1,2,3 strokes of good fortune.

Stroke 1 - We woke up early in Abergynolwyn to catch the bus to Machynlleth around 0935. Andrew gave us a lift to the end of the valley where the bus passes through on the main road. It only stops if you are there to wave it down, and if the driver sees you. One bus whizzed by at 0925 and didn't see us because there was a large truck next to it blocking the drivers view. Heidi began to panic. I could tell she was thinking this whole idea about waving a bus down was impossible and never gonna work. Andrew thought this bus couldn't have been the correct one, so we waited another 10 minutes. 0935 came by and no bus yet. Heidi's world was coming to an end. :) Then at 0938 or so the correct bus came, we waved it down, and we got on with no problems. Then the clouds parted and the sun shined on Heidi's world again.

Stroke 2 - We arrived in Mach (Machynlleth) and went to the cash machine. I was almost out of cash and we'd need more for the buses to Kington, England. Money is going fast in the UK and we fear we may not make our 1 lap around the earth. Then we stopped in the cafe which is supported by CAT, mentioned yesterday. After we checked our emails and had a coffee we determined that we'd try to ride our thumbs again to Kington so we could save some cash.  We walked to the edge of town and thumbed for a while.  After around 15 or 20 minutes went by, a nice older man named Derek picked us up and said he could take us to the main road which leads to the next town.  That road was right on the way to where we were headed.  We waited at this location for around 20 minutes.  I was enjoying the local Royal Air Force fly-overs.  Then a little red car came by and honked at us wile pulling over up ahead a bit. A very nice lady, Lady Chatterley, Dot or Dorothy to be exact, stepped out of the car and motioned us to get in. The driver was her husband Mike.  They were on their way home from an appointment and going through Newtown, which is where we planned to catch a bus to Kington. We had a great drive through the hills and corners and I was starting think maybe Mike was a former F1 driver, I was really enjoying it. We also talked about politics, health care, all kinds of stuff, it was great. It seems the English have some of the same frustrations Americans do.

 

We made it to Newtown and Dot took us into the information center/bus station to find us the best way to Kington. She was very thorough and wanted to be certain she could get us on our way correctly. She treated us as though we were her own kids. After phoning the help line, talking to the help desk, etc., she decided that there is no decent way for us to go. So we get back into the F1... I mean car, and we were all back on the road again. Mike and Dot had decided to take us to the next town, Knighton. Before leaving town Dot asked if we'd mind stopping by the store for some groceries. Well not at all, we picked up some snacks and were on our way. On this scenic and twisty drive, Dot had to wee, so we stopped at one of their friends houses on the way. Then Dot took Heidi and started to walk off to some secret location, I started to go with, but Dot said "No, you stay here, this isn't for you" Mike informed me it was a hat shop.  Dot was right. I eventually did see the hats because I figured Heidi would want pictures, so I grabbed the camera and took some pics. Then off we went to our drop location in Knighton. We arrived in Knighton and we were determining where make our exit. Mike saw the sign that indicated 13m to Kington, so he said "Sod it, we're going to Kington". So Mike and Dot took us all the way to Kington, completely out of their way. The generosity was overwhelming. Thanks again Mike and Dot!

Once unloaded in Kington, we were way ahead of schedule. Our next host was expecting us in the evening, it was about 1430. So once again we found a cafe and had some tea. We spent a couple hours updating this blog then took off down the street on the way to our host, Lisa's home. The walk was nice, only a mile or so to the house. We were somewhat confused as they didn't use house numbers, only a house name. We finally found it (so we thought) as we walked up the drive to the front of the house. The front door was wide open, so I knocked and a woman came out and informed us the house we are looking for is the next one up the road...on we went. That's strike 2 for google maps, which said this was the right house.

Stroke 3 - Portway, right on the gate, a long drive and beautiful 3 story home ahead. Large green fields, trees, bushes, flowers, a garden - everything I imagined a vacation home would be. This can't be right I thought...but it was. Lisa saw us walking up the road, and she came out to welcome us in. From the moment we stepped through the door we felt comfortable and thankful for so many blessings. We had some snacks, ate some fresh picked berries and went for a long walk in the country. Once we got back Lisa prepared a feast for us. It felt like we were at a 5 star hotel. After eating and chatting for a couple hours, it was time to sleep. Lights out.

Less is More

Machynlleth, Wales and the Center for Alternative Technology – Tuesday, June 28

We woke up early and got ready for a half-hour drive into Machynlleth, Wales, which is where the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT) is located.  CAT is known as Europe’s leading Eco Center, featuring several environmentally-friendly gems from the water-balanced cliff railway to super deluxe compost toilet. 

