A smooth morning meant we were away from camp on schedule for 0800. Our first port of call was Leamington Town to continue our search for the elusive maps and gas. After an hour of looking around various supermarkets in town, an a coffee at Starbucks to reassess when it was all going wrong, we managed to get everything we needed. An hour delayed, we expected to just make our target for the day, particularly with a long detour as a bridge was out on Route 34.
The roads were quick today. We were going steadily at 15mph all day, with a slight tailwind. A distinct lack of hills, and a good road surface, meant we made 55 miles by lunch. The scenery was similar the whole way, corn fields on both sides, with views over Lake Erie to our right. A cool breeze off the lake was much welcomed.
We stopped in Blenheim for lunch, with wifi, where I called up a few potential hosts ahead of us. No luck, but we did get through to a coffee shop where the woman offered to find us somewhere to stay in Port Stanley, and some advice for spots nearby if she couldn't. With 55 miles to Port Stanley, it was at the edge of what we could cover in the afternoon, assuming the wind and hills stayed friendly.
The going was quicker in the afternoon, and we made Port Stanley by twenty past six. Using the wifi at the coffee shop, which was closed, I checked my emails, but nothing from our host at the shop. We decided a drink at the pub was in order. I was told the Royal Canadian Legion was a good bar to go to, where people had been offered a place to stay by locals before, so we went there. A cold cider went down well.
While asking the bartender about camping in town, and seeing her efforts to contact the owner of a small RV park up the road, a couple at a nearby table unbeknownst to us decided that we would be staying with them tonight. The Army insignia on our jerseys helped. As we left the Legion, they came out behind us and asked us where we were off to. We were struck by the strong Glaswegian accent.
Bob, a widower, and Helen recently married last July. Bob was ex Army, serving with the Scots Borderers in the jungle in Malaya. Before that he was in the merchant navy, serving various liner routes before jumping ship in Canada and hitchhiking across the country. He was caught working at a farm, and spent a short while hopping between different Canadian jails as he was sent home. Helen has a background in nursing. They had a plethora of interesting stories, with Bob reminiscing on his time in the jungle, including a young officer charging through a swamp with his family sword after getting ambushed; His platoon losing all of their rations and supplies when told to bed down near a river in monsoon season; And getting called into his commanding officer's office to be told off for not calling his mother in three months, as she was giving his CO a hard time. They insisted we call home in the morning.
With full bellies after Helen's lasagne, pizza, fruit and toast dinner, and relaxed after a couple of beers and a scotch, we are looking forward to an excellent sleep indoors on their comfortable guest beds.
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