A Weekend in Wales

March 12, 2013

A Weekend in Wales

After several solid days of meetings at work, the four of us piled into Hech's little blue car for an adventure into her home country of Wales. The entire trip consisted of us stopping every two hours or so, or in every town we wished to wander around for ten to twenty minutes locating the most authentic pub the place had to offer, and then spend the next two hours eating and drinking. It was definitely a new way of travel for me. I did have fun and I got to see some amazing places, eat some amazing food, absorb some of the local history, and marvel at Hech speaking Welsh, which is utterly gutteral and lispy and odd, but a language that grows on you, but the trip wasn't optimal. If it had been my style, we would've been hiking, trekking, doing a lot more exploring and a lot less drinking and eating. I can't complain though. It wasn't my trip, but theirs, and it was quite cold outside so that sitting next to a pub fire was generally more pleasant that getting wet in the rain. I was just a tag-along and I am grateful for all that they have done for me thus far.

In the least I know I want to come back to explore my way. We passed some phenomenal little villages our second day nestled in the small mountains of the region. The landscapes we drove through boasted vast expanses of seemingly untouched land, which was shocking after seeing only settlement after settlement. The sunset on the second day flicking across the hills and lighting all the sheep like stars in the sky was breathtaking.

And on the way home we rescued a horse. We were driving around on the road way below in the pics, and I noticed this horse far from the herd. I thought it was strange and almost thought I saw that it's blanket was caught on a tree. I made a mental note to watch for it on our way back through and sure enough, we passed and it was upside down at this awkward angle! I made my boss stop the car, jumped out, ran through the (disgusting and pitifully conditioned) office and stables (that shouldn't have had a TripAdvisor recommendation sticker on their window, but they did) but couldn't find anyone, so I booked it up the hill. My boss darted across the street to find a neighbor that may know where the owners were. The horse didn't move at all; I thought she was dead. I got there and she was still breathing and blinking, but not moving could've meant a broken back or leg. I went to work unbuckling and peeling back the blanket and when the family appeared, sent them for a knife to cut the last strap that was too tight and twisted to get loose. We sliced through it and she got up, seemingly with no broken bones! The family was relieved but certainly a little strung out about liability, as my American boss had been taking pictures the whole time. Otherwise, happy ending and a good deed done for the people of Wales!

Our final stops after that were my most favorite. We drove through a mountain town in view of Snowden, Wales' highest peak and accessible only by tight windy roads named Blaenau. It literally was lined with hills made of slate slabs. I've never seen so much flat broken rock in my life. Beautiful. Betws-y-Coed was another beautiful little town in which we stopped. This is an outdoorsman's paradise, with hiking, climbing, biking, and so many more options. The town too is one of the cutest I've seen. It'd be a great place to retreat from the world.

I didn't get nearly the kinds of pictures I would have liked, as it wasn't in my place to ask to stop. For those of you who have traveled with me, you know that once that happens, it doesn't stop and can be quite obnoxious : )

Criccieth