 This was taken at the top of the water-balanced cliff railway:

The inception of CAT started in 1974 by Gerard Morgan-Grenville whose mission was to teach people, by example, how to reduce their impact on the environment by living more ecologically.  

After 30 years, CAT has continued to grow into an educational hub that employs more than 100 people and has hosted approximately two million visitors throughout the world.  CAT is also home to the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE), which is an environmental graduate school for people wanting to practice a more efficient way of living.

Every exhibition throughout the Center is built with low-energy consuming materials such as slate waste, hemp, timber, earth, hay and recycled paper to name a few.  CAT receives power via wind, water, the big fireball in the sky and other natural forces.  The café, which is very inexpensive, has been accredited by Taste of Wales, and serves healthy naturally grown food.  

There are twenty exhibit stations throughout CAT, and each one teaches the visitor while demonstrating a sustainable approach to common practices such as heating water, using electricity, eating, food production, construction, waste management, etc.  CAT also caters to younger generations by adding attractions like the composting worm slide, the mole hole and the adventure playground.  The £7.50 entrance fee was well worth the learning experience and inspiration.

Kale rather enjoyed the composting worm slide...

Below is a poem we found in CAT’s summer publication 2010:

Less is More

By Matt Harvey

Can less be more, can more be less?

Well, yes and no, and no and yes

Well, more or less…

More bikes, fewer cars

Less haze, more stars

Less haste, more time

Less reason, more rhyme

More time, less stress

Fewer miles, more fresh (vegetables)

Fewer car parks, more acres of available urban soil

More farmers’ markets, less produce effectively marinated in crude oil

Less coloring, more taste

More mashing, less waste

Fewer couch potatoes, more spring greens

Fewer tired tomatoes, more runner beans

More stillness, less inertia

Less illness, more Echinacea

More community, less isolation

Less just sitting there, more participation!

More wells (not oil ones, obviously), fewer ills

Fewer clean fingernails, more skills

More co-operation, less compliancy

Less complacency, more self-reliancy

Less competition, more collaboration

Less passive listening, more participation!

Less attention defic…, more concentration

Less passive listening, more participation!

(Less repetition)

Less of a warm globe, more a chilly’un

More of a wise world, at least 34 fewer parts of C02 per million

Less stress-related cardio-vascular and pulmonary failure

More nurturing quality time in the company of a favorite clematis or dahlia

More craftsmanship, less built in obsolescence

More political maturity, less apparently-consequence-free extended adolescence

More believed-to-be-beautiful, known-to-be-useful things

Less cheap, pointless, petroleum-steeped stuff.

So Yes, less is more – and enough’s enough.

Caernarfon to Abergynolwyn - Say it three times real fast!

Abergynolwyn, Wales – Monday, June 27

Kale and I said good-bye to Gwen, and Kale also said good-bye to his pink slippers that Gwen let him borrow...

We made the trip down Gwen's windy country road, and stopped in Caernarfon, which is a small town that is located within the wall of Caernarfon Castle.  

After a few traffic jams and missing our stop, we arrived in the small village of Abergynolwyn around 5 pm, and walked to where we’re staying.  

This very green village has only one pub, and one café.  It is also surrounded by beautiful green mountains. 

We chatted a bit with Andrew, our host who made us a great veggie stir fry dinner with quinoa and black-eyed peas.  After that we took a walk around the village and ended up in the pub for a drink.  Looking forward to a fun day tomorrowJ  

Snowdonia and Sunshine!!

Snowdonia Mountain Hike – Sunday, June 26, 201 - So there was good news and bad news on this day.  The bad news was Kale hiccuped all night long, and still felt like crap, and was still hiccuping in the morning.  The good news was the weather forecast said the only risk for hikers might be a sunburn!  WAHOO!  The sun had finally decided to come outJ  After having breakfast outside (in the sun) we got ready for a long day of hiking.  We hiked Snowdonia, which was amazing, but Kale hiccupped the entire way up.  I felt bad for him, and was irritated by the constant sound of hiccups at the same time.  It was beautiful, sunny, hot, then cold and cloudy as we climbed higher and higher.  We saw lots of sheep.

 Here's Gwen - our gracious hostess, tour guide and Sherpa:)

 This is the Menai Bridge where we saw the chain of bras:

After the hike we went to a local farmers’ market.  It was set up in a tent.  Strawberries are in season here right now, so they gave us a basket and let us pick our own Strawberries.  Best strawberries I have ever eaten!  

We got home and Kale was still hiccuping so he decided to take a nap.  I decided to rest a bit, too.  When we woke up we made dinner and enjoyed our last evening with Gwen. She was our first Servas host and will be very fondly remembered:)  THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, GWEN!