Day 19: (15 km) Niigata - Ryoetsu
(08/17/06)

After getting up early and spending the morning chatting with Emily and preparing materials for the coming weekend, I made it to the ferry port just before the team was ready to board the ship to Sado Island. The ferry ride was relaxing, with Pirori giving everyone a crash course in environmental Japanese.

That night we found a michi no eki to camp at just before the rain started. Audrey, Mary, and Sorcha cooked up a tasty curry, after which Adam played musical pots while washing up. Then came the dance party. In the bathroom. there I was, innocently brushing my teeth, when a funky beat came hopping over from the ladies' room. Peeking around the corner, I found Audrey and Pirori dancing away, perfectly in synch, rockin' the latrine. The whole thing made sleeping under the gaze of a big Thomas the Tank Engine ride seem a little less strange.