I don't have any pictures to show yet, so I apologize up front for that. When I get home and can upload them I promise anyone who reads this will be amazed by the beauty of this small country and its rugged coastline. I admit I was a bit uneasy about heading out on my own for another adventure - I mean really, why play with luck twice? But it turned out to be an awesome few days and I am SO glad I went.
Thursday, July 8
I arrived in London and made it through the passport check around midnight after having three pretty uneventful flights: Portland to Seattle, Seattle to Chicago (small layover), Chicago to London. I had an open seat next to me on the S-C flight, which was great for sleeping, and had a window seat to London next to a nice professor from a school in Tennessee. I made it to AVIS, where my biggest challenge turned out to be figuring out which car was mine. At first I thought I had been assigned the one in A3, which was a nicer compact car that I could not figure out how to turn on: it was a manual but had one of those start buttons, so the key had to be in, clutch in, and then push. So I spent forever figuring that out before I drove to the front, realized I was in the wrong car, reversed to get the car in A9 (much more my style, no buttons), and came forward again. All this took me roughly 40 minutes. Making it to the hotel while driving on the "wrong" side of the road was easy by comparison.
The GPS unit I rented from AVIS was extremely helpful while getting around Heathrow. I had no issues, checked in easily, and spent the night in the smallest hotel room I have ever seen - probably 3x5 feet of walking space, a single bed, and tiny bathroom. But that never bothers me so it was fine - plus they had wireless so I could use my iPod to tell everyone I had made it safely. Then, sleep. :)
Friday, July 9
I got up relatively early (for me) and was on the road by 8:45. I was prepared to be gripping the wheel and scared of driving on the left side of the road, but two things made it pretty easy -
1. Everyone else is driving the exact same way you are, so just by following the flow of traffic you end up being fine.
2. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and there is something about having the center lane next to you as a driver that feels right - that of course you should drive on the left because you want to be on the side of the car closest to the lane - it wouldn't feel right otherwise.
The GPS got me to the M4, where if I was going straight to Wales I would have stayed on almost until the end of my 4-hour journey. However, I had already decided that I wanted to visit Bath - a beautiful old city with a Roman bath system dating from the first century, complete with having made many appearances in Jane Austen novels - her characters found visiting Bath to be somewhat of a social necessity. So I eventually found parking, and time to do everything I wanted.
First, the Baths - I paid to enter and tour around the small museum, which was actually very interesting. It was cool to see the way the baths worked, with water flowing through it continually from the small spring, still steaming today. They give you a glass of the water in the Pump Room, attached to the baths - this is where Jane Austen's characters would 'take a turn about the room' and try to be noticed by men of high society. :) The room is a restaurant now, so I didn't stay long, but it was huge and beautiful.
The Abbey from above the Baths
Second, the Abbey - I went in and found that this beautiful & huge church (more like a small cathedral) was having a guest lecturer, speaking on the Wisdom psalms. I thought his talk was great - all about finding the message in the author's words, that rest and restoration where only found in God - nothing else will do. It was awesome to be in such an ancient place of worship and hear someone speak God's Word as Truth.
Third, the Royal Crescent - I went walking in search of this stately row of homes, generally considered to be the upper echelon of high society in Bath during Austen's times. I only got turned around once before giddily walking up to the long crescent and imagining myself in the 1800s. My favorite movie scene from Persuasion was filmed here - where Anne, on finding through a letter that Fredrick really does love her, runs after him along the crescent and tells him she is persuaded once and for all that she wants nothing in the world but him. Ah, the beauty of a love long waited for.
That was the end of my time in England - I joined the now crowded freeway and headed to Wales. The B&B I stayed at was quite cute - run by a younger couple with two kids, and their grandmother. The dad pointed me in the direction of their long abandoned castle when I asked for a tip about taking a walk - it was a beautiful place to explore and watch the day come to an end. I love castle ruins with no boundaries - ducking through entrances, climbing walls to get better views, and generally having a blast.
Saturday, July 10
Coasteering!! This is the original reason I came to Wales - to visit the Pembrokeshire coast and rock scramble/cliff jump to my heart's content. I accomplished all that and so much more.
Getting there proved to be a challenge (the GPS took me on a crazy route that included a one-way, unpaved, wagon-track road through the countryside, as well as having to deal with the narrow roads near the coast), but once I got there everything was great. The first people I met turned out to be the family I spent the day with - Peter, Carrie, Ella, and Joe. The kids were 14 and 11, so right up my ally - the whole family was just a joy to be around. They were celebrating Peter's 50th birthday, and welcomed me with open arms. They even told our 2nd guide that they had adopted me. :)
We went sea kayaking first, which was beautiful. We wove in and out of huge rocks along with the tide, explored caves and inlets, and skimmed across the open water with ease. Joe was really uncomfortable, so we kept waiting for him, but that was fine and just gave me a chance to soak it all in. The blue of the water, the variations of the cliffs, the peacefulness of the day...it was all so amazing.
