So where did we go after we hit up the big cliff... but to the bottom of a HUGE ASS MOUNTAIN that our crazy tour guide expected ME to climb! HA! but I did...
We went to Mount Gusuku, pronounced goo-soo-koo... like a moo from a cow, but a little more Japanese-ish...
So Gusuku was tall, intimidating, steep, hot as Hell, and totally in the middle of a FLAT island, like what the heck was up with that? You've got this flat island and BOOM in the middle is like a freakin' part of the Himilayas.
So anyway, I put my big girl panties on and trecked up... and the only reason I did was because I was only gonna go a little way and realized it was too steep and crowded just to turn around somewhere along the path, and some little 4 year-old was ahead of me totally kickin' my butt... I had to persevere!
Up the hill I went and it was worth it. The view was awesome and I only got a couple pics because the camera was full by the time I got half way up, honest! No really, I did make it up and it was worth it because there was a panoramic 360 view of the entire island. Very pretty.
You can tell by a couple of the pics just how intrusive the mountain is on the island, it doesn't quite fit in. Geologists say it's kind of an interesting structure because there's actually new bedrock on top of old bedrock on the mountain's make-up... hmmm... wonder how that happened??? It baffles the mind...
One of the pics I felt bad for taking, and you can probablt guess which one... and no, it's not the one with me sitting with my 4 chins... it's the one with the Japanese man facing a memorial plaque. It was said that a long time ago a woman fell in love with the man who owned all of Ie island, and she left against her family's will to be with that man on Iejime, even though they warned her he was already married. She did not believe them and went to be with him anyway. When she arrived, she learned the new was true and she hung herself with her own long, black hair from one of the edges half way up Gusuku... he was either paying his respects to her, or was torn by his own memories... I do not know, but when he turned around he was red-eyed and crying. I felt bad... but really... hanging yourself with your own hair? C'mon...
There's another random pic in the mix that's actually like a little fresh water spring thingy. There's a little hole next to a plaque that says something, again I am illiterate in this country, and it has a little ladle and a strainer... it was quite interesting... I didn't take a sip, nor did I see anyone else... but I am assuming thats what it was for?
So the best part of Gusuku... going DOWN!! I knew waiting for me was a boat load of ladies who wanted to see me their yummy goodies... and did I ever partake. I got myself some Ie Island sugar cookies made for the sugar cane they harvest there on the island, along with this soda called "Iesoda." Clever, I know...
Now, I must say, the ingredients are crude, but it's AMAZING! The use water from the Waji natural water spring on the island, along with ingredients grown there. They use milk for one form the island's cow population and it's like a creamy-white colored with a cream soda flavor, one that is black like coke and called Blackcane soda, and it's the only onw I can remember the dame because it's sitting in front of me, and it's made from pretty much pure sugar cane, and they have a pink dragonfruit one, and one that's greenish and made from this crazy orange-lime hybrid fruit on the island and is supposedly real good. You can get them each for like a buck or two depending on where you are, or get this, you can get a 4-pack of all flavors for the low price of 10 bucks! Ha, aren't there so sweet to do that!!
Ok, so one more stop of the Ie Island Magic Mystery Tour... hehe
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