Coasteering

Hellooooo! Spring break has officially started, and so has the manic need to catch up in my blogging. My fellow study group buddies have dutifully reminded me that I have not been keeping up with meet the group mondays, so I may have to double up some days! eek!

This blog post is about a new sport that Jackie convinced me to try (who else?). On Monday last week while still in Pembrokeshire, Kristie, Jackie and I got up freakishly early to make our way to a small coastal town to try coasteering. On the bus ride there, we were joined on the bus by a flock of school children on their way to school. It was interesting seeing what life must be like for these kids in these small coastal towns. No one wanted to sit near me (I probably looked scary with my huge pack and goofy boots), but the kids couldnt stop staring at us. A couple of punks in the front had faux hawks, which make me laugh, especially in combo with their school uniforms. When we got off the bus, we were in the middle of nowhere, but we somehow managed to walk the few miles to the beach without getting even a bit lost. It was a beautiful morning and we contemplated on how we wouldnt be too sad if we got stuck out there missing professor Geier's class.

When we arrived at the beach, we met up with our coasteering guides, Cleo, Jerry, and the main guy whose name I don't remember. They gave us our "kit", which consisted of a wet suit, shoes, a buoyancy aid as they call it, a skull cap, helmet, and gloves. Cleo was amusing, she always was whistling some tune and seemed full of energy. The main guy leading us was a marine biology major, so he seemed really eager to tell us all about the coastal organisms. Jerry was quiet but nice. We started out by wading into the cold water and climbing along the rocks, which was pretty fun but very slippery so we had to walk on the barnacles. I had heard from Sarah (my best friend) that coasteering is ruining the coastal ecosystems, and I felt very guilty about stepping on the barnacles. The water was pretty cold, but they made us dunk in our wetsuits which warmed us up pretty fast.

Coasteering is very fun, but a little silly. We took turns jumping into the water doing various flips, and climbed all over the cliff faces without going very high. We learned about sea anemones that shoot poisonous barbs into their prey to immobilize them, and about a certain type of snail that has acid for blood and eats barnacles by liquifying them with a needle that injects their blood into the barnacle's shell. All the while, Cleo took pictures of us doing silly things. I really enjoyed floating on the waves as they pushed into a narrow rocky section. We then progressed to some higher jumps, which was the really fun part. We swam over to an old slate mine that had some of the buildings still remaining. We got to jump off of these old buildings, and it was pretty high up. Every time Jackie went in she would swallow salty sea water and come up coughing, apparently I grunted a lot, and Kristie let out blood curdling screams which amused us all. It was a fun day and our guides were really nice. We even had an audience when we jumped off the highest points.

We got done around noon and dried off while enjoying the sunshine and some hot chocolate. We thanked our guides and went to sit by the beach to eat lunch. We noticed that the tide had gone out while we were coasteering; apparently, the Pembrokeshire coast has some of the most distinct tidal changes. We got a cab ride to the train station at Haverford west, where we met Margaret. Our cab driver was very nice and told us even more about the area. It seems that people really love it there. We took a nice long train ride back to Cardiff and I really enjoyed he scenery on the way back. We saw great patches of beach that went for miles; I finally began to understand how much the tidal changes influenced the landscape. We got back to Cardiff just in time to grab a snack and go to class. Overall, an amazing weekend. I would recommend Pembrokeshire to anyone; it is beautiful with incredibly friendly people.

