Pues, amigos, it was one of those days. It started out so well: quieter winds, no rain, even a hint of brightness. ML and I had watched a video last night about Cornwall that showed a little port village we had never seen, Portloe. “Oh, let’s go there tomorrow, Carbón!”, she said. “Sí, sí!” I agreed, being a very adventurous Spanish gentleman.
Down we went along twisty Cornish lanes. ML had to back the TARDIS up a couple times to make way for Very Big Farming Equipment. Then we came to a line of cars (Eeeenglish people call this a ‘queue’) waiting for a truck (a ‘lorry’) blocking the road . But qué lastima, the truck was empty - maybe the driver was having lunch? - while more and more cars backed up behind it. We all waited 20 minutes until FINALLY the first car in the queue slowly and painfully turned in the narrow lane and went back out the way we had come in. One by one we all did this until we were free from the clutches of a typical Cornish traffic jam.
We were able to find a different way to our goal: a car park next to a sheep field. The single track lane got narrower and narrower, with less and less asphalt. Dios mio, at the end it was just mud and grass. ML was panicking a little: “Ooooo Carbón, why didn’t I buy a 4x4 with big fat tires?!” I hear this a lot. Once we were on a single track lane that turned to sand and ended on a beach in France. We had to back out all the way back to the paved road, and amigos, it took AGES!
Sometimes she really bites off more than she should chew, sabes?
Vale, so we finally get there. Unsurprisingly we are alone, because Cornish people have more sense and we are the only emmets in January.
The coastal path to Portloe was well-marked but very steep and very muddy. We do not do mud normally but ML said, “We will persevere! We did not drive 1.5 hours to turn back now!”
I wisely shook my handsome head but did not object. First because ML is the boss and second because there was an awful lot of deleeeecious fresh sheep poo for me to scarf. I have priorities.
I even posed with some sheep amigos.
Then we headed up the first hill. It was steep, it was muddy, and it was slippery. ML held on to my harness to help her, but…
I slipped, then she slipped. I was fine, but she fell in the mud on top of her bad hand. Many, many, bad words were said, very loudly. I think she scared the sheep. La verdad, she scared me a little too!
Pues, back to the car we went to wash off the mud and the blood. I am totally fine and ML will be too after a nice rest. And on the bright side, ML says this completely justifies that series of tetanus vaccinations her German doctor made her get last year. Ojalá!
The final thought: until things dry out a bit, we will be visiting some nice paved villages and flat beaches. No more adventures in mud!
Though I must say again, that was some really deleeecious sheep poo: no regrets.
Looks like heaven.
He doesn't know that in just an hour we'll be getting in the car to go see REUBEN. He has been looking for Reuben for weeks at our local beach, which has been rather sad to witness. I'm so happy we finally get to reunite the boys today!