The Salt Path

Raynor and Moth pass Land’s End and keep walking, uncertain of their purpose. The next day, they discover that they are at the Minack outdoor theater. A stranger buys them tickets. The performance is the opera Iolanthe. Afterward, they plan to camp in the parking lot after everyone leaves, but some of the performers drive them to a campsite. They sneak in, planning to shower and leave early, but they get caught by a man checking payment slips. They sneak out when he is distracted.

They come upon an older American woman who seems in worse shape than them. She says that she’s been looking for the house of an old friend, John le Carré (a famous writer). They discuss the differences between backpacking in the UK versus in the US. After the interaction, Raynor waxes philosophical and Moth accuses her of “turning into another Cornish sage” (175). They enter Mousehole, which became famous after a recent boating accident that left several dead. With the cold weather, Moth’s pain seems to be returning. They take money out of their bank account.

They get supplies and come upon a man who claims to live on the path during the summer, after which he heads to Thailand for their summer. Walking later, they get caught in a downpour that leads to flooding. They buy a pasty at a local town and then it starts to rain even harder and they look for a sheltered area to set up camp. The next morning, they come across some young Australian men doing landscape work. They say that they like to summer and surf in the UK and then return to Australia where they do the same.

Raynor and Moth stop at a café, where an employee is busy working. The owner comes in and yells at him. After the owner leaves, the employee gives Moth and Raynor paninis and tells them that he is quitting, and he might join the Australians. Raynor thinks about Tom and worries that what his parents have gone through has crushed his free spirit. They come to the Lizard National Nature Reserve and stop along the beach to boil water. The beach is quickly overwhelmed by people, so the pair back up and head out. Though they know they will never go back home, they still aren’t sure where to go. Raynor recognizes that her outlook is changing and that she is no longer fighting the inevitable but learning to accept what she cannot control. They continue North along the path.

Raynor contemplates the nature of acceptance and illness. They stop at a place called Fat Apples Café, though they can’t afford it. Some Australians, also backpackers, sit next to them and order large plates of food. With the cold weather, they plan to stay at B&Bs from here on out. Back on the trail, they come upon the halfway marker indicating that they’ve walked 315 miles. In the morning, they are disturbed by a dog and his owner on the trail. They offer him and his companions some tea. When Moth and Raynor inform the visitors of their situation, they abruptly leave. Moth and Raynor take a ferry across the Helford River.

They set up camp near some teenagers who are drinking. Raynor thinks of her children and worries that she hasn’t talked to them openly about what is going on. Moth says that he has been very open with them and they are strong. At night, they swim in the ocean and admire the way the moonlight illuminates the water and the seabed. The weather starts to get cold and rainy again and Moth struggles. A woman at a local cottage orders them into her house to dry off, which they discover is a small shop and tearoom. Moth falls into a fitful sleep immediately. Back on the trail, they try to figure out what day it is. In Gorran Haven, a man chides them, thinking that they are drunk. They move on and buy a cone of chips and watch a group of old women talk as a gull sneaks up and steals one of the lady’s battered fish.

They come upon St. Austell, where the clay industry creates enormous mounds of waste. Locals have come up with various ways to make the holes left marketable to tourists. They pass through a region that is covered in fine white talcum powder and then enter areas where wealthy families live. At another tearoom, they remember to charge their phone and learn that they missed a call from Polly, an old friend. They get some supplies, take another ferry, and sit on a quay watching welders work at a boatyard. They watch a peregrine dive, and an old man talks to them about it. He tells them that he is going blind from glaucoma. Polly calls again and tells them that they can sleep in her shed for a while.