Distance walked: unknown
Took the ferry to Guernsey today. I was driven to the ferry terminal by a Portuguese woman from Madeira. Apparently there is quite a large Portuguese community on Jersey which makes sense when you think about the history of Madeira. When I told her where I was going, she told me about the rivalry between Jersey and Guernsey. Rather like Sydney vs Melbourne with Jersey being the Sydney equivalent. She said Guernsey is the one with the chip on their shoulder, whereas Jersey doesn't fuss about the other island at all. She confirmed this by spending the rest of the taxi ride explaining, in detail, how little time the people from Jersey spend thinking about Guernsey. Very Sydney vs Melbourne like.
I was a bit concerned about the ferry ride as I get seasick very easily. However, the sea was calm and the ferry was one of those monstrous, great catamarans they build in Tasmania. I've had bumpier bus rides.
I met up with Cousin Alex at the ferry terminal here on Guernsey and he drove me to my hotel. He hikes, cycles, sails, surfs and skis. He is also 86. He gave me plenty of advice on good places to walk, bought me a coffee and showed me how to get to the bus terminal. We then parted ways. Me to go sightseeing, him to chat to friends as he was a bus driver here for 20+ years.
I like my hotel here better than the one on Jersey. My room there was a standard, rectangular room. Pleasantly laid out but conventional. Here my "room" is actually an odd collection of three nooks. The door opens into the largest rectangular nook which houses the bed, then there is a short hallway to another rectangular nook which has a desk and wardrobe, finally there is another short hallway to a semi-circular nook (bulging outwards this time) which is my bathroom. Loads of character but nowhere to string a clothesline which is a nuisance as I like to rinse out my hiking gear every day so I'm not too feral. I have a seaview room. Below is the view at low tide
and then at high tide.
After unpacking and getting settled in I went out to lunch at Villa which specialises in pizza and pasta. I didn't get much choice in location as there were two cruise ships in port so it was a matter of finding somewhere with an empty table. I had spaghetti with meatballs and a glass of house red. The sauce needed more salt. The meatballs were heavily seasoned with mint which was unusual.
After lunch I went wandering about the town. I like St Peter Port better than St Helier. It is much steeper which is perhaps why more of the old town buildings have survived. Admittedly, once you go more than a street or two away from the centre it becomes offices blocks or apartment blocks, but the very centre is pretty. Every second shop seems to be a jewellers. Not sure why but I may be forced to buy some jewellery.
I went to the Tapestry Museum which wasn't what I was expecting. Instead of a collection of tapestries throughout the ages it was a collection of 10 modern tapestries, each stitched by people from each of the 10 parishes on the island, depicting the history of the island through the last 1000 years. Shades of the Occupation Tapestry in St Helier (cf the rivalry between the two islands). It was beautifully done and a novel way to learn about the history of the island. They care as much about their Norman heritage as their English. The local flag is the St George cross with the golden cross of Duke William on the top. They put out commemorative coins with Duke William's head on one side in 1966 to celebrate 1066 and again in 2002 (anniversary of his death).
After doing my duty as a tourist I retired to my hotel's bar. This is another reason to prefer this hotel. My hotel in St Helier on Jersey had a upmarket bar and restaurant. Here on Guernsey my hotel also houses a pub and bistro. I got myself a local brew and settled in with my guide books and maps. Following Alex's advice and my experiences yesterday, I won't bother walking all around Guernsey. Instead I plan to spend 2 days walking the cliff paths around the southern coast and then spending a day on a circular walk along the north western tip and then inland. These routes have little to no road walking and spectacular views. I may even get to see a cow this time.
I had dinner at my hotel's bistro, La Piette Bistro, as one of the cruise ships was still in port and they give preference to hotel residents so I could be sure of getting a table. The printed menu didn't inspire me (burgers, pizza and pasta) but the daily specials were a vast improvement. I started with a slice of country pate, aka terrine, which came with sensible bread (but not enough of it). For main I had ox cheeks braised in red wine with various root vegetables and a rather good mash. I'm afraid I didn't have room for dessert as I hadn't done enough walking today.
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