Safe Return Doubtful

Two fine days here wandering in the Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly know as the Brecon Beacons, though today a storm is moving through.

The locals here seem not too pleased about the name change, because it is complete, or ‘formerly known as’.. They point out that Eryri National Park is ‘also known as’, rather than ‘formerly’, known as Snowdonia. Tourist related industry fears the name is unfamiliar to people. 

This morning I set off on a variation of the route I have taken in the last two days, in full waterproofs as the rain was at first sporadic, but soon heavy, and then set in for the day, along with a 40 – 60 miles per hour gusting wind.

I was just off the top of the ascent to the ridge when I passed a woman coming in the other direction. I’ve passed her on both of the other two days on what seemed her daily amble. I’ve said hello also, though been ignored; that happens of course, but usually just makes me keener on the following occasion to get an acknowledgment from the person.

At my two rapid glances I estimated her to be a few years older than me, though she looked a regular walker and seemed like a local. This morning she at least looked back at me, and when she did so she looked windswept, exhausted.. mind you, who wouldn’t be in the gale and rain into which she was headed. I watched her for a minute as she continued. She sat on a rock as I moved slowly further away along the ridge, walking or being blown along with the wind. Maybe she was taking in the view, though that was only of cloud and battering rain. Rather than continue, and with a degree of concern, I went back to ask if she was okay.

She wasn’t it materialised. She was breathless and only spoke a few words. After some deliberation I offered to walk down, the way I had come up, with her, back to the road. It wasn’t hard to abandon the ridge on such a wild morning.

At the road it turned out her house was only another fifteen minutes though in the opposite direction to the way I had come. I walked with her, and she was now a little more chatty, and grateful for my escort. At her house, which seemed like an old farm cottage, she insisted I came in for coffee. 

She lived alone. She had run her land as a sheep farm most of her life along with her sister, but after their sister moved out some years ago, and after that she rented the land to other local farmers. Over the years I’ve been in several farm cottages owned by older people, and they are all quite quirky, not particularly cosy or welcoming, and this was certainly the case here; from the three dead rabbits in the outdoor porch awaiting the pan, to a pervading damp smell throughout and a sense the place hadn’t been decently cleaned for a long while. In the corner of the kitchen a pitchfork looked out of place, and somewhat worrying. In the exposed beams symbols, like graffiti, were carved, though I didn’t have a chance to see them closely. We had coffee from the ancient Aga stove, or rather a cup of darkened water as it tasted of nothing. She offered me a bowl of rabbit stew, which I politely turned down before leaving. 

On my return to Llangorse I mentioned the incident to the manager of the activity centre, thinking that he would know the lady, but he didn’t. He did say he would make a call though, as he thought others in the community might. 

I will move on tomorrow after a very pleasant week here at Llangorse. I am headed to Hawford, near to Worcester, for the weekend, where I will see Tom and Charlie and their two children, who I know from working together in Chile. We will, bravely, watch the last round of the Six Nations together; we may need each other’s support.. Then I will return to Wales, by way of Hay on Wye, where I plan to rummage through a few second hand book stores for a few hours. I’ll spend time then in the hills of mid-Wales and then onto Eryri and the Llyn peninsula before work starts in Shap. New Ing is a building site at present as the new house build has taken longer than planned. The hope is that it will be finished before the hiking season starts in mid-April. Until then I will stay clear, as I would just be an additional driveway obstacle on an already chaotic site.

Returning to Shap will hopefully coincide with the guy who built my van returning to his workshop in Witherslack, from Utah where he spends the winter, as I have a number of jobs that need to be done; the fridge and roof fan are not functioning which I have mentioned before, and a full service of the heater which is faltering, and I haven’t been able to use for a while. Another van expense.. and it seems it has cost me a lot recently, but a necessary one. 

It is usually at this stage of a course, the latter days, when my attention turns to the next one. Whether I go to Shetland or not in July and August will depend on my managing the new puppy and his progress, but I am hoping for sure, that he will be ready for a longer course towards the end of September. 

With that in mind, I received an interesting proposition yesterday. I watched the sun go down in Merzouga in the Sahara desert with an Austrian woman in December. She was about my age, travelling with her partner, though they spent time apart as they had different interests. She and I had plenty in common and we exchanged details. She is living and has just started a renovation on the ruins of an old monastery in the Accursed mountains in Albania. She wants someone to ‘house sit’, though there is no house, next winter for three months. Remembering that I wrestled with my days in and out of Schengen she had thought of me. We are therefore in touch, and I am in the process of finding out more information. The site, it seems, is extremely isolated, and off-grid, though they have a small generator. They live in a basic caravan when they are there, which is about half of the year, and certainly not next December, January and February. They have some animals, a cow, hens and a dog, which need looking after. They also have mulberry bushes, from which they have already made a batch of rakia that was apparently, very good; the bushes will need tending and pruning. Some of the work would be paid, a few hours a week, though in Lek, and at the basic local rate. There is a village a few kilometres away, but as yet they are not finding the locals very friendly.. another challenge..

It seems an ideal opportunity for me, and would enable me to be away for six months, or even more, as those Baltic countries (including Kosovo and Montenegro with their borders very close) are not in the Schengen area. So more on that to come..