Ikei Island...or EEK! I got burned!!

After 252 days in the subtropical paradise that is Okinawastan, I have officially procured my first notable sunburn. Part of this could be because I - for the umpteenth time - neglected to slather myself in the foul-smelling goo that is sunscreen. However, I've been out for longer on equally scorching days without burning, so clearly the explanation is that Eddie - who is as blinding white as I am - went without a shirt today. So it wasn't so much a sunburn as a secondhand reflection off of Eddie's skin.

Eddie, I hope you're proud of yourself, you bastard.

Anyway, we spent this afternoon on Ikei Island, where we paid a resort Y500 for the privilege of parking the hoopety ride before wandering down to the beach. Once there, we commenced hopping around on rocks and taking pictures of unsuspecting waves.

On the way there, we had to follow one of those narrow, winding roads that I've mentioned in previous blog entries, and I finally managed to snap a picture of one of the imposing sugarcane trucks, which hog the damned road:
Doesn't seem like much when it's not loaded down (and when it's not coming towards you), but when they're overflowing with sugarcane, they seem even bigger...
What? I couldn't find one that was full, so I had to improvise. And, if nothing else, now you know why I make my living as a writer, not an artist.

So it was on to the beach...
...where we commenced our usual ADD...

ZOMG! FISHIES!
ZOMG! HERMIT CRAB!
ZOMG! FLOWER!
Then we wandered up one of the paths in search of danger signs to ignore and rocks to jump around on. We learned that Ikei Island is apparently infested with red, firebreathing snakes:
I climbed out on some rocks to take a picture of this sign, which I think - using my very limited Japanese language skills - means "don't climb out on these rocks":
And, while I was out there...
I still can't believe we're actually getting paid to live here...
The surf was wicked cool today, so I had to get a few obligatory wave pictures...
I like taking pictures of waves. Sue me.
On the way down one path, I thought I saw a large caterpillar in a spiderweb, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't a caterpillar.

Arachnaphobes, you may wish to look away...

For the record, the spider is *larger* than it appears in these photos...
There you have it. Another day in Okinawastan, photographically documentalized for posterity. Or something.

Now I'm going to go find some aloe vera for my poor, charred skin...