After a break for lunch we met a new guide (named Llyi in Welsh but he had us call him Tom), who turned out to be a lot of fun. He was great about both helping the family push their comfort zone, and letting them take things at their own pace. He also was pretty smart and was great about pointing out little science things (having to do with rocks and seaweed and the quarry) that I would never have known otherwise. I think he's coming to the US next year to study biology. Anyway, he was fun to talk to and had the best six pack I have ever seen. :)
Coasteering is basically a mix of rock scrambling, traversing, and cliff jumping, all rolled into one activity. We swam to different areas of the cliffsides, scrambed around, jumped in, traversed if necessary, fell in, swam some more, repeat. It was awesome! Joe was so impressive - he wanted to do everything. A couple of times when he wanted to, but was afraid (before a "slab run" and before the 20ft jump) he would look at me & say, "Let Michelle go first." It was really cute, and he had so much fun. Towards the end of our time, there was an option to jump off a 35ft cliff - Joe wanted to but they had an age limit of 16. Tom asked if I wanted to, and of course I said yes. He had already told me that he had only had one girl do it the previous summer, and none this one - but thought that I would. I had to rise to the challenge. I felt like I was representing all Lake Powell alumni, and especially Ryan since he got me to overcome my fear. Plus it was just fun! But scary for the split second when I looked over the edge.
Later on, in an old blown out quarry known as the Blue Lagoon, we jumped off a 30ft cliff a couple of times. That one you could run and jump off, which was pretty cool. Joe had his chance - after he went, Tom told the rest of the older guys standing around debating about doing it that Joe was only 11. As you can imagine, they all got in line to jump.
I exchanged email info with the McDerrmott family, and have since discovered that they are Christians! Such an amazing, beautiful, small, Spirit-filled world. I'm so thankful I was placed with them.
Sunday, July 11
I drove back to the St. David's area with the intent to hang out at Whitesands beach before camping on the other side of the peninsula at Porth Clais. It turned out to be a nice, though breezy, day, and the beach was fairly crowded. Also, there was almost zero waves, but I didn't come all the way to Wales NOT to play in the water. So I rented a surfboard for an hour and had fun in the whitewater. I rode maybe 4 waves in that whole time. But I did meet a nice Welsh guy, there on vacation with a bunch of friends, who invited me to watch the World Cup final with them that night. Later I went on a hike down the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, which was gorgeous - around every bend a new cliff, new views of the sea, new rock formations to gaze on. I could have hiked a lot longer than I did, but wanted to set up my tent in the daylight.
Camping in the UK is so different than camping in the US. Your "site" is anywhere in the field that you want, so long as you stay six meters away from everyone else. It was an amazing location, though - overlooking the sea, with the coastal path going right by, and an inlet full of boats right below. I found out later that I had, without knowing it, set up right next to Rhys and his friends. I met them that night at a pub in town and had a blast hanging out - they were so funny! It was a large group of married couples, a few with kids, and he was the only one still single. Poor guy - I know what that's like. :) They were so welcoming, and I had a great time just laughing with them all night.
Monday, July 12
Rhys is on the left - we were watching his friends shoot water bottles sky-high
I hung out with Rhys and his friends for a while before heading out to walk the path once more. I found a rock to climb down, and jumped in one last time. Then it was back on the road, headed to London to try to catch a West End show. I lucked out and got into London in time to ditch the car (with some help from the GPS), take the train from Heathrow, get a ticket from the Les Mis box office, take the tube station to my hostel, and get back to the theatre before they closed the doors. Stressful but worth it! It was such an amazing performance! The songs, the story, the characters....it was all breathtaking. I had "Bring Him Home" and "On My Own" stuck in my head for days. The story of redemption and forgiveness was incredibly powerful. Interesting sidenote: Nick Jonas happened to be playing one of the lead characters while I was there. For all my dislike of teenage pop stars, he did an A+ job - he was excellent. I have newfound respect for him (and for his brothers by extension).
:)
Tuesday, July 13
Up early to make it to the airport in time for my flight to Germany. Not much to be said. Most of the tea I brought home for my sisters was purchased in the airport - Aimers & Leeners, I hope that doesn't cheapen it for you. I kind of just ran out of time for shopping. :)
