hedo

hedo1, originally uploaded by vibromama.

Close to sunset, with 55km of sea already under our paddles, we arrived at the rocky Cape Hedo, the north tip of Okinawa. Here, towering limestone cliffs 100m tall overhang the sea. Several kilometers of cliffy coast with interesting rocks, coves, and caves lit up by the day’s final burst of sunshine provided a beautiful finish to a long, tiring day. We saw several sea turtles near our boats, some nearly a meter long. Though we later realized these creatures are quite common here (they are fairly rare in Amakusa), seeing one somehow never became commonplace, and we would call out to each other: “Turtle, 11 o’clock!” so we could both catch a glimpse before it would dive.