Sun all day

I left Lizard at the customary hour of 7:00 a.m.



There is a formula. Whatever the stated distance, and no matter the difficulty, and no matter the exact time of departure, the most likely time of arrival will be 2:00 p.m.


Hmmm, there was a boat there, but oh well:



Rock formation:



Thatched roofs are irresistible:




Nature is so wonderful:



A gorgeous, rolling carpet of purples and pinks:



See that green algae covered pool that looks like a miniature lake? It is not The Devil's Frying Pan, but, except that it is smaller and not on one side of a thin neck of rock on which I was standing so that you could not see it anyway, it looks like the Devil's Frying pan of which I neglected to take a picture:



This is definitely a river flowing to the sea:



Algunas flores muy pequeñas y muy bonitas:



Today, in Coverack:



there was a big fund raiser for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution. You can see a drill going on what with the helicopter and the boat and all:


There were craft stalls and food stalls and all manner of thing to raise money for this ever so worthy organization. I did my duty and did buy a sandwich, some strawberries and a great big piece of cake (and made a donation, too!)

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Location:Coverack

A little bit extra

Why is it that even if it should be impossible to go the wrong way I seem to be able to. First, heading out of town, then going too far inland. Neither of these errors added more than, say, a mile to the supposed total of 14, or was that 14.5? There was much gorgeousness and a big ravine to descend and ascend, some stunning beaches packed, I mean jam-packed with frolickers (of which I took a photo pero no está), and only one put-on-the-rain-gear-take-off-the-rain-gear event. It was nice to see the sun.

From near this spot......see photo below....on Dec. 12, 1901, the first transatlantic wireless telegraph message was sent to Newfoundland. But, apparently, there is some doubt about the success of the transmission because it was very faint, having been sent during daylight hours, which, for reasons I do not understand, are/were the worst hours for that kind of transmission. Marconi, who developed wireless transmission as opposed to transmission via cable--remember Porthcurno--which had been developed in the 1850's, is a figure of great renown in these parts. It kind of gives you a jolt to think about these innovations and to realize that those amazing cables became obsolete less than fifty years after their first success.

Monument to Marconi:



A riding lesson or something on the beach:




Sky:




Vast-ness with a few cows, which is what you see instead of the coast when you stray off the designated path:



This here is one mighty big bovine:



Stone on chain to make sure that gate shuts:




What you see when you ARE on the path:



Doesn't this look like a postcard scene?


In Lizard, where I am pernoctating ce soir, aside from the tea shoppes and the fudge shoppes, the ice cream offerings, and the fish and chip stands, there is a farm store. It displayed 3 lettuces, one bag of kale, several garlic cloves and a few pounds of cherry tomatoes. There may have been some onions, too. I did relieve the owner of a lettuce and some tomatoes.

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Location:Lizard

Short day: 12 miles

It started out to-day, and is forecast to do the same tomorrow, with a misty rain that is not really rain, but heavy foggy mist that gets you wet fast. This is no way as bad as torrential rain, so cannot complain except to say that no matter how light weight your rain gear is, it is tiring to walk in rain pants and rain jacket. The boot repair sort of held out in that my feet stayed pretty dry, but it has to be redone. Of course, the tape won't stick if the boots don't dry out. And even if they do, it may not hold. Oh well.

Since it was raining, there was not much photo taking. This abandoned, thatch-roofed cottage made the cut:




Oh, no! Can you see Mr. red figure running in front of the cliff? Let's hope he makes it!



Silly:



One section of the stage had a walk-on-the-beach option, so I took it. But I missed the exit, something I do worry about. There you are with these HUGE cliffs above and no way to get to the top, which is where you are supposed to be. Fortunadamente, there was a way up not too far down the other way.

Rain or no rain, these gulls were having a wonderful time:



Porthlevan is a little town with a charming harbor:



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Location:Porthlevan

Yet another rest day

Forgotten from yesterday, but not completely forgotten, this may or may not be the stone formation called the Dancing Maidens. Let's say it is. Apparently, there were these maidens who danced instead of going to vespers for which transgression they were turned to stone:



The legendary giant blue adder?



