, and non-verbals!

A warm lunch of soba, taco rice and tea to thaw out the hands between two boat dives was perfect and delicious. The South China Sea is about 73 degrees this time of year and the air temperature was 61 degrees with a strong wind, making the time between dives chilly, and the boat rocky. A rented dive camera captured many pictures and was well worth the 2,000 yen (about $18) for the day.

V came back very happy - full of stories and pictures to share with everyone. If you ask her she will be happy to share her 200+ pictures with anyone who has an hour to look at fish and coral!

Tuesday we stayed in Onna, starting out with a chilly but fun morning visit to the beach to play in the sand.

We did some shopping at Onna No Eki and along Route 58 (V got a fabulous dragon wall hanging that she'd had her eye on), and tried some new snacks from the "conveni."

word to the wise: strawberry Ritz bits sandwiches - not particularly recommended.

We made one final trip to American Village, hoping to catch a sunset - and we got lucky!

For dinner, we stopped at KFC - a must, really, for two Kentucky girls to see how this brand translates to Japanese. Very impressive branding! The best moment was when we heard My Old Kentucky Home playing over the speakers - along with a voice-over about the history and proud tradition of Colonel Sanders' famous recipe.

the food... was OK. We tried the shrimp

Wednesday we had to start thinking about our imminent departure and the need to pack.

melon pan! how many can we fit in?

this is what happens when Em hears
salsa music for the first time in 2 weeks.
Booth-dancing at the sushi bar!

gyoza roll

WhaAAAAT does that say?? an amazing find at the 100 yen store

V's secret stash... :)
Amazingly everything fit into her suitcase!

Thursday we had to come to terms with reality: it was time to leave.

Our journey began as a pleasant one, and although our trans-Pacific flight was laughably HORRIFIC (bickering flight crew, crammed in like sardines into the back middle, epic turbulence...), we made the best of the longest day of our lives.

Jan.15th was nearly a 40-hour experience.