When living on the edge isn't enough...

Exhibit A: Me, flying through the air. Europe, what have you done?

Last weekend I did just about the best thing I have done during the entire summer--and probably most of my life. The program I'm with in London organizes optional outings for us that you had to pay and sign up for at the beginning of the term; one of these outings was a 3-day, 2-night trip to Wales, in a place called Pembrokeshire, Britain's only coastal national park.

The trip was called the "Adventure Weekend," and it was with a company called Preseli Venture that owns the lodge and supplies the equipment, instructors, etc.

The train left Friday at about 2pm; we got to Preseli at around 7 (after a bus picked us up from the train station.)

The lodge was AWESOME. It was like 100% eco-friendly, all the meals were home-cooked, the beds were super cozy, the scenery was beautiful... I seriously did not want to leave. They made us veggie lasagne the first night, with salad and apple pie. Yummmm.

So that first night we just played games in the common area (there was a bar there too--that wasn't included in the weekend cost, though, haha.) I took a shower in their sweet bathrooms. The showers had those push-button taps that you see in public restrooms a lot that shut themselves off after 20-30 seconds so you don't waste water. But the nice thing is this saves the hot water (which was heated by solar power) so everyone gets some. Very cool.

Oh, side note, in addition to the group from my program, FIE, that was there, there were about 8 kids from FSU! What a coincidence. I could feel their jealous stares while I was wearing my Gator sweatshirt at breakfast.

Saturday morning we were broken into groups based on which activities we had signed up to do. My first one was hiking. They drove us to the coastal trail, where I and 8 others went on a 7-mile hike. It was really gorgeous, but there was sheep poo everywhere. Luckily, though, this means there were also sheep, and I do love sheep. They are adorable!

My friend the sheep.

After getting covered in dirt my shoes (and the bottoms of the only pair of pants I brought) were disgusting. I tried to rinse them off outside, but it was sort of futile. So I stuck them in an inconspicuous place to dry out a bit.

We had lunch, then put bathing suits on for kayaking, the afternoon activity. Kayaking involves so much gear! Swim suit, rash guard, "long john" wetsuit (which is like wetsuit overalls), cagoule (like a waterproof windbreaker thing), wetsuit boots, "buoyancy aid" (the British term for life jacket), helmet, and this weird plastic-y sleeve thing you fasten around your chest that stretches around the opening to your kayak to keep the water out.

It had started to drizzle by this point, and it was pretty cold rain (Wales was like 65F degrees the whole time we were there ). The two instructors, Dean and Bramble (yes, his real name. Yes, he was a white guy with dreads, and yes, he was hilarious.) taught us how to get in and out of the kayak (on land), what to do if we capsize, how to hold the paddle, etc. Then we loaded the kayaks onto the trailer, hopped in the van and drove to a little fishing inlet.

Kayaking was so fun! It was kind of hard, but I have OK upper body strength so I did fine. I mean, I can't do a pull-up or a push-up, but I am pretty strong. Once we left the different lagoons, though, the wind and surf were really strong so it got tougher to paddle and actually get anywhere. It was raining the whole time, but this wasn't so bad when we were in the water. The wetsuit and kayak keep you pretty well insulated. We explored some of the coast and played kayak-polo with a tennis ball.

Getting out of the kayaks was terrible, as we weren't allowed on the bus until we took all our wet gear off. This means there were eight girls running around trying to take off wetsuits as fast as they could so they could hop in a van to put on dry clothes. Awkward. Luckily I brought my rain jacket and some yoga pants, so I just put those on over my swim suit instead of attempting to change under my towel. Then it was back to the lodge for delicious dinner (chickpea curry and naan! They made vegetarian for me!) and sleeeeeep.

Sunday morning was, by far, the best. It was sunshiny and beautiful, and I was going COASTEERING! Which is basically using the ocean as a playground--swimming in the sea, climbing up the rocks, jumping into the water from high cliffs...

Action shot! I look so graceful, and yet so spastic at the same time.

I don't think many people know this about me, but I love to jump off of things. I don't know what it is, I just always have. Especially diving boards. I can dive OK, but I really just love the jumping part.

Anyway, we got suited up again, this time in regular wetsuits (with sneakers on over the wetsuit socks) with life jackets and helmets. My wetsuit that day fit much better, and it had butterflies on it, so I was happy.

Let me say this: You might think you are a relatively in-shape person. But until you put on a wetsuit you have not really seen your own body. It will make you look all at once muscular, flabby, short-legged and droopy-crotched. And if you are attempting to put on a damp wetsuit, well, good luck. Those things shrink up like nobody's business. It is definitely an experience.

Anyway, coasteering. IT IS AWESOME. I want to go again and again and again, as many times as I possibly can in my life. I jumped off of all the places we could, including one that was over 50 feet high! I was first in line to attempt everything--I was so proud of myself. My swimming skills definitely could be improved, but I did alright in that department. But my height came in handy again when we were climbing up rocks. Long legs for the win.

Ooooh, yeah, makin' the wetsuit look gooooood.

Bramble was one of our instructors again (I think he liked having the all-girl group), along with a very tall, skinny dude named Tommy who did backflips off the cliff. Bramble did belly-flops.

Sadly, after doing that, it was time to go back to the lodge for lunch then catch the train home. I was so sad to leave. I mean, I love London, there is so much to do, but I think I could spend a few weeks in Pembrokeshire trying out more crazy stuff (they also offered surfing and mountain biking.)

Kelsi was the only other person from UF who went on the trip, and I was definitely glad to be there with someone I know. I think we were both relieved to have a weekend away from the dorms. And it was nice to try something different! Kelsi was a great person to go with as she's generally enthusiastic about trying new stuff instead of just asking where the bar is.

So now I am nursing bruises on both my shins; they look extreme, but only hurt a little bit. I just hope they fade soon so I can wear shorts again.

Europe is still great; still miss home.

Love,
Amy