Day 4 Southampton

The hard floor against my back, the square table foot right next to my head, the light coming through the blinds, I’m not sure which is preventing me from sleeping. Maybe, it is the strong smell of cheese, and the warmth from the risotto we ate at dinner, still floating in the air, that makes the atmosphere of this room feel so restricted. Josh is not sleeping either, I hear him turning and shuffling next to me. Suddenly, the fabric noise gets faster, I hear a sigh of discontent and a zipper rushed open. He gets up, takes his sleeping bag, and settles on one of the armchairs of the living room, in a position that I cannot imagine to be comfortable.

We arrived last night in Southampton. Josh had only told me of this city where he used to live, how much he had wanted to leave it. I was surprised that he’d want to stop here.

I then understood that the detour was worth it for Josh to be able to visit someone special. His friend Markis, who I’d never met, was going to cook for us and give us a roof for the night. The cycle was long and hilly, and we arrived at night in heavy traffic and rain.
Markis gave us the warmest of welcome with his chanting accent, large smile, and squinty eyes. We sat at a table with his girlfriend and flatmate and immediately felt at home. I cannot remember eating more during my entire time in England. Risotto, pasta, and wine. Heavy digesting must have been what kept us up all night.

We did not have much energy to cycle the next day but left Markis and went on our way.

Of Southampton, I did not see much. Josh pointed at a few things, streets he used to go past, places he lived in, places friends used to live, the University…

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of sparkly blue next to the cycling track:

‘Josh!!! It’s the sea!!
Yeah!! We made it!’
‘Well, it’s not really the sea’ said Josh
‘What? It IS the sea!’ I reiterated, concerned Josh might be having a stroke since he didn’t recognize the sea.
‘It’s an estuary, it’s called ‘Southampton Water’.’
‘Mh, it looks like the sea’

I said. I was a bit disappointed, but then I thought, maybe it doesn’t matter.
It smells like the sea
It feels like the sea.
I cycled to the sea. My first Milestone.

But standing in our way was the River Hamble. I spotted the pink ferries that were supposed to take us to the other side. They looked ancred. A sign displayed the following timetable:

‘Mon-Fri 9 am – 5 pm’
‘Shoot! We missed it.’ said Josh
‘No. Is it bad?’
‘Well it’s 14 miles around’
‘Oh no.’
‘Let’s ask these guys if they’ll take us!’
‘What? Is that something people do?’

‘Yes, why not?’ said Josh, already walking towards a small-sized boat.
‘Hi guys!’ he said, ‘lovely boat you got there. We missed the ferry! We were hoping to cross. Completely missed it haha. Would you mind giving us a ride to the other side?’

The look of surprise on their faces told me that two people asking for help to cross the river with heavily loaded bicycles was not something they were expecting.

‘Well, I don’t know’ said the man. Then, a second later, he smiled and added:
‘Ok, yes! Yes, we’ll take you, why not? Common then.’

He immediately took up to fit our bicycles onto their boat. They looked like a lovely couple, maybe on holiday. But their boat isn’t very large.

‘Are you sure we can fit both our bikes on it?’ I asked anxiously. I really didn’t want to drown their boat.
‘Yeah, it’ll fit!!’

And sure it did. Huffing and puffing, the two men carried the bikes onto the boat, and we were soon deposited on the other bank, to keep cycling along the sea.

We pushed our bikes on a concrete road in the middle of marchlands, towards a beach that we hoped would be empty. The sun was setting and reflecting on the still water, turning the sky pink and blinding us a little.

The beach was actually hosting a scouts party. We pushed our bikes on the sand until we were alone. For the first time since we left, we decided to make a campfire.

We pitched our tent on the beach, and I fell asleep immediately and heavily, weighed down by the exhaustion of a body that is building muscles and burning through calories like never before. I felt the full extent of this type of tiredness that you only really get after spending a full day outside, or swimming.

Josh on the other side, would be kept awake all night.