Day 7 & 8- Plas Caerdeon, Wales

Day 7

A handful of us embarked on an all day hike up Cader Idris. It is one of the most popular mountains in Wales. It is about 2,400ft above sea level and a 6 mile hike round trip. Little did we know, it was a very sharp incline all the way on on loose rocks. I have never done a hike in my life so this was actually so hard. Luckily we stopped frequently for snacks and water to keep our energy up. It took us about 3.5 hours to the summit and then about 2 hours back down. It was the most beautiful view at the top. We could see for what seemed like forever.

There was also a big race going on while we were climbing up. There were runners going past us so quickly we had to make sure we stayed out of their way. By the time we made it to the summit we heard them call out that the first runner had crossed the finish line and made it in just about one and a half hours... that's from town, up to the summit and back down into town. It was insane.

That night we got home around 5:30pm, had dinner and most of us crashed by 8/9:00.

Day 8

This morning we got up and packed before we went to breakfast. We were leaving Plas Caerdeon right after lunch, so that meant after breakfast we had time for one more activity. Some people chose to go into town and see the beach, but a group of eight of us decided to go kayaking in the river that runs through the valley into the ocean. We suited up with wetsuits, rain jackets, life jackets, and helmets and headed for the river. On our way there, there was some construction and the traffic light was broken (red on both sides) so our guide, Richard, put the van in park and ran down to direct traffic. Once he got the traffic moving we were back on track for the river.

Once we were in the water Richard made us weave back and forth under the toll bridge and then we started a game. We were split into two teams, each with a goalie- who was also the goal. The object of the game was to get the ball into the kayak of the other teams' goalie. We were doing pretty well until we lost the ball and the game was tied 2-2. We were about to score the game winning point when the other teams' goalie flipped over and fell into the water. Richard jokingly said, "was that a point?" and then ended the game saying his team was the winning team. (It reminded me of when we play skittle skittle battle at camp and we always say that Jesus wins instead of picking a winning team lol)

We went up the river a little ways and practiced standing up on our kayaks and then we raced back to shore. Richard said that the last person to the buoy had to buy beers for everyone at the hotel tonight so you can bet it wasn't going to be me coming in last. (Although I did hit a sandbar and lose my place in second. I came in in fourth so it wasn't too bad)

After lunch, we packed the bus and headed to Crickhowell where we are staying for tonight. This is another manor hotel, but its not like the last one... They lost our dinner orders so half of us had to reorder. Then they did not serve us any water with our dinner and somehow didn't have enough chicken for how many people ordered it? Dessert was a confusing mess and they "ran out" of what they offered us so we had to choose other things. The lock on the door to our room doesn't actually work, so we are propping it shut with an ironing board so that no one can get in. They also overbooked themselves and didn't have room for our driver so some faculty had to share a room so he had somewhere to stay. On the bright side we were very excited to learn there is a pool here, but it costs eight pounds to swim.. Good thing we are only here for one night 😅. I promise we are safe mom, there's a whole field of sheep surrounding our hotel.

Tomorrow we leave for Bath where we will be for the next few days in a real hotel, hopefully the doors will lock!