Menootanaboot; Have Visitor Will Explore - Part The Second

Both Aitch and I slept like the proverbial logs that night after chasing caches, part one. It has been quite a while that I have wanted to slumber quite so early and lasted a full nine hours till rising! The body definitely knew it had been working out - but that is no bad thing. 

Wednesday morning, we again took our time over breakfast and catching up on the Olympic happenings. The weather was rather more overcast, and there was a distinct possibility of the wet stuff. However, about one in the arvo, we decided to grasp an opportunity to geocache once more, selecting three that were a little closer to the Hutch. And closer to the road/parked car. Neither of us particularly wanted the sort of hikes we'd had the previous day. 

The first port of call was Tal Alluin, a picnic spot between the road and the shore. We parked at the entry end. At the other end was a cabin of some description and some markers for gas lines. These are likely places for a cache. No-go. Eight metres more, the GPS insisted. Through a thicket of wild raspberries and nettles. Whilst I gorged on the rasps, Aitch did the exploratory part this time.

Worth her efforts and a gathering of sticky burrs as the cache was located. (It's a lynx, in case you wondered.) By this time, the tiny drizzle had become insistent mizzle, and we were getting quite damp. Back to the car to write up the notes on time and success and then on to the next in line.

This one was at Innellen, a lovely wee village, parking at the village hall. Going down some steps from there to the 'secret bay', where the old pier had once served a great many paddle steamers in the hey-day of "doon the watter" holidaymakers. (A practice still enjoyed, if a little less glamorously and with considerably fewer numbers.) I digress, back to caching. Aitch was on it... number two was achieved.

Finally, it was down to Toward. The clue had me immediately thinking that we were once again heading for the telephone box at the point. It soon became clear this was not the case when the GPS said it was half a km away. Still, it gave Aitch a chance to see the lighthouse for the first time. (Although I have met up with Aitch on several occasions since my repatriation, she has only visited the Hutch once - seven years ago! - and at that time, she didn't walk with me to the point.) Then we set off around the triangle back in the direction of the church - making a fairly abrupt halt when Aitch spotted a telecoms hut by the side of the road - not quite the "it helps to talk" I had envisioned. It was well overgrown here, too, and despite quite a bit of stamping around by both of us, this cache refused to be found. We were happy with 2/3, though and were ready for a return to a cuppa and cake.

We had a lovely evening over a final meal together and more sports and lots more nattering... but it was a fairly early bed again. All that fresh sea air was affecting us both (and, possibly, all the natter). It was again a full night's sleep and a not too groggy morning as Aitch then prepared for departure. After breakfast, it was a case of final thoughts and then she was on her way back to Northumbria. It will not be so long again until her next visit, I hope. There are many caches still to find!

PS; Aitch caught me practising my balance beam work on motion picture mode... it's not pretty, and gone are the days of layover, walkover, spins and acrobatic series - but at least I didn't have to restart...