Traditional temple stay - Koya San

Japans Kii peninsula has long been a mystic area, and therefor is littered with sacred sites. Koya San is one of them. This is where the tomb of Kobo Dashi: the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism, is. Koya San is a mountain, or rather a plateau, where you will find more temples than houses. The place to spend the night here, is of course in one of these temples. So we did.

Cable car up the mountain 

We took a train from Osaka to the base of the mountain. Once there,  a steep ride with the cable car brings you to the top.  We took bus for the final leg to 'our temple': Muryoko-in.  Once registered, we got our slippers, and a monk showed us to our room.
This was a simple Japanese room: separated by paper walls, futons to sleep on, a few cushions to sit on and yukata (casual kimono) to wear.

Our room, with red slippers in the hallway

After our check in we walked a bit through the town, and then back to our room for dinner. This was a traditional Buddhist dinner: vegetarian and without strong smelling ingredients like garlic or onions. With a quiet knock on the door the monk announced his arrival, and then entered the room with neatly stacked tray tables. Like all food in Japan, this was beautifully displayed.  And tasty too!

Dinner is served

After dinner we took a quick dip in the traditional (shared) Ofuro, layed out our futons and were asleep by 10 pm. The next morning our alarm was set to 5 am! 

We had been invited to join the Gotomaki fire ritual, and being in a temple, we really wanted to. With some other guests, we sat in the back row of the ceremonial room.  The ceremony took about 80 minutes and we both were really glad we were there.  What was it like?

The room was very dimly lit, and one monk was continuously chanting. The other monks joined him intermittently. A fire burned, being fed by one of the younger monks. The whole esoteric atmosphere kind of drew us in. At the end we were invited to participate by adding to the fire and joining the final chant. We didn't take photos but just enjoyed it.

Koya San street view

During our visit a Swiss monk lived in the temple, and he invited us for a little chat afterwards. While drinking tea with some sweets he explained the ritual, the different elements of the Shingon Buddhism and temple live in general. This really added that bit extra to our temple stay. And after our chat.... it was time for breakfast, which we had in a communal room with the other guests.

One of our breakfast dishes

Impressive Iguazu - Argentina

In October 2012 we went on our first trip to South America, and so far our only one. Though not because it wasn't good... because it was good!

We had decided to fly into Argentina, and out of Chile. After booking our flights we sat down to decide what we wanted to see and do. Most people might plan a trip the other way 'round, but this method works for us!

On our way to the main falls

So what did we want to see? It came down to Buenos Aires (of course!), the area around Salta on the Argentinian side of the Andes, the area around San Pedro de Atacama on the Chilean side of the Andes and of course.....  the Iguazu falls!

Many birds near the falls, like this black vulture

The Iguazu falls are basically a big collection of waterfalls, and it is simply impossible to seen them all at the same time, unless you take a helicopter ride. The sheer size of it was like nothing I could of imagined.

We did spot a monkey!

Most impressive is the moment when you walk onto the viewing platform at the 'Devil's Throat'. Hearing the the roar of water while you are surrounded by the eternal mists is a moment to remember.  But not one that I could photograph. I suggest you use Google for better photos!

This is a tiny butterfly we spotted, but look at that pattern...

We spent a whole day in Iguazu National Park, as we wanted to get most out of our ticket of course! The walkways near the falls are where the most visitors are, and these can get busy at certain times. Though not nearly as busy as I expected them to be. You walk to the falls on walkways, that are either paved or boardwalk.  You get amazing views of the falls from any different angles, and you can see many birds. We saw different vultures and even a toucan!

Wild guinea pigs! I used to have a guinea pig as a pet

But it is possible to do some really nice, pretty secluded walks through the park. And while you seen mostly the omnipresent coatis at the main routes, you can see some pretty nice animal life if you wander a bit. One of the walks we did was from one entrance to the Devil's Throat. You can take a little train as transport, but walking is nice too!

And to give an impression of the Devil's Throat, this is a short video.