Just call me Indiana Deb

I am in Cardiff. The sun is shining, the weather is warm... I might even have gotten a little bit of sunburn today – or it might just be wishful thinking – who knows! I have been keeping myself busy for the last few days doing this and that. But the thing that I am most proud of is my spur of the moment decision to go Cave climbing and abseiling in an old slate mine. I was up in Pen Y Pass when I made this decision. I had rolled on up... hmmm... possibly an exaggeration there. Pen Y Pass hostel is quite literally on the side of Snowdon Mountain, so it would be fair to say I drove tentatively and with the desperate hope that my car wouldn’t decide now would be the moment to conk out – no rolling. Anyway, I got to the hostel and was absolutely stunned that nothing else was there except for the hostel, a small cafe the hikers use and the car park. That was it. No reception for phones, no internet. It was an interesting start. When I first pulled in I was told that check in was 5pm so, I jumped back in the car as it was only 1.30pm and headed down the hill to the Snowdon town. Parking is very expensive, I think, but I suppose hikers who are out all day wouldn’t mind so much but I was only there for a few hours and it set me back 6 pounds. So, I parked up and headed over to the train to see when the next one was leaving. These trains are old-school, Victorian designs, used to haul people up to the summit of Snowdon Mountain. It is convenient for me as I didn’t have 7 hours handy to climb up and down the mountain. I have seen enough news events back home to know that a) one does not set off to climb a mountain in the afternoon when it takes 7 hours (if you are super fit), 2) one does not set off to climb the mountain without adequate resources, maps etc and 3) one does not set off to climb a mountain without telling someone. I refused to be that stupid tourist that we always see back home that went up and got stuck on the hill and mountain rescue had to go and get. So instead I paid my ridiculously high fee of 27 pounds.

The train boarded at 2pm and the ride takes an hour up. It clunked and creaked, carting around 80 of us slowly up the mountainside. The views were spectacular, as you can imagine. Gorges rose up before us but as we continued to climb they were slowly drawn down below us and we could see into them. Again, I met some rather dower older people complaining. It seems to be a bit of a theme while I am travelling at the moment. The older generation seems to be really discontented with everyone who is not them basically and nothing is good enough and not like the old days... blah blah blah.... ugh! In the words of the angry, barely able to understand, teenagers here ‘It’s doing my head in!’ Eventually we reached the top and it was bitterly cold. I stepped off the train and into the biting wind. I looked at some of the people and really had to wonder what was going through their heads when they made the call to go up the mountain because, here I was in proper mountain jacket and water and wind proof pants and there they were, with light cardigans or wraps – oh and my favourite, babies! Who does that! Who brings their baby up a mountain wearing summer gear and a jumper. It made me mad to see that. Common sense is apparently lacking with some people. I walked up the last few feet to the very summit of Mt Snowdon and stood in awe of the sight laid out before me. I could see out to sea, almost to Ireland, I could see across the skies to England too. I was told later that I was very, very lucky because a lot of people who climb Snowdon end up not seeing a thing as the mist rolls in. I think because it was so damned windy, the clouds were blown clear.

As you can see in the picture, I was a little shocked by the cold. I deemed it necessary to go ninja, with only my eyes peaking out because I could barely breath through the freezing winds. Satisfied that I had seen the top of the mountain, I had taken obligatory photos, and was suitably cold, it was time to head back to the hostel where a hot meal was ordered, a wine was nursed, and a warm room waited. The next morning, having see the advertisement for this underground caving, I gave a call, booked a place and headed out to the meeting point. As you know, or maybe not, I have never, ever done anything like this before. I mean, sure I have abseiled and rock climbed – who hasn’t at their school camps – but I had never said to myself, ‘You know what would be fun, to go deep under the earth and abseil into pitch darkness or climb the walls of a mine over a vast, freezing lake with only a little head light’. But it appealed to me right then and so I did it. I kitted up. I looked very sexy in my wet weather pants, gumboots, jacket and hardhat – fashion statement I was not. There were only three of us going, so we jumped in the back of the truck and headed off to the start point.

First issue was the truck ride itself. It was in the back of flatbed truck with canvas roof and seats along the sides like the old army vehicles. I was quite keen to jump in because it always looked like fun. Turns out it is also really, really bumpy. I had to keep my eyes up and out the front window because it made me feel quite sick but the two others with me were really chatty so I had to keep looking at them. It was a bit hit and miss for a while there. We jumped out at the base of an old slate mine. It was abandoned in the 60s but had been in operation for around 100-150 years. It was very remote with only a small strip of houses remaining of what would have been a lot more in its heyday. We hiked up hill for around 25 minutes and then the real adventure began. Lights were switched on the helmets. Then we had to go was crawl on hands and knees along the rocky and trickling river, and through a small gate in an otherwise locked up mine entrance. I was the first one through, proud to say. Then we were off. The guide hoofed off into the distance and said to us: take your time, watch your feet. It was such a thrilling start, ankle deep in running water, the old following the old rail tracks, leaving the light behind and becoming solely reliant on the small LED on the helmet to guide the way. It was humbling to think about the miners having to do that day in and out. The tracks led on for around 80 feet (so the guide said) but when you can’t see the end, can’t see more than a few steps ahead, it seems endless.

