Our two days in Ikema extended to four days when strong winds associated with a low pressure system made us decide to stay a bit longer. Ikema is a tiny island north of Miyako Island with a bridge joining the two. The harbour had an unusually large amount of foreign yachts at the time - three 62-foot Nordhaven trawler-style vessels with American flags, two Dutch yachts, one South African plus us.
We used our bikes to ride around the small village, visit the beach for a snorkel, and also to visit a birdwatching hide at a wetland area. Here we saw quite a few Purple herons, egrets, assorted ducks, and other waterbirds. We had a small restaurant near the wharf which opened for lunch each day and we enjoyed several meals there. We found only one tiny shop which sold fresh produce, cold drinks and a few grocery lines. We were able to get fresh bread at the restaurant.
The houses were similar to those seen at previous Japanese islands - mostly small, concrete, boxy-style with small windows. We suspect that style is suitable to withstand the strong winds associated with typhoons which come through the area. There are still some older style, more traditional stone houses with terracotta tile roofs which seem to have withstood the test of time though.
We left Ikema yesterday morning for the 145 NM to Zamami, 26 deg. 13.466N, 127 deg. 18.141E, arriving about 10:30 after an overnight passage. We had good winds on the beam and apart from using the engine when we left and then when we arrived, we sailed all the way. The best sailing we have had since January!
