A Walk to Kina Banjo

Up by 6:30 am and we have enough time to walk from Zakimi Forest to Kina Banjo before the scorching Okinawan sun burns our arms and necks.  It's a 30 minute walk, mostly uphill.  Once there we head right to Shiro Gusuku, a small local Mom and Pop grocery store that sells breakfast foods, cold drinks, and locally grown fruits and vegetables.  I'll get the locally made meat of the day sandwich, and Nan will usually get a bowl of soba and some tofu. Canned coffee, or tea, and maybe a mochi or two and we'll carry it across the street and sit in the park to have our morning meal and catch our breath.
The best part of our daily walk is keeping each other in mind as we pass by flowers that we love to comment on to one another, saying hello to children who are eager to speak English, or gently bowing to Okinawan farmers as they look up from working their fields.  As much as Okinawa is a major hub for American military presence, still Americans make up only about 1 percent of the population of the this tiny Ryukyuan archipelago..
Another half hour walk back to Zakimi and we start the real day.  A day of flip flops, beaches, island lunches, granddaughter hugs, being with family.  All wrapped up with a nice evening meal, a glass of shima and kisses.
What cannot you love about this place?  Flip flops in December.  This is paradise.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

Liftoff in 35 days.  Revisiting Okinawa in less than 5 weeks.  How can I say how wonderfully excited this makes me feel?  
With all the beauty the Island has to offer, the smells, the love, the tastes, and the Uchinanchu spirit I know I will receive, it is my family that brings me back.
The hugs of my daughter who has called Okinawa her home for a big part of her life, to my two granddaughters who have spent most of their entire life on Uchina call me back.
If you are from here or have visited, Shima life doesn't need to be explained. You just live it.  You just let go and live it.