For a while now Indi has been talking about going on a pilgrimage. The hikes have been going great, goals reached, peaks climbed. So she wants to increase the challenge, I guess. She mentions one on the island of Shikoku, connecting 88 Buddhist temples, that takes over a month to complete on foot. Besides the obvious time constraint, I argue for something simpler, something more achievable, just to be on the safe side.

The Kumano Kodo are a set of trails all over the Kii Peninsula, a very rural and mountainous part of Japan. They lead to the triple shrines at the heart of the green country from all directions. Instead of taking the popular two day Nakahechi Road, travelling from the coast East, we settle for the Iseji Road, a full seven days from the opposite coast West. It doesn’t take us long to start doubting this decision.

I’ll give you some of our highlights, as chosen by Indi, to explain.

Day 1: 

Coming down the first mountain pass, out of a pine forest droning with the buzz of a million cicadas, we return to a paved road between rice fields. The sun overhead beats us down, sweat pouring over our eyebrows. As if from nowhere, an old lady in a Toyota stops by the sidewalk and asks what is wrong with us. It is too hot to be doing these kinds of things, kids, trust me. Why don’t I bring you where you’re headed? She proposes. And as she drives us half an hour to our destination, Indi beams with glee at not having to walk all that distance.

Day 2: 

After a lovely night in a wooden cabin, our kind, constantly smiling host asks a similar question. Where are you going today? Are you sure you want to walk all that? It is quite hot already, and by noon, it will be absolutely sweltering. You know what? Why don’t I drive you halfway there, to the next mountain pass? There’s a lovely view over the coastline too, you know. And again, I sit in the back of the car, Indi next to me, her face pure joy. The kilometres fly by, and at every single one that she doesn’t need to hike, her happiness grows a little bigger. Instead, still naively dedicated to our Iseji Road pilgrimage, I sit there wondering if we’ve made a mistake.

Day 3: 

In all fairness, on our third day we actually complete an absolute monster of a hike. After an hour of climbing the steepest incline we’ve ever encountered, with less water and food than we should have brought, the Elephant’s Back Peak rewards us with a stunning view over the bay. For someone like me, this is the obvious highlight of the day. But of course, Indi has a better understanding of such things. After we descend and reach the small fishing community at the coast, she spots a lovely little pastry shop across the road. And suddenly, despite our serious hiking accomplishment, the highlight of day three turns out to be a refreshing serving of homemade vanilla pudding.

Day 4:

I won’t bore you with the details. All you need to know is that, after another accomplished day spent hiking, on our way back home, Indi called the same pastry shop, asking if they could stay open ten minutes past their usual closing time, as otherwise we won’t make it. Then, navigating through the community, she manages to get a car to stop, and bring us to the pastry shop right on time, allowing her to have another delicious vanilla pudding. She does like her sweets.

Day 5:

Perhaps her favourite day of the entire pilgrimage. We spend it entirely at the river, reading our novels, cooking down in the fresh water, and getting quite sunburnt.

Day 6:

Quite the scare at waking up, when our phones start ringing and the town’s sirens start blaring. Because of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Russian coast, all life grinds to a halt. All day through, no trains or buses will operate, and we flee to a hill overlooking the beach, waiting for a tsunami that never comes. That evening, desperate to reach our next stop, we try to hitch hike once more. Not even five minutes of wait, and a young woman driving North turns around and invites us into her car. She drives us all the way to our destination, an hour South, generously helping out two strangers. Indi cannot help but be lit up by such kindness.

Day 7:

We’ve reached our final destination, the holy sites of Kumano, and though I’d like to joke that our most important lesson is that we’re not pilgrims, and that Indi definitely prefers hiking up to a mountain peak, then down again, prefers this clear goal, the defined challenge, over the slow grind and distant goal of a pilgrimage, it would not be fair. Because even though all of it is true, far more was the lesson of how kind, helpful and happy people can be.