This was Ian's birthday present from last year (revealed on his birthday on our way back from Kyoto) and it has taken us over a year to organize this trip, so that we ended up being in Okinawa around (leaving on) Astrid's birthday. We stayed in an apartment with Jacuzzi in the Chatan neighbourhood on the main island (near Kadena airbase and American Village). Ian got very excited about seeing military planes flying past quite regularly :). Okinawa is somewhat of a strange place and we weren't at all properly prepared when we got there. For starters we hadn't organized any diving and when we tried to contact places they were already full. Next we didn't have an international driving licence and hence couldn't rent a car and were somewhat 'stuck' in our little hood. Nevermind though as we still had a great time. We discovered a little European style bakery with tasty treats where we enjoyed breakfast every morning and a couple of very nice Japanese restaurants. We made full use of the free bicycles from our apartment place and whizzed around in the heat up and down the coast (checking out the American Village) and on one occasion tried to cross-over to the other coast-line (several hills with no gears in the heat quite exhausting :)). One day we also hitch-hiked with the intention to going up all the way to the northernmost point on the main island. Patrick a American married to a Okinawan and teaching on the base picked us up. It was our first hitch-hiking experience and I think his wife was really worried about him as she kept calling and we then had to pick her up to continue the drive. They told us about national dishes such as 'Taco Rice' and 'Okinawa Soba'; life surrounding the military presence (fascinating insights into a world so far removed from our own); and ultimately dropped us of by the 'Suicide Cliffs' (apparently where Okinawan's jumped off to escape Japanese imprisonment). From there we made our way to Busena Resort Mae where the July 2000 G8 summit was held. We went to the underwater observatory and then enjoyed cooling drinks and taco rice in the terrace cafe where Blair & Clinton (& 6 other world leaders) hung out, before paying through the roof for the privilege to jump into the 'refreshing' sea before heading back home via bus. We also enjoyed the stunning sunsets from our balcony/jacuzzi every night.
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