Wild, Sublime, and Regenerating

 

Even though I’ve been there before, I’ve never really perceived Wales with as much awe as I did on the excursion this time round. Wales is a highlight in itself. But if I had to choose I would say, of all the activities we did, the trip from Bangor to Cardiff – and the short stop at the Center for Alternative Technologies (C.A.T.) – was what I liked best.

Our trip went through the Welsh countryside which displayed the most spectacular landscapes all around us. Not to mention the fantastic weather we had! Driving along narrow country roads under low hanging oak branches, winding our way through over green hills and grey mountains, seeing gigantic boulders only a few yards from the road, the fantastic green colour of the grass that seemed so much more alive than our “native green”. The constant blowing of the wind and the constant view of grazing sheep. Seeing small and wild streams by the road side and reading the Welsh names of places. It’s the wild, the sublime that captures the attention of the traveller.

The C.A.T. in Machynlleth was another eye-opener. Having been there before and seeing the amount of progress which has taken place over the last 7 or 8 years was incredible. The technologies for generating power and the methods of composting and re-using organic waste material as well as the building techniques for ecological houses have become more sophisticated and refined. I have great hopes for the C.A.T. since Wales is ideal for generating regenerative energies. After the short stop at the C.A.T. my mind was filled with the possibilities involved in ecological and tradional land use.

The continuation of our trip south and the enjoyment of the view was then all the more intensive since I expected Cardiff to be a town of industrious carelessness which I sadly found to be the case. Wales truly is the “Land of our Fathers”! For even though we went there with hardly any connection at all to this country, at least I came back with the feeling of having seen something of the way time and history can stand still.