It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m in the hills of southern Wales. I’ve taken a break from my tour group. This morning I attended a local Baptist church in Carmarthen and heard a sermon presented by the pastor and children of the church. The sermon topic was Jesus’ compassion. The lesson was presented as a set of readings and dramatic sketches.
While traveling in Europe I think it is important to immerse yourself into the local culture. Attending a church service puts you at the heartbeat of the community. Here you find real people, assembling for a common goal. Try it!
After lunch at the college cafeteria I visited the laundr-o-mat to give my clothes a well deserved treat of a machine wash and dry. (Those of you who have traveled know the chore of continuous hand washing in the hotel sink). It took about an hour to do my wash, then I was on the road heading back to my hotel. I missed my turning off spot in the round-a-bout and decided to take an alternate route. I had planned on going down the road a bit, finding a place to turn around, go back to the round-a-bout and return to my room, but the road quickly took me out of town and before I knew it I was in the countryside.
Today, being headed in the wrong direction wasn’t a bad thing. I had nothing to do and all afternoon free. I had my Ordinance Survey map of the area, backpack loaded with just purchased snacks, and plenty of petrol in the van. So off I went to find what lie in the distance hills.
Picture the blue haze of the Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee. Endless hill upon hill blanketed in a violet blue haze. This reminds me of the gently sloping mountains in the distance. In the near distance is the yellowish-green hue of rolling pasture offset every half-mile or so by the dark evergreen trees and hedgerows. Dotting these pastures are the white specks of sheep grazing contently. As the view draws near me more detail appears.
The pastures turns into roughly scattered patches of grass interspersed with large green weeds somewhat resembling bullrushes which grow in our marsh land in Florida. Scattered about are large pieces of sheep’s wool which have either fallen off the animals, or are the remains scattered to the four corners from the clipping area half a mile down the road.
This is a remote and far away land from London which I fly into just two days ago. Getting away from the crowd and experiencing a little time alone in the mountains is a great way to recharge your tourist batteries. No matter where you travel there is always places like the hills of Wales in which to seek refuge.
Be an explorer, venture out and find new places!