Wales

I'm not sure if I'd ever even heard of Wales before I ended up there in the summer of 2001. If you, like me, don't know where Wales is located...it's on the same island but to the left of England. It's a land of one lane roads, sheep, accents, hospitable people, and so much more...

I was on a backpacking team, and we would spent our summer traveling throughout southern Wales. During our orientation, I rolled my ankle playing soccer, so my hiking days almost ended before they really began. Thankfully, my three teammates helped me and my backpack over to our first hostel. That's right, I committed to staying in hostels for the entire time (if Sarah were reading this, she'd be cringing inside). I ended up enjoying it way more than I initial thought I would. I can't say that communal living has ever been up my alley, but I was so amused by all of the interesting people we met and spent time with. There was even this elderly lady who was more agile at getting into her top bunk than me at just a mere 21.

This was also at the same time that Foot and Mouth Disease was spreading through the area, so some of our planned hiking trails were closed. Bummer! We were basically on our own for about eight weeks to travel around from hostel to hostel, so we changed the plan. We met this guy Russ, and we ended up going with him to a different hostel to do some construction work. Normally, I wouldn't advise going off with strange men, but I was with three other people. Plus, we were working for Jesus. He would protect me, right? Ha! We didn't die, and Russ was actually a cool guy who took us to north Wales. We hiked a mountain there named Snowden, and it almost killed me. I was totally out of shape...ironic, since I was on a hiking team. :)

There's also a great museum in the capitol of Cardiff. They have Monet paintings that I could barely tear myself away from. They're so compelling up close (don't worry, Sarah, I didn't touch it).

I cannot mention it enough; the coast of Wales is gorgeous! I had an amazing time with God sitting out on a cliffs admiring creation in a temperate climate with the wind blowing through your hair and the waves crashing below. Amazing! You should definitely visit!

Prepare for next week...the Philippines! I spent two years there, so I might need more than one week for all my stories.