Ikema Island
[ heading to Kaginmi Beach ]
Norah and I headed out to Ikema Island today to try out the last of the beaches in this beautiful place. We followed the single road that circled the island to reach Kaginmi Beach on the northern side of the island. I had read that the locals called this beach “rope” beach and I had no idea why. The only parking was at the side of the road and the only other vehicle there was a bicycle. We stepped through the rhododendron grove along the path and discovered the reason for the beach’s name.
[ aka “Rope” Beach ]
The path was a straight drop with a rope, that was tied to a tree, dangling down the ravine. As we stood there contemplating our rappelling skills, Norah pointed out that her foot was still in recovery and more importantly, could I haul myself back up the rope if we went down! I shudder to visualize this scenario. We decided to pass and instead headed to another beach just down the cove.
[ Take Two: Funakusu Beach ]
This beach had several small reefs right in the shallows and a handful of swimmers with snorkels were quietly drifting in the water. This was a great location for our final Okinawa swim.
[ settling in for a swim ]
There was a dive shop at the top of the path and the guy running it seemed to have the unofficial role of lifeguard. Every once in awhile he would walk out to the rocks overlooking the cove and speak to us through a yellow megaphone. I do not know what he was saying. He also stood on a ladder on top of the dive shop and used the megaphone to call down to the swimmers on the beach. No one seemed to be heeding his words.
[ swimmers! Take care!! ]
from this roadside stand…
from this friendly Okinawan farmer
who has mango trees behind his house…
I so enjoyed this moment talking with this man. He was friendly and kind. Norah had stayed in the car and he insisted that I take a sample of mango to her on a toothpick skewer. When we got back to our room, Norah and I devoured the entire mango. It was so delicious and brought my memory back to Puerto Rico once again. Mangoes are life!!
[ sunset event ]
On our final evening Norah and I cruised over to “sunset beach” near the bridge to Irabu Island to watch the sunset and we found ourselves amongst, I think, every tourist currently visiting these islands. There was a flurry of excitement in the air as people gathered along the park railing above the sea.
Together, we watched the sun go down from the edge of Miyakojima; reminding me of our shared humanity at the end of these beautiful travels around Okinawa.
🌴
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