Devon Into Cornwall

I really had no idea what the guy was talking about. I had just hitched a ride across the River Yelm with a local in a flimsy mildly overloaded boat. I met two other hikers on the opposite dock waiting for the official variably reliable ferry. All I did was ask one of them where they were from. Instead of a two word answer the guy, with a super thick Eastern European accent started to tell me his life story.

I could understand about a third of what he was saying. I thought he said he was from Vegas but his mom was from Germany but he didn’t know who his mother and father were because it was communist times and his father may have done something bad. He then started dropping names like KGB, Putin, and Paul Newman. That’s when he began to explain some Hollywood connection and asked if I had seen a particular Steven Segal movie and started to explain a boy character.

His last name was Segal. To complicate matters he was talking fast. I then asked again,  ”But where are you from”. He replied, “Vegas, the California side”. What the heck does that mean? All of Las Vegas is in Nevada. I simplified the question and asked him where he lived now and he said, “Outside of London”.

This went on for about 15 minutes before I stepped around him to start walking away and told him I needed to get moving. He was very nice in his animated explanations but way too hard to follow. As I walked around him I noticed he had a small American flag sticking out of his pack. I don’t think the guy was a nut. I simply believe for whatever reason he really wanted to share his story with me, maybe because I’m American?

I meet lots of characters when I travel alone and should really write more about them. I camped one night near a police officer the same age as me who is only 4 years away from 30 year retirement. Another night I camped near a Swiss couple who thought England was expensive. Gavin, the father of the family who helped me after I got my pack wet, is a salt of the earth laborer from Northamptonshire, who on vacation with wife and two kids couldn’t have been more helpful and hospitable. Lucy, the kindred spirit, with a coffee stand makes me wonder if I should go back to for another cup before I go home. Oh, and the absolutely lovely woman at the old coastguard cottages who directed me to a place to camp that I would have never found otherwise. These are just a few of the people I have met thus far. I like my time alone but I also really enjoy meeting people. Especially when I travel.
Anyway, the hiking has been going well. After the third day I began to find my rhythm. On the 5^th day I found my hiking legs again. At times, my backpack, carrying a full kit as they call it here in England, is quite burdensome. At other times it feels like a natural extension of my body. Some miles pass slowly as a windy rain shower passes while other miles seem fairly effortless under clear sunny skies. The wind is always blowing to some degree, usually in my face, but it makes me feel alive.
I’ve been averaging a little over 15 miles a day. On the 5^th day I got a good industrial tour of Plymouth, the only real city that the coast path passes through. Actually, it’s not too bad. I passed a nice Marina and such right to tourist information at Plymouth steps where the Mayflower, full of pilgrims, departed for America.

I decided Plymouth would be a B&B stop so I had Tourist Information do the calling around instead of walking around. They were very helpful and made numerous inquiries until they finally found a single for a reasonable price, 35 pound ($60 USD), with shared bathroom and full English breakfast. Well, reasonable is all relative these days in the UK as the dollar is weak and the country has obviously seen some inflation. Three years ago I would have paid $45 USD for the same accommodation and probably did. Ironically, out of all of the many B&B’s in Plymouth, I got booked into the same one I stayed at before a few years ago when catching a ferry to France. Nonetheless, B&B’s still tend to be the best value for accommodation in the UK.

This morning I am in the overlooked village of Downderry, Cornwall. After all of the busy villages along the Devon region Downderry feels like off season with hardly any tourists. There are two places to camp in the village. The first campground turned out to be a naturist camp for nudist tucked back up a cove. I thought it would make for a funny story to stay there but I was afraid that I would only see old naked fat people and those images would be stuck in my head. I remembered hiking through a nudist beach three years ago, on the coast path, and would have preferred not to. It’s just not my scene.

So, I sought out the village pub for other suggestions. My book mentioned an organic farm up a steep hill as a place to camp. Andy, a worker at the pub, was just about to get off and offered me a ride.

The road is super narrow and steep. It would be a hard slog at the end of the day as it went on for about a mile. Also, with blind turns and all I think it would be quite dangerous to walk. It’s only wide enough for one car and lined with tall thick hedges.

There were only 3 other camps at the farm and they had all had arrived by vehicle via a back way. The campsite is merely a farmer’s field with a couple of toilets and shower attached to an old stone house. The shower was great with loads of hot water. The charge for camping in a one man trekking tent was 4 pound ($7 USD). As luck would have it I was able to hitch a ride down the hill this morning directly to a coffee shop where I left the trail.

Today is day 8 and I have yet to walk a mile. It was sunny when I awoke but now it's cold and rainy. I more or less have a plan for my remaining travel time and am hoping to make it as far as Newquay on the Coast Path, however, I will need to maintain my current pace regardless of weather and such so we’ll see. Anyway, I’ve given myself a set amount of days before returning to London to fly home.

On a side note I was able to catch up on some news while at the B&B in Plymouth. What the heck is going on in the world today!?!? I was especially taken by some of the wild comments and reports on Israel having recently been there. That’s all I will say politically for now…… It’s time to get back to walking!