Day 29
Manorbier to Tenby: 7 miles
Dedication of the day: To my legs
Reason: It's not your fault this keeps happening every day
So, if you read yesterday's post, you'll know I wasn't feeling great about walking by the end of the day. Although I slept much better tonight than the last night, I didn't wake up with that 'fresh legs' feeling you get after a good night's sleep.
Trust me, that's a thing.
After about 5 minutes of walking - straight out of the hostel and into the Church Doors rock formation - my mind started turning its attention to my legs not doing very well. Specifically, I started imagining a conversation between my legs and my brain - which tells me my brain wasn't doing very well either.
Legs: 'Surely we're just going to walk to a couch to lie down. There's no way we're going to be expected to walk a long way again.'
Brain: 'Sure, sure, right. We're walking to a couch.'
Two minutes later
Legs: 'No, no way. There's no couch this far away. What the hell lady! No, screw you, we're done.'
Brain: 'Legs, why are you shaking so much? We're just going down a little slope, and we've only been walking like 2 minutes.'
Legs: 'No, this isn't fair. Stop. STOP! I don't want to go anymore. I. Don't. Want. To. Go! You can't make me!'
Brain: 'Legs, listen to me. You're shaking even harder now. If we lose control here and fall, we end up at the bottom of a giant steep cove on all these giant sharp rocks. That's going to be a lot worse for both of us, let me tell you. Come on, easy now.'
Legs: 'Nooooooooooo!!!!! I hate you all! I'm not doing this anymore, it's not fair! I'm too old for this. Strike! You come down here and go left, right, left, rightleftrightleft over and over and over and over again for weeks. Everything hurts and I can't take it anymore - we are stopping right now.'
Brain: 'Sure, sure, ok. Let's just get up that hill over there, and we can stop.'
Legs: 'OK good. Good good, let's just go up that hill.'
Two minutes later
Legs: 'OK we're up the hill, let's stop.'
Brain: 'Look at that, you're not shaking anymore. You made it up more than 100 steps, you're totally fine now. I think you can probably just make it past that island, and then we'll be at Tenby. Why stop now when you're fine, right? That'd be a waste wouldn't it?'
Legs: 'Damn you straight to hell.'
Anyhoo
Anyhoo, at a certain point my legs seemed to have realized that resistance was futile, and anyway that going back was going to be just as annoying as going all the way to Tenby - and at least at Tenby there'd be seaside resort amusements to be had.
So my legs valiantly took me past Lydstep, with its preserved footprint of ancient man that I failed to see because I had no idea where it was. They took me past Penally and the only surviving WWI training trenches in the UK. They took me past Caldey Island and its Cistercian monestary. They also took me past many people who seemed to be laughing at me. Then I looked down and realized the shirt I had on was the one a friend sent me that says 'Crazy Hiker Lady' on it - thanks Liz.
And eventually they even carried me to Tenby. This town has been settled since at least the 9th century, with amazing town walls fortified by the Normans after Welsh attacks, but now home to many restaurants (meaning, there are restaurants literally set into the thousand year old walls). Nowadays, it is a super-cozy seaside resort that has lovely winding streets, brightly colored houses, a castle, islands off the coast, bobbing boats, and many, many, many holidaymakers.
It also has an attraction I'd first read about in a pamphlet I'd picked up after leaving Newport what seems like eons ago - the Harbwr Brewery. P and I had actually already been to Tenby once for a visit a few days before as a side trip, and we went straight there. So I did the same today - with wooden beams, mismatched tables, a lovely decor, beers named after ships and friendly service, although the place has only been brewing for two years, the restored warehouse brewery/restaurant seems to be getting along quite well.
Anyway, today I went back, and because it was early-ish instead of the brewery itself, tastings were in the attached pub (it's very confusing, the second floor of the brewery attaches to a patio which attaches to the first floor of a different pub). So I went in, got a fabulous bitter that tasted like toasted bread (my favorite) and a giant sizzler plate of tiger prawns in garlic that shockingly actually had enough garlic on them for me (usually not the case).
Needless to say, when I finished the day with a bit of grocery shopping and a return to the Skrinkle Bay hostel, my legs weren't complaining anymore. Or if they were, I was doing a great job ignoring them.
