02 August, 2019
It has taken me 11 years of living in the UK to visit Cornwall. I wish I had made the trip earlier. The endless turquoise waters, white-sand beaches, blue skies and sparkling seafood of Britain's most southerly point made me feel as if I were somewhere exotic.
From the Minack Theatre, an open-air theatre carved into a granite cliff in Porthcurno, the views of a breathtaking landscape resemble those in tropical destinations, with several small deserted beaches secreted between the cliffs. They're usually accessible only at low tide, but the temperature has reached 30°C and a swim across seems like the perfect way to beat the heat. I have discovered paradise.
After a day of sun, walks and splashes, hunger strikes and I head over to Mackerel Sky Seafood Bar in Newlyn. Its menu is a bounty of small sharing plates, all fresh and locally sourced. I take a bite of my crab nachos and sip a glass of white wine. Sitting on the terrace, the Newlyn Coombe River coursing beside me, I think: the Cornish have it all figured out.
For my last day, I do what I love the most and spend a day on the water, sailing. Later, while tucking into a Cornish cream tea, I gaze across the moving pattern on the waves to the horizon and wonder what hides beyond. As I contemplate the immensity of the ocean I am seduced by the sound of the sea and, in that moment, I find myself wondering what time it is at home, thinking I was in a different time zone.
