Our first stop of the day was Kidwelly Castle, a rather small castle nestled on top of a hill somewhere in between Carmarthen and Swansea. Like many of the other castles I have visited, Kidwelly was in a rather sad state of disrepair; however, this did not deter me from wanting to explore every inch of its structure. There is something strangely alluring and even somewhat intoxicating about castles, at least to me. The moment that I step into one, I immediately feel the urge to scale the walls, climb every spiralling staircase, and reach the topmost tower to look down on all the land that it surveys. I am rather reckless when in a castle since the moment I walk in, I lose any of my previous inhibitions (like my aversion to high, open spaces). If it were not for my self-restrain kicking in preventing me from scaling the walls (or any other dangerous urge that enters my mind), I would have probably not been able to tell my tale now. As it was, after an exhibition of great self-restraint, I stuck to the areas designated as being safe, exploring only those places where I knew that I would have no chance of falling to a rather grisly demise. In my time there, I was able to make my way up to the top of the tower, and the exhausting climb up the dark, narrow staircase was well worth the trip. In front of my eyes lay what seemed to be a never ending landscape of green, rolling hills dotted with the quaintest looking white house I have ever seen. I felt a bit like a lady overlooking the land over which I ruled. Truly it was a rather fairy tale like feeling.
After pulling myself away from Kidwelly, I got back on the bus to travel to a place even more astonishing than the one that I had just left. Our destination-- the Gower Peninsula just outside of Swansea. Of all the places in Wales that I have visited (and there are quite a few), the Gower has to be one of my favourites. Imagine yourself perched on a cliff far above the rushing water below. In front of you stretches water as far as the eye can see. Large hills covered in the multiple colours of fall loom behind you in the background, looking more like a painting than the actual scenery. This is just a fraction of what I witnessed while enjoying my rather meagre pack lunch atop the cliffs. ( I will say that it is a wonderful site for a picnic although with the strong breeze coming off of the sea, it gets rather chilly) If it were not for the tide rapidly coming in, I would have taken the opportunity to explore Worm’s Head, an area of land jutting out of the mainland that fittingly enough looks rather like a worm sticking its head out of the water. Instead, I wandered around the high, craggy rocks in a seemingly death-defying manner, cheerfully singing just random words that I strung together. I also made sure to take numerous pictures, so when I get back home, I can prove to people just how gorgeous the Gower is, although I have a feeling that the photographs will not do the area justice.
Unfortunately, like all good things, my trip to the Gower had to come to an end, so after about two and a half hours of exploration, I boarded the bus once again and headed back to Carmarthen. However, I left there counting my blessings and thanking God that I have been given such a wonderful opportunity to be here in this fascinating country. I have said it before and I will say it again—everyone should try to study abroad. It opens up a whole new world that you never thought existed, and you will honestly never be the same when you come back home. I know that I won’t be.
