Today was our first day of proper English weather – clouds, fog and plenty of rain. But having been here for over a week now, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Mostly for our car’s sake we were hoping for later, say July, because it acts up and does funny things whenever it gets wet from underneath. (Now you’re probably scratching your head and asking “What the hell are you doing there with that car then?” We’re optimists…)
So today despite clouds, fog and rain we were on the road once more. In the morning it wasn’t too bad, just cloudy and damp, which allowed us to enjoy a few hours at the Tamar Otter & Wildlife center. As the name implies, there are lots of otters and other animals to see. Luckily we arrived just before noon when the feeding frenzy began. The otter keeper was very generous with his time, introducing us to each otter and telling us its story. Some of the otters have been handreared and are quite tame (with the keeper at least) so now my camera’s memory card is almost full with otter pictures and videos – don’t worry I won’t post all of them here. But they really are adorable creatures.
Seriously, who could say no to these guys?
The center also has a whole colony of wallabies (a mob of wallabies) which seem to be quite happy there despite the weather. We learned later though that Wallabies are found especially in wooded areas of Australia, such as Tasmania, so the Cornish weather isn’t too much of a stretch for them.
Mama Wallaby with Joey Tribbiani
As we left the otters, it started drizzling but we decided to head to Polperro nevertheless. It’s a former smugglers’ haven on the south Cornwall coast and according to the polperro.org website, ‘everyone’s idea of a picturesque Cornish fishing village’. How could we miss that? By the time we had found our way there – lots of muddy narrow country lanes later – it wasn’t drizzling anymore but pouring buckets. So out came the big jackets and our tiny but trusty umbrella and we took a quick slosh around the harbour and cliffs before repairing to the Blue Peter for some drinks. (Girls – if you ever go there, make sure you check out the bathroom!)