Day 13A: Unexpected wildlife

As I mentioned before, sometimes I choose places to visit because they look geographically interesting on the map, then other things surprise me and catch my interest. Today was an example. I started at...

Start point

It's another Devonian peninsular with a lighthouse.

My route along Start Point. Taking the road on the way down,
back along the high central rocks.

At first, I didn't think I was going to see much as it was very foggy...

There is a lighthouse in the background somewhere!

The sea was very calm on this side of the peninsular - the reflection effects mixed with fog give a weird scene.

Can you make out what is what?

But as we got closer and slightly lower, the fog cleared a bit.

The sea was much rougher on the windy side:

You can make out the transition between rough and smooth sea.

and what was the surprise? Well, it was the gulls. A huge flock was circling around the cliffs and there must have been lots of fish around as one after the other the gulls dived into the water. It was an amazing sight as they folded their wings back and became almost torpedo-like a split second before they hit the water.

I made this picture by putting together three rapid shots.
The splash in the middle frame is from another gull.

These are frames I put together from a movie clip I made.
The gull doesn't hit the cliff in the last frame, a branch blocked my view.

For more action-gull photos, click the Wildlife on holiday page.

Slapton Ley

This is another geographically "weird" place I had targeted. A spit grew out from one side - sand and shingle being pushed along the coast, and then it joined up. On one side is the sea (salt water) and the other is a fresh water lake.

Slapton Ley from the hillside

and from the "ley" itself.

While in Torcross, which is at one end of the "Ley," I had my second duck attack of the holiday...

Blackpool sands

Next stop was a lucky accident. I saw a nice bay as I was driving by and pulled in.

Yes, the sun actually came out for a few minutes today!

and the second surprise of the day - another wildlife one - there was a seal really close to shore. I was amazed how it didn't get swept on the beach by the large waves.

As this entry is getting rather long, I'm going to split it into two parts.

Day 12: Water cycle

So today, it was raining. A range of rain from annoying blowing spitting stuff that seems to come from all directions onto the camera lens, to moderately heavy. (I use the term "heavy rain" in the UK with caution after being in heavy Ethiopian rain!)

But I decided to go for a cycle ride anyway!

I actually cycled from my Travelodge in Torquay to Brixham (the other end of Torbay) and back.  Total distance was 28km (approx 18 miles) and although you would think: seaside and coast = flat, it's not, rising to about 70m in places. To see just how "not flat" it is, here is the profile data from the GPS:

Once in Brixham, I walked around the harbour and out to the breakwater.

This old ship, behind Pikachu, is berthed in the harbour. What is its name?

From the other side. Can you see the ship on the left?

I took these Panoramas:

As always, click to zoom in on any photo.

On the way back, the rain was a little heavier and as I was whizzing down hills, the spray was soaking my legs and shoes, so it was great to have a hot shower back at the hotel.

It took me about an hour each way, and the fastest I went was 49km/h.

Map of route there and back

Heart rate, Elevation and speed information collected
during the last part of the ride.

If you're using the graph in school, a good bit to look at is at around 4.8km when everything suddenly changes. Can you see why? Also, what are the "blips" in speed (blue line) at 3.2km, 6.0km etc.?

I wonder what crazy thing I'll do tomorrow?