It’s been a long time since our last post… and I guess that is no surprise. As we finished our cycling trip, the evidence of rising Coronavirus cases meant further restrictions were likely, and as Summer moved to Autumn, so we saw our pre-skiing plans becoming increasingly disrupted. In late October further National lockdowns in both France and the UK were announced, and as I write this post, the news from France is that the skiing season has officially been delayed, with resorts unlikely to open before the New Year. A planned holiday with friends in Val d’Isère has already been cancelled.
For us, that has meant a quiet time, divided between London and Cornwall, where we have been living aboard Merryn, and trying to get a little exercise from coastal walks.
Whilst the weather has been a bit variable (to say the least!), there have been some lovely days, and we took advantage of one of the best to walk the Southwest coast path from Porthcurno to Land’s End. As the picture above (and the little video clip below) show, the beach is stunning, and almost deserted.
A little way round the coast we came across a couple of surfers braving the waves. At first glance, I assumed they must be crazy: the seas were huge and the spot they had chosen was surrounded by rocks on which the waves crashed. However, watching them catch the waves, ride barrels, and perform acrobatics off the crests, it was clear they knew what they were doing, and as we rounded the headland we spotted a camera crew on the cliffs, filming them. Presumably pros!
Aside from the odd walk, we have been perfecting that other great lockdown activity: baking bread! Not exactly a great achievement, we nonetheless have been keen to practice, in anticipation of needing to bake our own bread when on long passages across the oceans. I’m pleased to report that both our skills, and the galley cooker, were up to the challenge. If we ever cross the Atlantic, we will be having toast for breakfast!
We are now back in London, and came back in the hope that we would shortly be returning to France and could begin the ski season. Sadly, it looks like the restrictions in France will prevent any skiing before the New Year. In Val d’Isère the lift company has already issued a statement offering to refund all ski passes until the 15th of January, so I suspect they don’t anticipate opening before then. So, we will be staying in the UK until after Christmas. We plan (hope!) to travel back to Ste Foy before the New Year, and perhaps will be able at least to ski tour if the lifts are shut.
As we are struggling to write news of our activities, when we have so few to report, this will likely be the last blog until we finally get to the ski slopes. Keep an eye on our winter page for the next update, but maybe wait until January!