Perranporth to Portreath

It is amazing the things we don’t know. Things we don’t know we don’t know. And when they become known, it can feel like a birthday. Today, was one of those days in so many ways.

But before that . . . Today was easier, even though the miles were harder. More elevation and more steps. And by steps I mean 2x6s with gravel (and most of it missing) behind it, throw some rebar in, mostly sticking up an inch higher than the board and that’s the steps. Very daring!

I’ll start with vertigo. The cliffs were close today, and a few times I had a bit of vertigo. Vertigo is interesting me. I feel like my brain is trying to compute, but it can’t quite get it aligned. Like, “that island is huge, that cliff is enormous, and you, what the hell are you in this crazy big picture?” My brain cannot get it squared away. So many times today. It is just hard to get some perspective on how small we really are in this world.

Also mining. We learned yesterday that in Cornwall, there was three waves of mining. They mined for tin and copper in the medieval times (450AD approx), the mid-1800s and again in the mid-1900s, specifically during WWII. These layers of mining are all along this coast path. Many of the building a reminiscent of buildings we’ve explored in southern Colorado mining country which was mid-1800s too. And the tailings are evident all along the trail. And we saw some places where Poldark was filmed too.

The layers of history, spanning 1000 years is pretty mind blowing, even though my mind has been blown so many times before in New Mexico as I realize the layers of civilizations. Today it really adds to my smallness.

Finally, miles and time. I started to gain insight about mileage last year, but today, it became more present. Usually we think of miles in terms of driving. Ten miles to work takes about 12 minutes. 130 miles to Taos in two and a half hours. But on the trail, each mile is counted in terms of steps, and we are mostly not familiar with that measurement. It feels like a long way. And then, when it doesn’t feel writes, that’s kind of weird. today, at six miles in, we were like “oh, only six miles to go. It’s been a pretty easy day.” Hopefully we will still be feeling that way in a few days.

In a more linear way, we started off this morning after a lovely breakfast with three Canadian women who were also staying at our inn. They were in their 70s and this was their second walking season. They walked the Camino together last year. They laughed as they said “we will keep walking as long as we can.” And we agreed.

We walked along the cliff side for many miles to a small village, St Agnes. We stopped for a coffee and watched people surfing. Not a single person in a swimsuit at the beach. People playing with the dogs and babies and surfers in wetsuits.

We finished up in Portreath and had some fish and chips and a cider. It was a lovely day and tomorrow is another 12 miles to St.Ives. Then we have a rest day!

Portreath at sunset.

Today’s stats:

Perranporth to Portreath

13.1 miles

Total elevation gain: 2073ft

Total time: 5hrs 50 mins

PS. I am writing this on my phone. So please, forgive the typos and other strangeness. Also I just hiked a shit-ton of miles and I’m laying flat on my back in bed while I write this. 🤪