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JOURNAL & GALLERY of ADVENTURE ENTRY #2
You will see lots of cool 'tourist style' pictures. Special thanks to Phil Cheung. He is a professional photographer that accompanied the group I was with (32 CBG Cambrian Patrol Team), and his pictures are amazing. Check out his site for more like it. I departed on 21 Oct 06 and returned on the 31st. When we (the team) arrived in Cardiff, it was raining nice and hard for us. We loaded up, and were dropped off at Sennybridge, where we would be accommodated for the duration of our visit. We were graciously hosted by 3 Royal Welsh, who made us feel right at home.
One of the first things we did after settling in was head back to Cardiff, this time for some exploring and sight-seeing. We took a tour of the Millennium Stadium and Castle Cardiff. The Millennium Stadium is very well built, but in my opinion the Castle has it beat. It's been around for over 2000 years. Not bad huh?
In the days leading up to the patrol, the team learnt how to use British radios and weapons, 'tabbed' around the training area to get an idea of what the hills were like, and sorted out equipment. The food served at the mess hall was atrociously horrible. Deep fried french toast showed up in every single breakfast. I had a tough time over that. I ended up eating a LOT of Organic Food Bars that I brought over. The shacks we were staying in were average, though they lacked lockers. The best part about Wales is the view. Hills, hills, everywhere. The climate and geography are very dynamic and lush. Little waterfalls are present throughout the hills, kept supplied by frequent showerings. And then there are the SHEEP! Sheep everywhere you look. Low, high, in spaces wide or tight, we found em. The only thing that kept them remotely contained were the hedges, some of which were 3' deep and 8' high!
Since I was a spare on the team (aka "Bench-warmer"), I ended up doing more sitting-quietly-and-waiting than anything else. After the team finished the patrol, we still had 2 more days in Wales, so I headed for the highest hill in Brecon I could find. The view as you'll see was quite grand.
This little jaunt concluded my trip to Wales. Following a long (7 hrs. +) flight home, I was back to slightly dryer but colder conditions. And flatter too.
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This was my first time stepping foot outside of North America. Before this, the farthest I had been from 'home' was Tampa, Florida in January '06. The plane flight was 7 hours to Amsterdam, then another 1.5 to Cardiff. The context of this trip was outside of what I do while roaming and training in the Canadian wilderness, so you won't see pictures of me starting fires and building shelters.
