After arriving at the little beach-side parking spot last night, we settled down to fall asleep to the sound of the sea lapping gently on the sand, doing our best to ignore the blood-curdling howls from the racoon dogs!
But we’re still getting over the jet-lag, so drifted happily into a deep sleep, before being woken by the sound of a car pulling in by us. We thought nothing of it, but then there was another and then even more, and looking at the clock it was only just after 4am. What could be going on?
We mulled it over for a while, thinking it was just a few fishermen getting an early start, and drifted back to sleep, being finally woken by the 7am alarm that is played over the village tannoy.
We got up, opened the door and found that the carpark was completely full, and that we clearly hadn’t heard all the cars arrive, as there were so many. Yet all were empty and there were only a couple of people fishing on the harbour wall. Very strange
We sat watching the sea, whilst we drank our coffee and ate breakfast, watching the black kites wheeling around the little bay, and then noticed one of the fishing boats heading out to a large rock in the sea, where we noticed a group of people fishing. The boat picked them up and took them to another rock, bringing a different group back to the first. Clearly all the car owners had been abandoned on rocks to enjoy a peaceful day’s angling.
It’s the little things like this that we like to enjoy, simple snapshots of local life that happen around us, even if it did give us a disturbed night’s sleep.
We had thought about doing a bike ride today, but the road I had been looking at was a series of tunnels and the ones we’ve driven through wouldn’t be great for cycling, so we decided to go for a walk instead.
We had noticed a footpath sign, just off the beach that would take us over the cliffs to the next bay, so after taking a little walk along the beach, we popped some drinks and snacks in a bag, pulled on our walking shoes and set off.
Almost immediately, we found ourselves on a steep path, climbing away from the beach, passing through woodland and then bamboo with tantalising glimpses through to the sea, which was already far below us.
All of a sudden though. I came to a standstill, finding myself face-to-face with a huge, yellow and black spider, which was sitting at the centre of its web, that it had carefully built across the path. Luckily, I noticed it just before I walked into it, which would have been a shock for both of us.
After creeping under it, we carried on and after a while, came out onto an old road, which was slowly being reclaimed by plants and grasses. The trees bordering the road were covered in a blanket of Japanese Arrowroot, the highly-perfumed little flowers, scented the air as we walked.
The road made the walking much easier, which was a relief after the first steep section, but then the road came to an end and we disappeared again onto a forest track, which started to climb steeply again.
As we walked through the fallen leaves and twigs, we noticed tiny lizards dashing away from the threat of being squashed underfoot, and even a couple of snakes too. Once again the path was interrupted by spiders’ webs and eventhough we tried to avoid them, some were so huge that we had to clear them away, although we did miss some, One only came to light, when Andy noticed the legs of a spider creeping down towards his face, over the rim of his hat. That was a bit of a shock for them both!
You can see a little video from the cliffs Here ….
It was a lovely, but challenging walk, which became even more challenging as we slipped our way down an earth path, sliding on pebbles that acted like marbles, as we made our way down to the cove. We later noticed that this had been a 30% climb, which explained why it was making our legs ache, both on the way down and the way back up too,
We reached a little cove and sat on the stony beach, watching more fishermen on the rocks in the middle of the sea, and a group of kayakers paddle past too. It was like a mill pond, so was the perfect day for it.
We pottered back, following the same path, enjoying the stunning views along this dramatic piece of coastline
but taking the road back into the village, rather than scrabbling our way back down the path to the beach, and as we arrived back, there was a large crowd of the now returned fisherman, applauding on the quay. They had clearly had a wonderful time on the rocks.
By the time we got back, we were hot, sweaty and very very sticky, and we could really feel the walk in our legs. So after a sit down, we decided to pop to another local onsen, for a shower, a relax and to hopefully ease our aching muscles too.
After our first experience yesterday, ( Day 3 – A day of Lakes, waterfalls, an Onsen and the sea ) we felt much more comfortable with using it, so planned an afternoon’s visit and either moving on to a different spot for the night, or returning to the little place by the beach, if that felt better.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite prove to be the relaxing afternoon that we imagined. We took of our shoes and went our separate ways, arranging to meet in the relaxation room, when we had finished.
The Onsen was lovely again, with a number of different inside and outside baths, which felt much hotter than the one we had been to the day before. So I shifted from pool to pool, enjoying a cold plunge in-between each one, now feeling comfortable, with what had felt so uncomfortable, just 24 hours earlier.
Then, after about 20 minutes, the lady from the reception desk came running in, in an agitated state signalling to me that I needed to get dressed and to go with her very quickly. I gathered that something had happened to Andy, and I had a gut-feeling that I knew what it would be, that he had fainted. It happens from time to time, especially with heat and he quickly recovers, but it is rather scary, especially for anyone who isn’t expecting it.
I threw my clothes on, and followed the lady, who gestured to me to go with her, taking me straight into the men’s side of the Onsen. I kept my head down, focused on what was happening with Andy, and found him being assessed by 4 paramedics, who had arrived within a couple of minutes of him fainting.
Happily, Andy was sitting up, wrapped in towels, talking and drinking water, surrounded by concerned fellow onsen users, with the team checking his vital signs. As I had suspected, he had fainted, and using translation apps, we managed to answer all the questions being asked by the medical staff.
They were all being incredibly kind, obviously very concerned by what had happened, and keen to ensure that Andy received the right treatment promptly. Happily all his signs were fine, and after chatting it through with us, they decided that he didn’t need to be transferred to hospital, We finished filling in the paperwork, and after doing my best to apologise to all the naked men, whose afternoon, I had so rudely interrupted, I left the men’s area and went to wait for Andy in the relaxation room.
The staff were so thoughtful and wouldn’t accept our offer to pay for the rental of the towels that they had used to cover him, or the drink that they had provided. They just reiterated that they were happy he was going to be OK, and we bowed deeply to each other, before we left.
It goes without saying that we have returned to the nearby beach spot tonight, just for a quiet evening listening to the sea, and the blood-curdling screams of the racoon dogs! (Sound on video below)
It hasn’t been the most relaxing of days, with what turned into quite an extreme hike this morning, and the stress of the afternoon. But we have been overwhelmed and incredibly touched by the kindness of the people we have met, since arriving, but especially this afternoon.
Both the staff at the onsen and the medical team couldn’t have been kinder, easing us through a difficult situation, which could have been so much harder with the language barrier. We knew that a deeper bow is used to show deep respect, so bowed low as we thanked the paramedics and staff, as we couldn’t have asked for more. They bowed low in return.
Then, as we arrived back at the beach, a little dazed after the afternoon, a young woman knocked on the campervan window and gave us a couple of little cakes, by way of welcome to the country. They had just been for a walk along the cliffs too, and we chatted about our trip and our plans, before saying goodbye.
It’s certainly been a busy and exciting first few days in this wonderful country, even with the stress of today. So we’ll enjoy the evening, sitting by the van just relaxing to the sound of the waves.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Vaucluse Dreamer 