I came out to Shishikui again to relax and to finally slow down enough to digest what's happened in my life this year and to move on beyond it. I figured some surfing would be a nice break from the digestive process. There are some photos from Shishikui and mine and Sven's attempts at surfing in the new album "Shishikui beach". I had my second surf lesson the day after I came here. The waves were very small so the instructors decided that I should learn to surf...

This week I've been hiking the old pilgrimage roads of Kumano Kodo in the Kansai region, south of Kyoto. Because of my weakness (a cold that refused to give in) we had two rest days in Tanabe, a little seaside town, before the start of the hike. My friend and colleague Sven is here with me. Sven had a dip in the Pacific and got away without a cold - the water was 24 degrees. Finally, on Sunday we took an early bus to the start of Kumano Kodo. I wasn't sure if...