NarniaFans on the Dawn Treader: Day 4

This day was a very interesting day. Our driver for the week, Christian, had a surprise for us. It was something he was talking about all week, but we had no idea what it was going to be. We were under the impression that we had to be at the Dawn Treader early in the day for some more sailing. We were also moving to a new hotel in Padstow.

As we were driving around, Christian was telling us about a game that his parents used to do when they had a surprise for him. “Am I going to turn left, am I going to turn right? No, I’m going straight on!” And suddenly we pulled into a ranch. “Somebody has arranged horseback riding on the beach for you!”

Courtney was so excited, and we spent the next couple of hours on the backs of horses called Buddy and Sam. I had never ridden before, so my horse, Buddy, was an older one. Buddy was spooked a couple of times during the ride, once when he tripped and then took off, at which time I was able to regain control of him, and the second time when a dog barked. It was quite the experience though, as we had to steer around rabbit holes, and ride up and down very steep inclines. The scenery was just incredible. I had to learn, very quickly, to trust Buddy to know what he was doing.

After this, we made our way to Padstow, where the Dawn Treader was docked. It was what everyone called a “chill” day. We found meals in pasties, which are very popular there (and in northern Michigan, so I had heard of them, but they originated in Cornwall making the experience more authentic).

After a break for some shopping around town, we went back aboard the Dawn Treader for some sea shanties. For those who don’t know, a sea shanty is a song that was sung by sailors on a ship like this while they worked. Most of the shanties are stories that are very amusing tales, and the singers did a fair bit of censoring to the lyrics to make them more family friendly. They have a tendency to be a bit vulgar.

The shanty singers reminded me of a barbershop quartet in many ways. They came from Falmouth to perform, and had a great time singing for us. They even got us all involved in one that we all knew.

It was a terrific experience, and that night everyone went and hung out together and really connected with each other. It was a long day, however, and the next day was another early one, so we took off early to get some sleep. And by early, I mean late.

Thanks, Christian, for setting up the horseback riding. That was one incredible surprise.

The next entry will feature the next challenge as well as some incredible scenery.