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Breakfast with a Fishing Family
Mr. Kakegawa holds a large salmon up in front of the truck filled with the day's catch. 99.09.18/ Temperature: 12C/ Weather: Partly Cloudy
Start: Hinode Destination: Shari
Latitude:43 54 51 N Longitude: 144 40 09 E
Distance Traveled: 20kmToday was a short walk of only 20 km. After only two days on the road my sunburned face is hot and my shoulders tight.
I awoke to the sound of fishing boat engines at around 4:30 AM. I thought nothing of it until I crawled out of the tent around 5:00 and realized that the boat was bringing in loads of fish. I couldn't tell what kind so after a quick breakfast, I made my way down to the docks.
Approaching the fishermen slowly, I was nervous about how they would receive me, or not. Speaking loudly, I introduced myself and told the fishermen about what I am doing. There was a moment of silencec "Oh you were on the 6:30 news last night," said the youngest looking fisherman. I sighed in relief and returned to finding out more about what this group of 5 fishermen were up to.
"Today's catch was about 6 tons," said Mr. Kakegawa. "Salmon is now in season and will be until mid October," Mr. Hiraga told me as the other men secured the salmon in the back of the truck bed. Once the fish were all on the truck, the young men filled the rest of the truck bed with sea water, tied a tarp on top, and drove off to the fish market.
I thanked everybody and was headed back to my campsite when Mrs. Hiraga came delivering cold drinks for the fishermen. It was so lucky she arrived. She invited me for a cup of coffee. I hesitated. Friends were coming to join me for the day's walk and I needed to meet up with them. Hoping not to offend them, I left them a note and headed for the Hiraga's house.
The Hiraga's live in a newly built house along the shore here in Hinode. I hesitently approached the entrance way, wondering if they really wanted me to come for coffee. I took the chance and stepped through the door. A strange glance from a man I had not met made me nervous, but when Mrs. Hiraga came to the doorway, I was slightly relieved. "Have a seat," she said handing me some chopsticks and sitting me down in front of a table full of delicious looking dishes. In spite of telling her that I had already eaten and would just like to have some coffee, she insisted that have some food. Since everything looked so good, I couldn't resist.
Fresh flatfish sashimi (raw flatfish); squid mixed in soy sauce, nanba, and malted rice; trout caviar in soy sauce; shiso (perilla) miso; trout soup and miso made from salmon bones and head were all served to me. It was all so delicious. Mrs. Hiraga, proudly told me that she made everything herself and that everything was fresh. I also learned that in making the salmon bone and head miso she uses everything but the tail. Amazed at how well the fish was used and at how healthy all of the food was, I shared my excitement with everyone. Nobody seemed to be as excited about it as me, but I felt like I was getting a bit closer to finding some hints about wisdom.
Friends were waiting for me so I shared my thanks with the Hiraga's and headed for the door. Just as I was leaving, they sent me on my way with some corn, shiso miso and salmon bone miso saying, "for the nature food lover". They invited me into their home, fed me, and sent me on my way with more food as if it was nothing. People say kindness is a virtue. I hope to learn from the Hiraga's kindness.
All of this happened before 9:00 AM and my friends and I were on the road by a little before 9:00. Different from yesterday's scenery of the Shiretoko Mountains and the coastal road, today's scenery was flat, flat, flat and straight, straight, straight. Moving away from the coast just a little bit, led to the broad open fields of Shari. Potatoes, onions, beets, cabbage, giant white radish, nagaimo (a type of potato) and many other crops fill the fields. Many of the fields have protective wind barriers(rows of pine trees). I imagine they are to prevent erosion and wind damage to crops. When I turned my head back in the direction from which I came, the large fields were backed by the hills of the Shiretoko Peninsula.
The farms and fields here remind me of the farmland in the St. Louis Valley in Colorado where I harvested potatoes-- vast open space, storage buildings, and your occasional house. Also similar is the straightness of the roads. Today was a day of just walking straight. The longest straight stretch today was 12 km!
The road extends straight on and on into the distance. The road on the way to Shari. The straight road with fields astride was soon surrounded by smaller houses fit closer together and I had reached Shari, my destination for today.
Right now I am anxious to finish and have a chance to speak with Mr. Murakami, who studies wildlife in college. I might have some answers for you soon.
Greg
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