Rest day highlights…

Bus tour was pretty good. Visited traditional Okinawa houses

Day 6

Enjoyed sugar cane drink – thankfully not done via the traditional way

Day 6

Visited Cape Manza … along with everyone else (trust me the place was packed)

Day 6
found ourselves immersed in an experience at Fruits World we would not escape.

Day 6
Day 6
… and had an enjoyable time at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It’s not easy taking photos of fish!

Day 6
Day 6
Day 6
Day 6
Day 6

On each occasion you did just exit through the gift shop – but also Enter through them, and have additional opportunities along the way to spend money.

Day 6

I did suggest buying one of these – but it was conditional I wear it on top of my helmet, so I thought the better of it!

To top the experience off we also had Taco Rice (mince meat on top of rice with shredded lettuce, and spicy sauce). Mixed together it was great.

Day 6

View from above…

Goodbye Naha

Day 7

The airport in Naha was lovely. Filled with moon orchids and palms – and not much advertising, at least in the arrivals/departures areas.

Day 7

Day 7

But the shops do sell pineapples.

Day 7

While I dislike flying- to see the clouds from above is amazing!

Day 7
… and the ability to see the island from above was fabulous.

Day 7

Second day…

As any seasoned rider will tell you – the second day of a riding tour is the worst.

Day 8

However, I don’t really remember this until I’m on the bike – at least that was the case today.

At the end of the second day you remembered how, at times, uncomfortable the bike seat can seem.

It’s also those last few kilometres to where you are staying… when you keep thinking “how much longer….” and “why didn’t we find a place closer”.

Day 8

As you can see it was long – and as Kym said “At least we got here before 6pm”. On the bright side it will all be forgotten tomorrow!

Glamping

Day 8
This was our accommodation last night. In reality, it’s just like camping, except the bed is softer. To get in and out the tent you still take your shoes off, you still bend over when moving around, and you still can’t find where you put stuff – but I did enjoy the experience.

Ride completed!

Woo-hoo… and 177+km later our ride around Miyakojima is complete! Here is what the last day looked like on the map.

Rides

Here is how we started the last day of travel on the road

Day 10

Not too many hills – just enough. We have a great sense of achievement!

Although it did look a little like this

Day 10

Unfortunately there was not a lot of time to relax, as soon as we got back to the hotel we packed and headed for the airport.

Day 10

Kindness…

We have experienced much kindness on holiday, from old friends who spend time with us…

Day 2

Christmas

Day 4

…to random people in middle of nowhere.

While cycling around Miyakojima, we were taking photos of our bikes before a bridge, and an American who had finished walking across let us know there were sea turtles about 3/4 across. Described their behaviour so we knew what to look for – and we saw them! Can’t say the photos were the best, but the fact we saw them was something.

Day 8

Day 8