So yes, Cardiff is a city, but I have been spending surprisingly little in the actual city, which is good for me, seeing as I am obsessed with nature. Jackie, my companion in the pursuit of anything out of doors, signed the two of us up to join the caving club this wednesday. We arrived at the student union and met a really nice redhead named Niomi. It was her first time caving with the Cardiff caving club as well. We got our (DUSTY) gear, loaded up the cars, and headed out to the... you guessed it.... BRECON BEACONS! The drive was nice except for our driver and leader, Matt, who apparently smokes 25 cigarettes a day.... he smoked at least three on the drive there, and I was sitting right behind him in the car. At least it was redeemed by a great conversation with Jackie.
When we arrived in the Beacons, we learned quickly that the weather we had last weekend was an anomaly for the Beacons and for Wales in general. It rained all the way up the walk to the entrance to the cave. We took a pee stop, Matt smoked another cigarette, and then we opened and entered the small iron door into the cave. Mike and Matt, our leaders, have been to this cave a LOT of times, and didnt even need a map to get us through the cave, even though there were about 100000000 passageways going every which way.
The cave was beautiful and challenging; we saw hundreds of stalagtites and stalagmites, climbed over sharp and slippery rocks, and wedged our way into small holes. Some stalagtites were absolutely huge! There was a few points where the cave was really challenging, but most of the time it was just fun scrambling over rocks. One such point was when we had to cross a 80 ft drop by bracing our feet on one side of the drop and our hands on the other. It was a bit scary, especially for Jackie, who is short, and Steve, who is a bit afraid of heights. Another point required a bit of a drop that you could sort of clamber down, with Mike holding on to your belt. That worked fine for me until he let go of my belt, then I slid a good 10 ft and smacked my but bone on a rock. Good thing I have a "Big Bum."
The people we caved with were really fun and nice; James and Tom, both freshers, were very friendly and helpful. We exchanged some scary cave stories while waiting for everyone to cross the abyss. Steve was quiet, but friendly, and is in my population ecology class!! yay new friends! Mike and Matt were hilarious. They gave us chocolate and fresh sheep poop water.
So why caving? I guess kayak polo seems a bit more glamourous than being hundreds of feet underground. Well, caves are great for a lot of reasons. They are areas of the wilderness that are relatively untamed; there are no trail markers, no gates, no benches, no steps. You can tell people have gone through the caves before, but there is not a soul around. Caving is also a wonderful workout. If you like Yoga, I guarantee caving involves more intricate positioning of limbs. In fact, caving is a great way to become hyper-aware of your own body. You have to fit into places and climb up things and stretch yourself in ways that your body is not used to; it is both exhausting and exhilerating to be so in tune with your body motions, and to get more and more fluid in your movements.
Finally, one of the best parts of caving is the smell of fresh, outside air when you emerge. It is like seeing the world new for the first time. Caves are where light and time dont really exist, and in a way it is abnormal for a human to be down there. Your heart always beats a little harder when you think about the weight of the earth above your head. But that breath of fresh air is pure bliss!
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