At the end of the tracks was a boat over a very deep, flooded, drainage hole that had been created to divert the river. It was incredibly deep and cold. We jumped in and began to paddle across the cavern to the other side. Next we headed deeper into the mine and it was time to do some climbing practice in the play area. My first real challenge and I won’t lie. I was more than a little nervous. I could feel the adrenalin pumping and the mind saying NOOOOOO! But another part saying, if you can do this, you can do it all. It seems to be a mantra for me this trip. I don’t want to regret not doing things. I don’t want to come out at the end of the year and say, ‘I really wish I had done that’. So a deep breath, letting the other two go first, I slowly made my way out. I had a brief moment of what I like to refer to as Dad genes which is when you see someone else do it and you have to try and beat them. It was a stupid moment to have a ‘Dad genes’ moment and it quickly came to an end when I was stuck, clinging to the side of the rock face above a freezing lake, saying in a tiny little voice ‘Help.’ John and Lucy, who had just done it, coached me on where to stick my food around the corner. Yes, AROUND the corner. I couldn’t see around the corner, hence my problem and death grip on the rope and rocks. Once safely back on flat ground I had a completely vapid moment where I thought, I kid you not, I hope I didn’t break a nail. This was swiftly followed up with a mental kick to myself. I had just, in my head, climbed Mt Everest and I was worried about my fingers. But I was so pumped full of adrenalin and shaking I think it was a defence mechanism to focus on the mundane.
I really thought, that was it, that I had finished the climbing for now but then we had to do it in reverse. When the guide first said that, I thought, ‘Or not’ but then again, ‘No regrets’, and so I did it, twice more. We also had a go at postman walking which is where you have two ropes, one at your feet over the lake and the other at shoulder height and you shuffle across. We also had a few goes at zip lines. First time I zip lined, I got 2/3 of the way and stopped so had to pull myself the rest of the way up. Next time I got 3/4 of the way. I was so close, my feet were practically there, so with a little pull, I did it. Woohoo! It was then time to head into the mines proper.

Over the next two hours, I climbed three stories up and across to the cave’s roof and then abseiled down into the pitch black, all the way down into the heart of the mine. Next we climbed up a hill of slate, crawling through a hole at the top and walked up fast flowing underground river. Keep in mind this is all down in near darkness. We had a break in a section of the mines where we could go off and explore without fear of being lost. Next we climbed up a mini waterfall. The guide made us turn our backs so we couldn’t see how he did it, then we had a go. It was my turn to go first again and when you got to the top I had a crawl through another hole. The last thing we did was to climb a ladder made of rungs that were stuck in the cave walls. High above was light and sky. We were climbing up an air vent. I had a few small issues on that last part because my legs wouldn’t quite reach some of the rungs and I really had to stretch (ie grab my foot and force it higher than it would go naturally) but I got there. Throughout the whole experience we had what is called a cow-tail harness and I think that helped a lot. A cow tail is where your harness has two carabineers and ropes so every time you move forward you take one off and connect it to the next section before taking off the second one, so that you are always attached to something. Finally we reached day light and I was stunned at how far up we were, practically at the top of the hill. We made our way back down which took around 30 minutes at a dawdle. We were knackered and stopped to take photos of the abandoned buildings that use to be the miners houses etc. All up we were out adventuring for 5 hours – 4 of which were under the ground. Still can’t believe I did it. I was so tired but exhilarated. I headed back to my car, stripped off the wet gear, got some dry socks on then headed down to the next hostel at Kings YHA. I grabbed a meal and then I slept like a log. Absolutely and utterly knackered.

Everything after that pales really. I spent the next morning at Powis Castle and gardens which were beautiful. It was a good chance for me to stretch my muscles because to be fair, my body and mind learnt that morning that it had muscle that had previously been dormant – it was not a happy body but it was a good ache that says you did something good before driving on to Brecon YHA. I was in no hurry and neither was my body. Oh, but I did encounter another grumpy old mare. This one was a real shocker. She went to sleep at around 9.30pm, so I sat in the dark with my lap top on, before eventually calling it quits. Just after midnight another girl arrived and the old mare went nuts. She told the poor girl that she shouldn’t be arriving at this time of night and that she should have gone somewhere else. I told the girl that it was fine, and she could turn the light on then I shut my eyes and tried to sleep. The girl left the room to change and switched the light off and the old mare started grumping at me about how rude it was, and she had paid for her bed. Yeah, and so had I and so had the other girl. Grrrr. This was going through my head as I lay quietly pretending to sleep, when what do I see but a flashing before my shut eyes. Bloody grump had a flashlight and was shining it at me repeatedly to see if I was awake. Nope, sorry, pretending to sleep over here. Next morning, after the young girl had left she continued her grumping and I said to her that she shouldn’t be complaining. It was a Friday night and if she wanted a quiet night’s sleep then staying in dorm room was not for her. It really pisses me off.

That morning I headed into Hay on Wye and spent a few hours being ridiculously geeky, so excited t

o be in a postage stamp sized town with 26 bookshops! Be proud of me. I only bought one book. One! That is a massive accomplishment! From there I headed down to Cardiff and this is where I have been for the past few days. I have been to Cardiff castle and around the central city. Today, the sun shone and it was so hot that I walked around all day in a singlet. I might, might, even have gotten a bit burnt. I thought that was quite exciting! Sun burn! Who would have thought!!! I am off to watch Jenna play in the semi-finals for Wales tomorrow. I can’t wait to see her. It will be so nice to see a familiar face.