Alishan at her possy in the Meinohama fishing harbor
We are only at 1/3rd
of our quarterly update, but most of the story has been told.
The months November and
December were spent settling down. When the kumiai (fishing corporation) agreed
on letting us stay we started applying extra lines, fenders, an electrical cord
and a gangway. The electricity, most important, doesn’t give us more then 80 of
the 100 volts and only at night, when the street lantarns are lit. However,
it’s better than nothing.
We can work on the computer
at night and go out during the day.
Autumn colors of red maple in Ohorikoen and Imajuku
When autumn suddenly and way
too soon turned into winter we bought socks, heaters and blankets. The monthly
budget that stretched a long way in Malaysia and Thailand seemed to disappear
real fast, but we’re careful and we know how to manage. We didn’t want to rush
off looking for jobs first thing. We’ll probably be here a while, time enough
for that later. Plus, to look representable for work we’d need some different winter
outfits. And they would be a bit beyond our means.
Jaap often made himself useful when the elderly fishermen needed help with their nets. They often work, husband and wife together until way in their 70s. Rather staying out in the cold than getting bored at home. Until an accident of some sort forces them to give up. This we encountered when the owner of a nearby fishing boat got a stroke and we could only just save him from serious injuries when he fell on top of the running engine.
Marijke’s favorite: Tomba
Needless to say we got plenty of fish, especially ‘tomba’.
On our 30th anniversary we ate 30 of these little delicacies.
The days Jaap wasn’t helping
Katsuyoshi or Sumie Maru he was out running, training for a full marathon. Hence
he was the only living thing onboard who didn’t put on weight. Nori and Wakame
have exchanged their slim tropical looks for the square winter type. They are
eating 3-4 times as much! Marijke tries not to eat, but sore knees make jogging
impossible and the gym is so boring… The other live-aboards, our faithful team
of cockroaches don’t seem to consume much. They have become very slow. Maybe
this unusual cold winter takes care of them.
When we visit Nakazawa-san and his wife, his son makes us a special winter dish. Oyster nabe with miso. Oishii!!!
Things you run into when walking around town: a couple getting merried and a little girl celebrating hichi-go-san, a tradition for 3, 5 and 7 year olds
And a painter in the park
Some friend of a friend left us an old battered, but drivable car, which we use to get out of the city, into the mountains for walks and hotsprings. In fact, that’s what we did on Christmas Day with our friends Pam and Jon of s/y Tweed, who we’d buddyboated with earlier this year. They returned from Australia to their boat in Odo yachtharbor mid November.
Jon and Pam with their first snow.
Mina came along as well, who is our Odo-based yachtie friend, currently looking after Anton’s yacht Searover and before that after Anton himself when he was in hospital. The snow had started and for Jon and Pam it was a special exciting day, as they’d never seen snow falling and had never taken a Japanese bath.
On the last day of 2010 we hit the snow again, this time on Mt
Raizan.
A pilgrim negotiating the icy road from the temple
down on traditional footwear made of cotton with very thin straw or rubber
soles
Stone people watching over us from the snowy mountain
slope.
When was the last time we saw icicles?
The only bit of colour was inside the Raizan temple.
And that’s it. We are still in the yachtie-mode, but
have made no plans to move. Japanese officials are having a hard time with it.
They keep a close eye on all foreign yachts and want to know the excact
itinarary. Preferably to the hour and minute. Recently they stopped coming by
every day and we haven’t see the plain-cloth
detective either. But whenever we run into them they ask the big
question that we often ask ourselves: “When are you leaving?”
Not this year!
Wakame’s way to wrap up 2010.
And yes, it’s her, not with Mt Fuji and not in Egypt, but with Mt. Kaimon at Kagoshima in the background on our New Year’s card.
(See
our blog http://syalishan.blogspot.com/)
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