Sunday 7th July 2019

A whole day off!

In Denmark.

But with clear instructions from the Project Manager to go to Fanø.

Fanø is an island a short 15 minute ferry journey away in Esbjerg Harbour, and thanks to my book on Danish Orchids, I find it is home to Bog Orchids. Rare and bland as I'm sure you're not surprised to hear.

But I did research, mapped out a route and though that the site was walkable from the ferry port, so need not take the car.

I am up at seven, have breakfast, then lay in bed listening to the radio until the weather brightened up outside.

From the hotel it was just a 5 minute walk down the hill, over the main road to the terminal, where a return ticket cost just 45Kr.

And I had timed it right as one of the small roll on/roll off ferries was approaching. It docked, the linkspan cluncked onto the vessel, half sunk it so to keep it in place, and the passengers let off before we were let on.

Five minutes later we sailed.

No fuss, no cafe, just bench seats downstairs, and a rail to lean against on the top deck.

A group of scouts all armed with ivory handled knives ran about, hyper, with excitement.

The boat approaches the small dock, and the same process is repeated, the ship lurches to the front as the link span is lowered, and we are all allowed off.

The main road leads along the sea wall south, and that is my way, so after checking out places to eat and drink for later, I set off.

Almost straight away, sidetracked by a group of seals basking on a small sandback 50 yards from the sea wall. I join in and take their photo. Nothing exciting happened, as they were sleeping.

Still, seals!

I walk on, and the town thins out, but there are houses on the landward side for a good two km, before they give out to farmland.

The road turned inland, and with little else to look at, I studied the wild flowers growing on either side.

Farmland on both sides soon gave way to rolling moorland, or heather covered dune slacks. I had been walking an hour and the town had given way to countryside.

The ground dropped away, and I could see grass swaying in the breeze, this looked different, and was probably one of the sites for the orchid.

I followed a path to near the grass, then cut in, finding the grass growing out of clumps of land, surround by channels of dried mud.

I began to search.

I want on searching for an hour, two hours and found nothing.

I walked to the edge of the grass, back to the path and sat down on a low bank.

Beyond the nearby picnic area, I saw more grass. Another marsh.

So I go over to investigate, and soon find many colonies of sundew.

Sundew is a carnivorous plant, covered with sticky-tipped spines, it captures small flies and dissolves them.

Lovely.

This seems so much more likely for the orchids, and yet I search for another hour, I find no spikes. Only a beautiful blue bell-shaped flower, a Marsh Gentian. I snap that too, and prepare to walk back.

My feet hurt, and it was going to be 90 minutes into the teeth of a stiff breeze.

Should have brought the car.

So I walk back, foot sore and disappointed, back past the landmarks of the walk down.

I arrived back at quarter past three, to find the two places to eat had closed at three, and the ice cream shop had a queue. A ferry was approaching, so I walked over and once it had docked, I got on, slumped in a chair on the first deck, thinking how bloody thirsty I was.

Once on land again, I walk, stumble up the hill and onto the main street, walk to the supermarket and buy a litre of orange juice. I drink that in 5 minutes and think that I wasn't hungry, so walk back to the hotel, buy a bottle of Coke and some peanuts and go to my room, where an hour later after lying on the bed, my legs were so still I couldn't walk.

But if I wanted to eat, I would have to go out, as the kitchen and bar were closed in the hotel.

I walk up to the main square to the Dronning Louise, order a burger and beer. What kind of burger? Bee. What kind of beef burger? A cooked one? No, with cheese. And an IPA.

I sit down, read some of the Guide, then devour the food in 5 minutes, make a second pint vanish. Then walk back to the hotel.

Weekend gone, three days to go!