Castles and Cakes

Plas Newydd, the home of the Ladies of Llangollen 

St. Winefride's Well which claims to be the oldest regularly visited pilgrimage site in all of Great Britain. 

The last part of this week has been just as filled as the first!  We spent all of the 8th in Chester, England, visiting Chester Cathedral, hitting all of the second hand shops and exploring the city.  On the way, we made a stop at St. Winefride’s Well, a holy well that is still used today to heal the people who dip into its water. The Cathedral was the main focus of the adventure. Grand and beautiful, every inch was covered in intricate carvings or marble work.  I can’t imagine how craftsmen in the 1500s managed to create such an incredible work of art.  I couldn’t help but imagine all of the people who had walked through the halls of the cathedral since its inception, with their different backgrounds, beliefs, and circumstances.  It was truly amazing to walk through a piece of living history as beautiful and well-preserved as the Chester Cathedral.

 The next day was spent entirely working with Outdoor Pursuits.  Outdoor Pursuits is an adventure company that allows students and groups to interact fully with nature by taking part in different exciting outdoor activities.  Our itinerary said that we would be Kayaking or Canoeing on the Menai Strait.  Fun right? Well that is NOT what we did.  Not at all, besides the fact that there was water. A lot of it.  We instead spent the day coasteering.  What is that you might ask?  Good question! I had no idea either.  Coasteering is defined as “the sport of following a coastline by swimming, climbing, diving, and walking while wearing a wetsuit, a life jacket, and a helmet.” All of which we managed to do in strides.  We (even the land-locked Midwesterners) managed to climb along the side of ocean cliffs, scale natural rock walls, and cliff jump off of 25-foot ledges, while only accidentally falling in a few times.  I remember standing on the edge of our highest jump, shaking just a little bit, looking down, trying to keep my vertigo from getting the best of me, and thinking how happy I was in that moment. Scared out of my mind, yes, but I was happy and at peace hearing the splash of the waves, feeling the mist and the sun against my skin and seeing the whole of the horizon meeting the edges of the rocky coast.  It was a beautiful moment and as I jumped from the ledge, I swore I floated in the air for a lifetime before hitting the cold bay waters of Penrhyn Mawr.  It was one of the scariest things I have done, but I did it twice and I’m so glad that I did. Wales is making me fearless and everyday that I’m here I feel that I’m getting a little bit braver and learning a little bit more.  

 I can’t remember ever being as sore as I was the day after coasteering, but the next day a few other Fulbrighters and I pulled on our hiking shoes and headed for Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass to climb the 3.5 miles straight up to the top of Mt. Snowdon. At 1,085 meters (3,599 feet), it is the tallest mountain in Wales and second tallest in all of the UK.  We made it up to the summit and back down a different path stretching about 5 miles long in 6 hours, and despite the struggle of navigating around huge rocks and climbing steep ledges, the view was well worth it.  Normally in cloud cover 280 days of the year, we found ourselves at the top of Snowdon in perfect clarity with all of Wales exposed in its vivid natural beauty.  Standing on the top of the mountain we could see far over the ocean and past rolling hills and lakes on the opposite side.  It was an accomplishment to make it to the top at all but the reward of the view felt like a special gift.  Wales becomes more and more beautiful each day that I’m here and I can’t wait to discover the next adventure this incredible country has in store!