Hiking the Pembrokeshire Coast: Day 2

The second day of our hike was spectacular. It was a perfectly blue sky day, which is apparently rare on the Pembrokeshire coast. After breakfast, we hopped on a bus to the town of Newgale, which was about 30 minutes away and a completely different part of the 180 mile long coastal path. We found the path easily; it ascended up a steep climb immediately across from the bus stop, and the little wooden acorn signs marking the way were easy to see. It was always a fun challenge trying to find these signs, the path sometimes weaves through towns and we get a bit lost, but we always manage to find the little acorn signs. We were all pretty quiet during our walk. I imagine we were all pretty busy enjoying the view, deep in our own thoughts. We often stopped for pictures and to catch our breath, weaving our way up and down cliff sides and through kissing gates. Despite the fact that we weren't talking much, I really enjoyed talking to everyone as we walked. Hiking is a great way to get to know people. We saw kayakers on the sparkling water, which made me really yearn for a good long kayaking trip. I bet the cliffs are just as awe inspiring from the water.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely quay outside of a cute little town. We sat along the path and watched a fat dog play with a ball while eating our PB and J sandwiches and chocolate, then carried on towards St. David's, the birthplace of the patron saint of Wales. We had learned in our Welsh Folklore class that the ruins of St. David's birthplace were right along the coast, and as we approached the town, we saw the ruins from the distance. When we got there, we went into St. Non's Chapel first. St. Non is the mother of St. David, and her chapel was old and weather beaten, but beautiful. Apparently also the site of many a pilgrimage. We also got to see St. Non's well, which is known to have healing powers. I wanted to put my sore feet in, but I figured that would be disrespectful. St. David is known for being able to cause the ground to rise under him; this ability doesn't seem to impressive, until you witness the Pembrokeshire cliffs. The sheer enormity and age of the cliffs makes one think of the effort it must be to move them.

We got into town and went to St. David's Cathedral. We didn't make it into the ruins of the old Cathedral, but we did get to wander around the new one, and it was beautiful. I love religious places. The atmosphere of reverence is calming and healing in its own way. I think it is noble that people chose to believe in things they cannot see: certainly those things are the most important anyway. We got ice cream to reward ourselves for trudging another 10 miles, then sat at in a small bench area to wait for the bus. We played some riddles and word games, and managed to thoroughly stump John Dow on several of them. We got on the bus and realized that it was the same woman who had driven us down to Newgale that morning, apparently she just does the whole coast. The towns definitely seem to have a personal feel; she seemed to know everyone she drove around.

We made it back to the hostel and promptly took showers, roasted in front of the fake fire, made pancakes and eggs for dinner, and passed out from exhausted satisfaction. What a great day.

Hiking the Pembrokeshire Coast: Day 1

Hello everyone,

We are now counting down the days until spring break! Though we have quite a bit of work due this week, that has not stopped us from squeezing in a bit of fun this past weekend. A bunch of us(Jackie, Kristie, Margaret, John, John Dow, and I) went hiking along the Pembrokeshire coastal path on the western coast of Wales just north of Swansea for those who know their Welsh geography. We set out on friday night, and no journey would be complete without a few travel mishaps. Ours happened to be a very late bus. Since we had a lot of connections, this did not bode well, but luckily, we made it to Haverfordwest basically on schedule. The only problem was the last bus from Haverfordwest to Fishguard, the town we were staying in, had already left.

I digress from the current story to tell you all something that I have come to realize about Wales: everyone is incredibly nice. I don't really know what it is, but people in Wales, especially in the countryside, are incredibly kindhearted and will go out of their way to help. This has happened to me on several occasions already, and it only continued this weekend, several times. Jackie had called our hostel earlier to tell the owner that we would be late, and he offered to come pick us up and drive us to the hostel! We could barely believe our luck, but sure enough, the hostel owner, Steve, came and picked us up and drove us the 20 minutes to Fishguard, which would have been an expensive cab ride. We arrived at the hostel with take out chinese food in tow, and were absolutely delighted to see that the hostel was practically a house that we had all to ourselves. It consisted of a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and three bedrooms, all for just the six of us. It was like we had rented a house. We pigged out on chinese food, went over our route for the next day, then played a rousing game of Cranium where Margaret demonstrated her ability to draw with her eyes closed, and no one could figure out that I was humming "I can't get no satisfaction."

