South West England 2010

BANANA BLIGHTY

We knew we were in England because they were apologizing for a baggage delay on the airport public address system as soon as we arrived. We had taken a little known flight from Toronto to Exeter, Devon that drops you in the middle of the South West countryside at a dog shed of an international airport. Best of all, we knew people there: Mike & Orysia (Montreal, 1976).

Our hosts brought us to the coast where Sheila immediately plunged into the sea (ankle deep, that is) and we inhaled fish and chips followed by real English ale. Sheila also led the group for a couple of day hikes out to the tors and along the river valleys of Dartmoor in preparation for our South West coast path walk.

Many aspects of quintessential, and sometimes quirky England, remain unchanged but the train service seems to have improved. We railed it to Penzance, Cornwall, the start of our five day trek along the Cornish coastline to Falmouth.

The SW coast path stays true to its name, offering never-ending views, rocky headlands, sandy beaches (complete with sun seekers lying behind portable wind screens) and cute Cornish villages. For us, several features stood out. The greenery, hedges, rhododendrons in flower, huge rhubarb plants and even the occasional banana tree were almost too much for us, coming from the Arizona desert. Also, we watched huge basking sharks filter feeding along the coastline. And finally, the sunshine necessitated sunglasses for both the dazzling sea and to safely view the pasty, pale skin of English bathers.

Our £1 'fun fare' on National Express into London became less fun when we encountered the quintessential tailbacks on the motorways. We had a brief stay in the capital at Alison's (Darjeeling 1985). She took us for a private behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Opera House. Also of note, was our good luck encounter with Aussies Peter & Margaret (Peter and Glenn go back to 1971, Delhi) at a pub in Chelsea. then it was off to the see the trolls of Norway.....