Zamami Island, Day 3

Still spent from yesterday's paddle, we took our last few hours on Zamami Island at a leisurely pace.  After breakfast, I took a walk around the campground to look for birds while Ryan loaded up the kayaks.  We then broke down the campsite and were downright nasty by the end of it.  The weather held out for our last day and provided a lovely, sunny, and very warm morning.  Still not warm enough for us to brave the ice cold showers, but verging on hotel temperatures.

After loading up the car, we took a last walk on the beach looking for shells and sea glass.  Ryan found a huge Tiger Cowrie shell very similar to one I remember my mother had on a coffee table when I was little.  It needs some polishing up, but still one of the better shells in terms of size and being intact.

On the way to the port, I asked Ryan to stop by a bronze statue of a dog.  We passed by this statue countless times, as it is almost immediately outside the main road between the port and the campground.  The statue is of Marilyn, or "Ma-ri-ri-n," a female dog who was loved by a male dog, Shiro.  Marilyn lived on Zamami, while Shiro lived on Aka Island.  Apparently, Shiro's love for Marilyn caused him to swim across from Aka to Zamami quite often - at least often enough to have multiple litters of puppies! - to visit with Marilyn.  People of Japan would come to see these islands and the dogs who were so in love that they braved the ocean to be together.  The statue of Marilyn faces Aka Island, where there is another statue of Shiro, facing her statue on Zamami.

The ferry ride back was calm.  I kept my binoculars out, but no pelagic birds on the way back in.  Next time!  We have already decided to return to these islands, and have been inspired to see more of the Ryukyu islands when we have extended weekends or if we just need a little escape from our larger tropical island of Okinawa.  Travel is good for the soul.