The next day, we arose bright and early and set off on our 13 mile hike from Fishguard to Newport. The first part of the walk was easy and along paved road, with spectacular views. Soon the terrain got much more difficult, but the views remained beautiful. We passed by an old fort built outside of Fishguard to fight of pirates. This was just the first of many stories we would hear about the mysterious Pembrokeshire coast's rich history. The coastal path itself was truly beautiful. It took us very close to the sheer faces of the cliffs so that we could look over the edge at our own peril. The trail brought us down next to the water, then up very steep climbs to soaring views of the ocean. By the time we reached our lunch spot, we were tired already. We rested at a cute little cafe that seemed to have been built for tired hikers like us.

We set off again, climbing up a gradual slope to the highest point, Dinas Head, on the Dinas peninsula. We reached the highest point and had a beautiful view of the entire surrounding coast. It was truly awe inspiring, and we sat for awhile enjoying the ocean breeze before setting out on solo hikes. My solo hike was very lovely; I passed a couple with an adorable young puppy, and then got to talk to an elderly couple for ten minutes as I waited for the rest of the group. They were very friendly and told me all about the area, like the massive storm that wiped out an entire town, and a drug bust that occurred in Fishguard when smugglers bragged about hiding their wares in the caves around the town. When the rest of the group joined me, we continued on our walk and were delighted when we passed a field of horses. The horses were young and playful, and frolicked around following us as we walked. It gave us the energy for the last few miles when we finally trudged into Newport. We wandered around the town for a bit, then hopped on a bus back to Fishguard.

We all took turns taking hot showers, then went to the local pub that was apparently the site of the signing of the last treaty ending the British invasion way back in the day. We ate a ton and went to bed early, completely exhausted from a long but satisfying day of hiking.

Kayak Polo video for anyone curious

Caerphilly Castle and Ladies Day with the Cardiff Blues

Hello everyone,

I apologize if my blogging has fallen a bit to the wayside; as easter break approaches, the work has begun to rapidly increase, which I suppose is understandable.

This past weekend, Jackie and I went to the lovely Caerphilly castle, a mere 30 minute train ride away (I LOVE trains). This is one of the largest castles in the UK and is certainly a site to see. It has a wall within a wall within a wall structure that kept it very well protected from invading hoards. We wandered around the castle grounds for an hour or so, and then, to our surprise, it started to rain! Now, many of you may be thinking, doesn't it rain a lot in Wales? That is what they say, but we have been blessed with almost no rain at all. I can count on one hand the number of times it has rained here. Im looking out the window now at another blue sky day. Anyway, we sat out the rain while eating our packed lunches, then set out for a walk. A couple of weeks ago, we bought these great little guide books that have a number of short distance walks in the Cardiff area. Its nice to have, since Jackie and I love to hike so much, and Jackie is always in search of a nice view. We found some sort of trail, though it didnt quite match up with the one in the book. It didn't really matter; we had a nice walk around the woods, and even got to pet some cute horses.

On Sunday, I had lunch and wandered around downtown with Laura and Ken before meeting the rest of the group to go to a Cardiff Blues rugby match. We found a really awesome rugby paraphenalia store that had a bar where I got to eat the best welsh cake I have had so far. We met up with the rest of the group and took the shuttle to the stadium, where we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was Ladies Day! This meant that all the girls in the study group (of which there are A LOT) got 5 pound tickets instead of 10, and the Blues played in their away jerseys, which are pink. We were also very excited to sit in the section that was completely warmed by the sun (another perfectly blue sky day!). The game itself was very fun to watch, even though rugby is a lot more complicated any other sport I have ever watched. I have recently become quite a sports fan, and I really enjoyed rooting for the Blues, even though we lost.

Meet the Group Mondays! Featuring: Zora McGinnis

Hello everyone, sorry for the break in the Meet the Group Mondays, we are back this week with Zora! yipee!

Name: Zora McGinnis

Major: Marine Science (or something like that, sorry Zora feel free to clarify)

Likes: Sailing, all things Canadian, the ocean, rowing, board games, diatoms, theatre, watching hockey, her boyfriend John :)

Dislikes: diatoms, copious amounts of monotonous mail. besides that, I cant think of Zora saying she dislikes anything at all!

