Once again, the weather was perfect -- sunny and warm, little or no wind, shorts and short-sleeved shirt all day. In addition, we all seem to be healed of minor ailments, except for Russell, who overindulged on the alcohol front yesterday evening, pleased as he was to see his friends Marcus and Rochelle who joined us last night.
We left at 9AM because I thought the hike would take around 5 hours (not including breaks) and we needed to be in Gwithian to catch the bus to Marazion by 3:15. In fact it took us about 3.25 hours, so we had a light lunch then took a taxi to Marazion arriving around 2PM. This was actually quite fortunate, since it allowed us to visit hyper-scenic St. Michael's Mount (SMM).
SMM is like Mont Saint Michel in France, except smaller. An island except at low tide, when it is joined by a causeway to the mainland, SMM is topped by a lovely pocket castle. The island has been inhabited since Neolithic times, and seems to have been known to the Romans as a tin-exporting port as early as the fourth Century BC. The current castle is built on the foundations of an 11thC Benedictine Abbey, and is quite delightful.
Since we arrived shortly after low tide, we were able to walk across the causeway, but an hour and a half later, after visiting the castle, Sally and Thomas waded back in water up to their waists (tides here can range up to 20 feet). Marcus and Rochelle and I took the ferry, and Russell, well, he never made it to SMM -- having opted to take a nap in the hotel to recover from the night before!.
By the way, the Mount Haven Hotel, where we stayed, was very nice indeed... excellent rooms, fantastic view over the bay to SMM, friendly service, and very good food. Joins Porlock, Martinhoe, Clovelly, and Padstow as the best accommodations we have had so far.
Last couple of comments. Russell was drinking Coke at dinner this evening, sensible fellow. And I didn't write a timely blog because we were watching the great Federer/Djokovich tennis game before dinner... and afterwards I watched the highlights of the Nadal/Murray game before going to sleep.
