Vaucluse Dreamer

Yesterday, we arrived at Susumi, at the park-up we had chosen, after a delightful drive down the Kii Peninsula from Koyasan.

We arrived, just as the sun was sinking into the sea, and it was a glorious sight. It was very easy to understand why this is included in the top 100 places to watch the sunset in the Wakayama Prefecture.

It was wonderfully quiet, with the sound of the sea lapping against the wall, just infront of the van, and we had a blissful night’s sleep.

Our plan was to stay here for the night, and move on again today towards Nachi, or Hongu, but when we woke this morning, to a nice day, a gentle breeze and the lovely view of the bay, we decided that perhaps we would stay today and make the most of the mild weather, to head along the coast on the bikes.

To be honest, we had thought (after the close passes on the last abandoned ride on Shikoku) that we wouldn’t have any more rides whilst we were here. But the road through the small town of Sumami was quiet, and had blue lines showing it was a cycle route, so perhaps we would try again.

We’re so pleased we did.

After breakfast, we hopped on the bikes and pedalled out of the town, on a quiet main road, which we quickly left behind, as we started following the markers for the Wakayama 800 Cycle Route, which took us along a incredibly peaceful road, following the coast.

It was our favourite sort of road; quiet ( I think we saw 2 cars), with lovely rolling hills along the coast and incredible views too.

We pottered along, simply enjoying turning the pedals, and stopping to admire little things we saw along the way. An Osprey flew over us, heading out to sea, which was a delight to see again.

There was a little statue by the road that stopped us in our tracks. On first glance, it looked like a Moomin, carrying a fish, but on a closer look, appeared to be a wild boar with a fish instead. We’re still not sure of the reason he was there, but he was a rather quirky addition to the road.

We followed the blue lines and arrows that marked the Route, and were impressed at the though that had been put into making this a rideable and pleasant route to follow. After a few other experiences, we have found ourselves following the blue lines on other routes, along hideously busy roads, and that really wasn’t the case here.

We wingled our way through villages; one, a pretty little port now has the expressway built over the harbour, which seeemed a bit odd.

But it was an incredibly lovely route, which eventually turned away from the main road, taking us through a fishing village and onto a path running just behind the sea wall. It was a really beautiful ride through, with the sea, an almost unbelievable shade of blue.

We crossed a bridge that seemed to be guarded by rather beautiful, stray cats that didn’t move, as we pedalled by. They were still there, when we cycled back again.

And then went on a bit of a magical mystery tour, following the blue line as it took us away from the road, up a narrow path and onto what must have been the old road, many years ago.

Here, the path wasn’t maintained and we found ourselves riding over thick moss, fallen leaves and other debris, more suited to mountain bikes than our road bikes.

At one point, we were brought to a stop by a tree that had fallen across the path, so some heavy lifting was needed to move it out of the way enough, for us to pass.

When we came back out onto the road, we realised that the way we had taken had simply bypassed a short tunnel, so decided to stick to the road on the way back, pop our lights on and pedal back through the tunnel, rather than taking the ‘off road’ route,

The road was still quiet, and wound its way across a little headland, before taking us back onto the coast, where beautiful slabs of rock formed the fore-shore, and we could see fishermen enjoying their time in their prime spots.

Finally, we spotted a vending machine, so bought drinks and went to sit on the rocks above the sea, where was passed nearly an hour just chatting about the holiday so far, and trying to plan for the last couple of weeks.

We really can’t believe that we have been here for a month. We imagined that 6 weeks would feel like a lifetime, yet it will have passed in a flash. I know that’s a sign of a good holiday, but we’re really not ready for it to be over, quite yet.

Heading back, we stuck to the road, which was just as quiet as it had been on the way out. We sped through the tunnels,

and within no time at all, we were arriving back at the van for some lunch,

You can Watch a video of today’s ride here

As we sat eating, a fishing boat docked just in front of us, unloading its catch, of what looked a bit like a slim tuna, The were an amazing size, and filled the back of a little truck, driven by the fisherman’s wife, before being driven straight to market.

After a walk along the beach, watching small fish play in the shallows and being amazed at the tiny Hermit crabs, scuttling across the sand, around our feet

we headed to the little hotel by the van to make use of their Onsen, before taking a walk out, along the breakwater to watch the sunset.

Another beautiful end to another delightful day. We’ll stay here tonight and see what the weather is doing in the morning.

It would be nice to do another ride, if we can, but we’ll just wait and see what tomorrow brings.