Interesting Facts about Zora:

Zora hails from Nova Scotia, Canada! Which means she grew up in a sailing culture. Apparently, working and sailing with a (somewhat) crazy guy doing harbor tours is a right of passage in Zora's family.

Canada is a bit wilder than New York. Zora says she's seen a lynx outside of her house, but the Canadian forest ranger guys deny the possibility. Zora has seen a ton of moose as well. Im jealous.

She used to date a curler, and now just happens to know a lot of interesting things about curling. She enjoys watching it, but likes watching hockey more. She really was good at not gloating too much when Canada beat the US this winter. Apparently it isn't appropriate to make a lot of noise during curling matches... you just might get kicked out.

One of her friends (who just visited) is a tree surgeon! Apparently he has boots that can stop a chainsaw.

Zora works at the mail center at Colgate. It must be somewhat interesting seeing what kinds of mail people get, but having to put in those little generic cards into every mailbox would be hell.

How I met Zora: Well isn't this the story of the ages! Zora, John (Zora's boyfriend) and I sailed across the pacific ocean together this past summer with SEA after spending 4 weeks training in Woods Hole. It was amazing and an experience we won't soon forget! We frequently reminisce about our adventures aboard the Bobby C. They did a project on..... diatoms!

St. David's Day with Sammi aka. tracking down the worlds fastest parade

My weekend got even better when I returned home and met up with Sammi Steinfeld, a long time friend visiting from the St. Andrews study group. We watched a movie then went out to dinner at an excellent Mexican place because apparently they dont have much Mexican in St. Andrews and Sammi was craving it. We then spent the evening catching up on each others lives and knitting; I felt a bit like an old lady (Sammy taught me how to knit last friday).

The next day, we met for breakfast and coffee, then dropped Sammy off at the library to do some work. Then Sammi and I went on an epic walk around Cardiff city center and Bute park . We went to the indoor market and wandered around there for awhile. They sell very weird things... old records, pet birds, fake flowers, wigs, used books. It is also the home of the crazy knitting lady, who I have now had contact with three times. Sammy had asked us to pick up some 12 mm knitting needles for some thick wool she bought, but the knitting lady had no idea what we were asking and frankly, we couldnt explain it to her. After that, we kept wandering through the city, talking about a wide range of topics from grandparents to homework assignments. It was a beautiful day for walking, and we definitely walked upwards of 5 miles.

We met up with Sammy, Laura and Casey at Baguettes and Bagels (one of our regular haunts where I got to try Quorn for the first time (mushroom goo that looks and tastes like chicken)). Then we chased down the St. Davids Day parade, which was a short but very cute parade that went through the city center. They had a mini horse and children dressed up in the Welsh National Costume singing W-A-L-E-S, our country is the best! They were adorable and everyone was bedecked in dafodills and leeks, which are national symbols of wales. It was cool to see such national pride, but it is likely that the kids were having such a good time because they had the day off school. After that, we sent Sammi on her way back to St. Andrews. It was amazing getting to spend time with her, and it is always so cool seeing people outside of the Colgate bubble.

That night, a few of us went to a St. David's Day concert, which was very enjoyable. There were several orchestral numbers, as well as a harpist who played brilliantly (Jackie loved that part). After the intermission, the choir joined in, which was absolutely amazing. There were at least 100 people in the choir, and it was breathtaking to hear so many voices combined. At the end, everyone in the concert hall sang the welsh national anthem, which was truly beautiful! All in all, it was a great day to experience all things welsh!

Kayak Polo Tournament aka. How to be REALLY REALLY COLD

Hello everyone,

I am sure you are all horribly disappointed that I didn't post a Meet the Group Monday. I apologize; its been a hectic weekend. Do not fear, the amazing-ness that is the Wales study group will be revealed in good time, one person at a time.

