Wales is a land of wonky internet, and in reality…no internet for me, so I have not been able to keep you all updated, as I would like. So now that I have landed in Penzance, Corwall & I have internet. I however do not have a lot of time, so I will keep my bits brief.
We arrived in London early Sunday morning, and hit the road for Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The joke in our van; is that it took 20 minutes…in reality it was a 7.5 hour drive, which I drove with no sleep. I was thankful for my “Wyrd Sisters” (the 2 women who are sharing driving responsibility with), as they kept me awake with good conversation & music. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well I got along with them, and the rest of the pilgrims, as I knew only 3 people of the 21 travelers. Driving in the UK, is challenging enough; left side of the road, left hand shifting (everything is standard), tall hedges, narrow roads…oh and did I say, I was driving a 16 passenger van. Arriving in Wales; strung out on coffee, sugar, and the power of my Dark Totem “Squirrel on Crack”, I was every so thankful for a shower to remove the travel goobers from my skin and mind.
Wales is a place in which time flows differently; 20 minutes can be 20 minutes, or it could be 2 hours…you never know. Another thing about Wales is that they prefer time over money, and wouldn’t you know it…we arrived on Sunday after 4pm, which means all the grocery stores were closed. We were how ever able to get Chicken Curry or Veggie Lasagna at the local pub. This was magic & kindness combined, as they were not expecting 21 travelers. The people of Wales were friendly, funny & even a bit, ok a lot flirtatious; particularly the man to the left of the pub picture, who reminded me of my father, something I made sure to tell him.
Barb (far right) the self-appointed, tour guide of Llansaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Along with friendly people in the pub, we ran into friendly people on the streets of the little town, particularly a lovely lady named Barb, who felt it her duty to give myself and 3 of my fellow pilgrims a tour of her beautiful little town. She pulled us along at a trot, saying “come on girls, it’s just up here, you have to see this view.
The next day; after a good sleep, we began our exploring officially with Ros “the Red Witch of Wales”, as our tour guide. I had the pleasure of knowing Ros from my Druid Pilgrimage in 2011, and was so glad to be spending time with her again. She was a deep well of knowledge, with the personality of a grown up Pippy Longstockings; which makes it easy to see how I would love her. We traveled to castles, caves under castles and sources of rivers. It was magical, stunningly beautiful and the 3 days we spent there were truly outside of time, or better yet in slow time. I believe this ‘slow-time’ is due to the fact that so much powerful magic was worked in Wales by the Druids of old. Magic to keep their lands safe from invaders, and magic to honor the Earth itself.
Well my time is running short, as I am off for another day of adventure (I am in Cornwall for the next 3 days). So I will leave you with some pictures and bits. I will try to come back to some of the tales, when I have more time. The Bleeding Yews and Dolmen certainly deserve more time. I hope you enjoy the read Folks.
LLansaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Ros, the Red Witch of Wales
spreading love-salicrow