May 17: Guernesy Island: Southwest Coast Hike

Previous: May 16

Last night's dinner was a weekly (Saturday) tapas meal offered by the hotel—a series of small dishes, like dim sum appetizers but with a Spanish inflection. We started with a tray of delicious hummus with (soda?) bread slices and a mixed-greens salad with a sweet and light vinaigrette, plus a small dish of assorted olives. Next, delicious potatoes "bravas" in spicy-tart tomato sauce, and then delicious finger-sized spring rolls accompanied by a sweet chili sauce that was (unusually) not too sweet. These were followed by a dish of shrimp and one of lemon-grilled chicken. Dessert was a bowl tiny chocolate eclairs with chocolate sauce for dipping. It was all delicious and beautifully prepared, without a false note in the meal, so it's likely we'll return again next week.

Breakfast today was a continental buffet with a selection of meats (e.g., ham, smoked beef), several cheeses, bowls of stewed fruits, fresh watermelon, croissants, dessert pastry, and cold cereals. The pastry was particularly good, with light and flaky crust. This was a feast all by itself, but there were also choices among six cooked meals. I opted for pancakes with really good bacon and maple syrup, topped with some of the stewed veggies. Shoshanna went for smoked salmon with fresh avocado. A big pot of good coffee too. Everything was as excellent as the tapas feast. We'll be here for (eight?) more breakfasts, so we'll be able to try each option and repeat our favorites.

Based on the weather forecast (a small amount of early rain and light winds today versus a larger amount of rain and stronger winds tomorrow), we decided to hike today and save tomorrow for indoor activities like museums. This one follows the cliffs on the southern shore. Turned out to be a great choice, since we had about 15 minutes of light rain while we waited for the bus and then beautiful sun and cloud all the rest of the day, with just enough wind to keep us from overheating.

We chose the hardest of several coastal hikes to start out, on the logic that it's better to tackle such challenges while our legs are fresh. Then we'll do easier hikes later in our stay. To start the southwest coast hike, we took the bus to the Torteval area at Rocquaine Bay, which forms a shallow U-shaped area of the northern shore of the southwestern part of Guernsey that's sheltered from the Atlantic by large heaps of sunken rocks that apparently sank a ship per year for something like 40 years until the community could be persuaded to pay to install a lighthouse.

"Why do you think we need a lighthouse?" undoubtedly asked some genius:

The hike was ranked as the most challenging on the island because the side view of the terrain looks like this: MMMMMMM. The spaces between the M's are small level stretches that don't actually involve climbing or descending an endless series of staircases (the strokes of the M) and that lure you into a false sense of security. "Surely they've run out of stairs, haven't they?" Reader, they had not run out. In fact, I suspect the stairways have gone feral and are breeding under cover of the sense vegetation. After 3+ hours of ascending and descending, it was a mercy to end the coastal part of our hike at Corbière ("crow") tower. The scenery was beautiful and provided many excuses to pause to "admire the scenery" (i.e., catch our breath and apologize to our knees).

Shoshanna of the flowers:

Southern coast (last hour of the walk):

I only just noticed how much some of the German coastal defense towers resemble the statues on Easter Island. For example:

After we reached Corbière Tower, the last part of the walk was about 45 minutes on blessedly smooth roads that had only mild slopes and were a safe distance off the main road network, so we walked along lots of tree-shaded country lanes and farms and country homes that took us back to the hotel. We could perhaps have gone farther along the coast before turning inland, but it was getting late and we wanted to get home in time for shower and a rest before heading out for dinner. We'll be walking to dinner, but only for about 10 minutes.

For tonight, we've booked a table at the Deerhound Pub for what they call their "Sunday slice", which is your basic carved roasted meat, potatoes, bread pudding, mashed potatoes, and possibly other stuff. When I was small, this used to be a standard Sunday evening feast cooked by my grandfather on my mother's side, and I have fond memories of the food and companionship.

Ye Olde Deerhound:

Tomorrow, museums!

Next: May 18