Remember! Always make an appointment with the dog



St. Michael's Mount through the mist:



Since it was high tide, I took a little boat to St. Michael's Mount. Sweet. The setting and walking up the steps to the castle are wonderful, but the castle was no match for Dunster (near Minehead) AND the gardens, which I had wanted to see as much as the castle are open only two days a week, and today was not one of those days. Disappointing! But one could get an aerial view of at least some of them:




The most beautiful feature was the windows:



Here is another. The latches are gorgeous, too:



Horse head (not real) with stone reflection:



What is a castle without armor?



Many rooms and areas were roped off, so the whole visit took maybe an hour. So I decided to return to Penzance since Marazion is very small. I took a bus! I never take buses, but I took a bus and even waited on the correct side of the street for it.

It was fun to walk around without concern for getting lost....all you have to do to get back is head for the sea and look for St. Michael's Mount and there you are! So I did some grocery shopping and gallery viewing.

I thought that these crumpled, black pieces of paper....15,000 pieces, or more, represented rocks on the coast, but, no, this was an exhibit about a suicide bombing. It was actually quite powerful. Aside from this display, which ran around half the room, there were a couple of huge abstract paintings:




Walked back to Marazion, again on the beach, but easier without heavy backpack, boots, and many miles already trudged. Saw this smart contraption on the beach. It is a wheelchair designed to go on sand:



In Penzance, I was on the hunt for tape with which to seal my boots. Desafortunadamente, it only came in orange. But the good thing is, I now have a huge roll of it!




Concluded the rest day with visits to several art galleries in Marazion, and all I can say is that it is a good thing I am traveling, because there were temptations!

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Location:Marazion

A long day

The GPS clocked in at 17.78 miles, and, yes, I did stop the navigation function when I took a break! The first half of the walk was gorgeous and somewhat demanding and went through more kinds of scenery and terrain than one could imagine within about eight miles: ups and downs, of course, mud, rocks, a short manicured stretch, woods, streams, sand and asphalt.

A pretty moment:



and another, though this bit was barely longer than what you can see:




An adorable, little town called Mousehole, but pronounced Mow-Zel, features a hospital for wild birds



What ever could be troubling this not-so-wild looking specimen who did not ruffle one feather:




These chicks may be here because they are orphaned:



Now, this fellow is not in the hospital but rather at the art museum, as you can clearly see:



Oh, such a pun:




The harbor at Penznce sans pirates:



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Location:Marazion

Porthcurno

Lots of navigating through, over, and around ROCKS, but gorgeous walking. See what you get to see?




Not the destination, but a moment that gave pause to think:



Indeed:



This is why people are so upset with what Land's End has become:



To make sure you get the idea:



The big red cone and the smaller black one are markers for ships:



Porthcurno has one café, one pub, a few hostelries, a magnificent beach, a major telegraph museum, and the Minack theater.

There were lots of technological marvels in the Telegraph Museum and many reminders of the importance of communication systems during war time. One mind boggling thing was learning about the first laying of cables on (under?) the ocean floor. A section of telegraph cable was made of a copper wire, wrapped in gutta percha, then in jute, then a layer of tar and brass tape, and finally a steel or iron casing. It was very heavy.

It used to be thrilling to communicate by phone:




Among the many reminders of war displayed at the museum, the Anderson Shelter (a real one) was very affecting. These were air raid shelters buried about three feet below ground, covered with a deep layer of soil, which was often used to grorw vegetables. They were effective in saving lives, but were cold, often flooded, and frighteningly noisy during an air raid:




Inside:



The Minack Theater is this coliseum-like marvel built into the cliffs, which offers a spectacular setting for theatrical performances:




The play that was playing was The Titfield Thunderbolt. Titfield is the name of a town and Thunderbolt, the name of the train that the townspeople want to save from being decommissioned except for one man who bought an old beat-up bus to drive, with plans to take over the train route. You see the dramatic tension? I knew I could only stay for one act because walking back to my B and B in the pitch dark.....no sidewalks or anything.....was something I did not want chance. Fortunately, it was not hard to leave at intermission. But now I will never know whether the vicar of Titfield got to drive the train, which was something he really really really wanted to do.

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Location:Old Cable Lane,Penzance,United Kingdom