As you can see, I learnt my lesson after the previous day's sweaty and exhausting cycle ride. This morning I borrowed an electronic bicycle for a ride around Okino Island.
Okino Island is one of two islands just off the coast of Nagasaki which together are called as "Iojima" ["Jima" = Island(s)].
On the Pacific-facing side of the island there are some interesting rock formations that have been eroded into geometric shapes by the waves. They are known as "Azenoiwabae" and it was to see those that we hopped onto the free electric bicycles and pedalled away.
My First Time On A Power-Assisted Bicycle
It was my first experience of riding a power-assisted bicycle. I must admit that I loved the way the electric motor would kick in when you start cycling and propel you forward. Cycling becomes easy work, but even so, you get a good deal of gentle exercise as you charge around.
We cycled right around the island and did not feel ready to return to our hotel so I made for a narrow lane that led up a hill and got narrower and narrower, and steeper and steeper, until it became too much for the motor of the bike and so I, not wanting to repeat the sweat and agony of the previous day, prudently turned the bike around and pointed it back down the hill.
After that we crossed the bridge onto the northern island and cycled up until we could see the "Costa del Sol" beach (see my previous pic) across the bay. Then we turned round and returned to our hotel for a last bathe in the spa before packing our bags and returning to Hiroshima.
77 Years
I was in the spa at 11:02am and so it was there, with the warm water stinging my sunburn, that I marked the moment, 77 years ago, when the second atomic bomb, "Fat Man," exploded over Nagasaki.
Let's hope it remains the last atomic weapon ever to be used.
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus