The journey to Utnapishtim involves a series of episodic challenges, which probably originated as major independent adventures, but, in the epic, they are reduced to what Joseph Eddy Fontenrose calls "fairly harmless incidents." First, Gilgamesh encounters and slays lions in the mountain pass. Upon reaching the mountain of Mashu, Gilgamesh encounters a scorpion man and his wife; their bodies flash with terrifying radiance, but, once Gilgamesh tells them his purpose, they allow him to pass. Gilgamesh wanders through darkness for twelve days before he finally comes into the light. He finds a beautiful garden by the sea in which he meets Siduri, the divine Alewife. At first, she tries to prevent Gilgamesh from entering the garden, but later she instead attempts to persuade him to accept death as inevitable and not journey beyond the waters. When Gilgamesh refuses to do this, she directs him to Urshanabi, the ferryman of the gods, who ferries Gilgamesh across the sea to Utnapishtim's homeland. When Gilgamesh finally arrives at Utnapishtim's home, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that, to become immortal, he must defy sleep. Gilgamesh fails to do this and falls asleep for seven days without waking.