Anyhoo, this weekend, many members of the group took trips to exotic locales such as Geneva, Paris, and Dublin. I, on the other hand, took a trip to the not-so-exotic town of Taff Bargoed for the annual Kayak Polo Tournament hosted by Cardiff University's Canoe Club. I got a ride up with the team captain, Eira, and her boyfriend Dave. It was an amusing drive. Eira is Welsh and Dave is English, and they got into a small argument over which country is better. My opinion was sought and I sided with Eira; I have a warm place in my heart for Wales, obviously. I also pointed out that England has always picked on other countries. Dave pointed out that so does America. Touche.

We got a bit lost, but eventually found the campsite, which was about a mile up a steep, narrow twisty road in a farmers field. We set up camp then ran back into town to get Chinese take-away, which was delicious. Other teams from throughout the UK started to arrive and set up camp. Several groups had enormous tents, and we sat around together listening to France crush Wales in rugby. Other groups arrived and played Hot Car, which is a new phenomenon for me.. apparently, you turn the heat up in the car until it is unbearable. The first person to open the door to escape loses. An entire mini bus played the game and when they finally came out they were literally steaming. It was an odd sight. I felt like a tiny bit of a celebrity, since I made the tournament "international" and was wearing a hat with a toothpaste brand on it.

I slept well that night in a tent I shared with a nice freshman named Maria. We got up bright and early and headed down to the pitches, as the B team's first match was at 9:30. The Cardiff Canoe Polo club was split into three teams: the A team (all boys), the Ladies team, and the B team (girls and boys, mainly freshers). There were 9 people total on my B team. 4 boys, 5 girls. The tournament set up was very cool; we had three pitches set up on the lake, and the teams just hung around eating food and watching the matches, with time keepers and referees that were volunteers from each team. Our first game was atrocious. We blamed it on the cold; the water and air was so cold that it was hard to move your hands to paddle, and I was very grateful for my dry top (called a kag (sp?) in this country). We lost every single one of our five matches that day, but we had a great time and improved as the day wore on. The other teams we played against were primarily boys and a lot of them were big muscly boys. They all had fiberglass boats that allowed them to turn faster. A lot of times our goal was left entirely unprotected because we couldn't paddle back fast enough! Thankfully, the boys were good sports and even gave us pointers to improve our game. The Liverpool team was especially nice.

It was pretty amusing because a lot of people on my team don't know how to roll, which is an essential skill in kayak polo. There is a rule that states if you have the ball, the opposing team is allowed to push you over so you flip. Good players can hand roll up with the ball still in their possession; we clearly cannot do that. We had to ask politely for the other teams not to "bin" us as it is called, or if they did, to perform a T rescue so we could keep playing without swimming. Despite there precautions, people swam. I was binned once, and had to sub out because of brain freeze. At the end of the day, we were all frozen solid but content with our improved playing. I took a hot shower and headed back to the campsite to get ready for dinner and a party at a local pub.

The party was hilarious, to say the least. The theme was circus, and it seemed that only the Cardiff team really tried to dress up, though there were quite a few mimes and clowns in the crowd. The A team dressed up as strong men, the Ladies team dressed up as tigers, and the B team dressed up as..... bearded ladies. We looked fabulous, especially my one friend who looked like a cross-dressing Jesus. The party got raucous as the Bangor team consumed more alcohol, and there was a lot of mocarana dancing and congo lines. We were all pretty tired though, so we left early and fell asleep instantly after a long walk up the hill to the campsite.

The next morning, we packed up camp and headed down to the pitch for our last two games. We were particularly excited because we were playing University of London, which was as bad as we were so we had a fighting chance. The game was intense, and we played well and had great offense, even though our defense was slightly lacking. We won 1-0 and I almost scored a goal! The other team was really good natured as well and were happy to be playing against a team more on their level.

After that match, the weather turned for the worst. It started to rain and the wind started to blow, and I honestly can't remember ever being colder in my entire life! I spent another hour or so shivering, then got a ride to the train station so I could head home early and meet up with Sammi Steinfeld who was visiting from St. Andrews in Scotland. I felt bad leaving my team for their last match, but I was very VERY happy to get on a hot train whizzing me back to a hotter shower and hot food.

All in all though, it was a great time and it was really nice to feel like part of a team.