The Eden Project - Austell Cornwall 9-25-9

Austell, Cornwall

I am basking in this 400-year old house in its pastoral setting. Jackie fed me a grand hot breakfast that should have held me for the day. I had pleasant conversation with an older retired couple that is down here from the Lakes District doing genealogy research. We had pleasant musings about the Lakes District, where I once lived in a castle. Tony came by with Gill about 8:30 AM and we then made the drive to the Eden Project, following a mystifying set of serpentine roads requiring utmost attentiveness. The density of traffic is surreal, even out here on remote country lanes.

The Eden Project again proves splendid. Going back there was a bit reminiscent of my anticipation of going to Carlsbad Caverns for the first. There are those places which are iconic in our experience and returning to them is a bit like going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. In the seven years since I saw it last, all of the plants and trees under the hexagonal panes that make up the vast geodesic domes of the Tropical Biome and the Mediterranean Biome have matured greatly and the feel of the exhibits is quite different, now far more realistic and enjoyable. After my experience in the Kew glass houses and having seen the film “Silent Running”, I found this a very good experience to add to a metaphor about life in glass houses.

We had a most splendid mid-day meal. I was quite surprised at what a really good value the meal was. The concessions in attractions here are really more like nice dining rooms with real plates and silver and glass, not our throwaway plastic and Styrofoam. There is a much stronger aesthetic to the experience here.

The quarry pits outside of the domes have also been heavily planted over the years and pleasing park-like vistas provide a sharp contrast to the barren clay pits I remember from seven years ago. Bright sun and millions of annual and perennials made for a colorful sensibility. I took close to 350 pictures of another world under glass.

I attempted to get cash out of an ATM. My efforts at a number of ATMs were futile. Something has changed about my debit card and it no longer works. Seven weeks ago it worked fine over here in seven countries. It is now not working at all. This might require a major change of plan. I cannot get off the tourist grid if I don’t have access to money from my own accounts.

My computer has corrupted. I cannot get connected at all. It is most disconcerting as to how powerful this addiction to connectivity is. I find myself almost flailing without being able to connect. I am suddenly without access to money or to people in my world. This is reminding me of a time nine years ago when I was in electronic and fiscal quarantine in the mountains, but then I had a car and was only two hundred miles from home and money. Gas was 89 cents then.