October 4, 2018
Kamae
The ferry from Sukumo to Saiki on Kyushu departs at eight o'clock in the morning, so we had a quick breakfast of croissants that I had bought the evening before and headed down to the ferry port, arriving there at half past seven. We were sad to be leaving Shikoku, particularly since the last few days' cycling have been so enjoyable.
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The trip itself was pretty uneventful if not smooth with the boat pitching and rolling in seas that looked pretty calm to me. There were very few people on board. Apart from us there were seven big trucks, three cars, a tractor and one walk-on passenger. No wonder the ticket prices are so high because it cannot be profitable to run.
The highlight of the three hour voyage was picking a group of Streaky Shearwaters, a new bird for me.
Once we disembarked in Saiki we went looking for some food because there was none to be had on the boat. Some chicken and greens from an Aeon MaxValue was a welcome change from konbini fare. Then we set off slowly southwards towards Kamae. The road was initially a very gently, almost imperceptible, climb through a broad valley. It was quiet and calm and I immediately enjoyed being back on Kyushu. I experienced the same feeling after arriving here from Honshu last year.
The road presented a number of great options for wild camping and, if we had bought some food for the night as we almost did before leaving Saiki, we would have spent the night here. But then it started to rain, first very gently but finally just hard enough for us to don our jackets.
The gradient increased and we started working hard up the climb. We made the mistake of stopping for a five minute break about a kilometer from the tunnel at the top of the climb because before we could get going again the rain started pelting down. We stood under a tree to try and wait it out but eventually we had to bite the bullet and carry on in the pouring rain.
After the tunnel we coasted down to the little town of Kamae. We took shelter at the michi-no-eki and inquired about accommodation in town since we could see anywhere we could camp out of the rain. A kind young fellow directed us to a minshuku (simple guesthouse) nearby. Language was a definite barrier but we eventually settled in to wait out the rain. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for tomorrow isn't any better.
Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 2,809 km (1,744 miles)
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