Less than two weeks ago I was in Chile, now I’m in Japan. Opposite ends of the world, opposite ends of the cultural spectrum. Sometimes my life makes my head spin.As usual I am several days behind in my posting. This photo was taken our first day in Japan, on Philosphers Walk in Kyoto, world famous for temples, history, and geishas. No, these are not geishas. They aren’t even from Japan. They are Australian (maybe they are ethnically Japanese — I didn’t ask). Apparently, its a big thing in Kyoto for visitors to pay big bucks to dress up like geishas and walk around the city all day.

More on Kyoto in a couple of days. Right now Katherine and I are hiking the Kumano Kodo Trail not too far from Kyoto and Osaka. The trail is beautiful, the Japanese style inns are great and the baths are too die for. But the hiking is tougher than expected (lots of ups and downs) and I’m wiped. Soaking in the very hot bath after several hours of hiking probably has a lot to do with it. We’ll have some time off in a couple of days, so I’ll catch up on our adventures then. Right now I’m planning on sinking into my futon for an hour or so before dinner.

(Don and Katherine’s trip is being hosted by Oku Japan)