Sunday 22 September

After a bit of a rough night where I was woke up frequently in pain every time I seemed to roll over, I downed a couple of pain killers and mentally channelled energy from Hilary to soldier on. I will never have today again, so hoped for the best that I did not deteriorate. We have good travel insurance, however I do not want to waste half a day getting treatment. I am feeling very tender in the abdomen, have painful spasms, and am slightly nauseous, not even able to finish my carefully prepared breakfast.

We had considered doing Tintagel today, given we didn’t get that far yesterday. However, after rechecking reviews and considering the weather forecast was cloudy and rain for today we gave it a miss, choosing the Minack Theatre instead. It is also a lot closer to Penzance so in the event I went downhill we could get back to a bed or medical treatment if needed.

I took a nice warm badedas bath – got a bottle for a super cheap 6 GBP and Vern did a bit of laundry duty, then we headed out dressed for every type of weather. It was only spitting, so we figured we would make the most of it. The drive to the Minack is only about 35 minutes and less than 20km, but with the scary narrow lanes-roads and speeds of 20-30 mph, the relatively short distance takes a lot longer. I said to Vern that the stress of driving left hand in Europe next week will be far less than these lanes. To be fair we have only had one close call with a young driver yesterday, but that is one too many for my nerves.

The Minack is an outdoor theatre set on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by stunning coastline, golden bays, and crystal clear blue and green water. What makes it special further than its surroundings is the story of its creation and creator. Rowena Cade, a spinster began building it in 1929 with the help of her gardener essentially by hand and using hand tools.

Rowena would walk down the cliff to Porthcurno beach, fill up sacks of sand and hike them up the hill to make concrete for the theatre. She was an artist and lovingly carved all the details into the concrete and stone with a simple screw driver. One time there were some 15 large wooden boat beams from a wrecked Spanish freighter boat washed up on the shore, so she single handed dragged some of them up the hill to use for a dressing room. When the police came looking for them, she admitted to taking them up the hill. They did not believe a frail looking woman could do that, so never checked it out. This was a great source of amusement amongst her theatre friends and wider, with the qualification that she did not lie – the police simply did not believe her.

Rowena was innovative and self taught. For the pillars she used rolled up Lino to create an even shape. Building the theatre took most of the rest of her life. She was known for her strength, resolve, creativity and kindness. Also for being a very strong woman despite her tall and thin stature. I am inspired by women who live authentic lives.

My knee and my other condition held up well – surprisingly and after a good wander around we had a cuppa and shared a ‘cheese tea’ at the cafe. Now this was a new thing that stimulated my appetite and I felt it would be slightly more sustaining than a cream tea. Two cheese scones, local cider chutney, and a generous slice each of Brie and cheddar cheese. Really nice, generous and in my view a lot better value than a cream tea.

After the replenishment we drove down the road 5 minutes to the shared car park of the PK Porthcurno – museum of Global Communications and Porthcurno beach. Vern was quite interested to go to the museum, due to his fathers connection to radio and for his own interest, so I encouraged him to go it alone, whilst I rested in the car and caught up on some blogging or have a nap. I am not sure how long he took, however, I got two blogs done and he returned with a big smile on his face.

For the nerds, it was a key place in the war for communications, including having bunkers. It is also the site of the first undersea telecommunications cable laid 150 years ago. The museum covers the invention of electricity to morse code and fibre optics. It was a telegraph training centre and houses an impressive collection of radio communications, ham radios and so on.

On his return we got our umbrellas and ambled down to the beach. The air temperature was 17 degrees and the water temp 14. This did not deter a range of swimmers, however far to cold for us antipodeans. Even in the grey light of drizzling rain the beach is beautiful and possibly the best in Cornwall – although I am sure others would debate their favourites. In the car park we saw a pretty black and white bird with green tail feathers and blue on the wings. Our host said it is the European Magpie.

We headed back towards Penzance via a different route stopping at Mousehole for another cup of tea and snack – as you do. It is one of the recommended places to visit as a typical small fishing village. From Mousehole you can see Penzance around a few bays and Mount St Michael in the distance. We had a nice wander around the town, sheltered harbour and beyond the rocks on the Penzance side followed by tea and coffee with a shared goat cheese and roasted vegetable ciabatta in a cosy little cafe, watching the people and the tide come in.

Home for a wee rest and deciding where to eat for dinner. Being Sunday and shoulder season quite a few places were closed, so we opted for an Italian on the promenade called Gino’s spaghetti house. I normally like to eat the cuisine of the country we are in, and do not feel that Italian is good value for money. However, this evening with my still grumpy digestion, I felt a simple plate of pasta would be quite suitable. It had mixed reviews, so I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious dinner we both had. Vern is a carbonara man, whilst I opt for seafood. I had a special local crab spaghetti with garlic, wine, cream and herbs and it seriously was of the best equal crab meals I have ever had. We also shared a green salad which was actually the best one I have ever purchased. Perfect blend of green leaves, herbs and bang on balanced dressing.

Our tired and reluctant legs took us along the softly lit promenade and up the gentle slope to our welcoming bed.