Preseli Part 2

At long last, here is an account of our Saturday at Preseli – spent sea kayaking and coasteering!

We started our morning by kayaking. When we arrived at the harbor a salty, chilly breeze was whispering past us, but we were kept warm by our wet suits and our anticipation of adventure.

Ready for Kayaking

Following a brief “how to” session (during which I may or may not have been guilty of splashing my flat mates a few times), we headed out into the sea. We tried our paddles at “rock-hopping” – essentially surfing a wave between rocks – explored the coast, peeked into some caves, and were visited by some seals.

Rock Hopping

Caves

Like a kid in a candy shop

It was as if we had entered a world made up only of sea, rocks, and wind. I have done my fair share of kayaking, but this was a whole new experience – certainly no moseying spring fed river! It was absolutely beautiful. If I could be out there in my little kayak every day, seeing the change of tides and seasons, I think I would be perfectly content.

Sadly, a time did come to return to shore. After “racing” one of the guides – who rammed my boat, so I think that means I automatically win, right? – we clambered out onto the beach, changed into dry clothes, and loaded up our boats.

Back at Preseli we were treated to homemade, hot soup served with cheese and freshly baked bread. I had just enough time to satisfy my tea addiction before heading out once again, this time for coasteering. We put on even tighter wet suits, helmets, and shorts, with ominous gashes in them, for extra padding.

If you have never heard of coasteering, wikipedia (ever the reliable source) defines it as “a physical activity that encompasses movement along the intertidal zone of a rocky coastline on foot or by swimming, without the aid of boats, surf boards or other craft.” It may include any of the following: swimming, adventure swimming, climbing, scrambling, canyoning, sea level traversing, jumping, and diving. Our afternoon was certainly filled with plenty of swimming, climbing, scrambling, and jumping! Essentially, coasteering is a way to get up close and personal with mother nature’s coast line.

Hello, Mother Nature!

I must admit that, before we had gone, coasteering was the one activity that I was not feeling quite so confident about. As in, there is no instinct in me that will ever tell me to jump off of a cliff…unless I am being chased by, I don’t know, a bear, or wildebeest (Simbaaaaa!!!!)  But when it came down to it, this was my favorite part of the trip. Okay, I’ll admit, there was one jump that I had to think about for a long time before I took that leap, and I’m sure I looked super awkward climbing around in my extra tight wet suit, but I loved every minute of it. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and was something I had never dreamed of doing.

Ahhhh!!!!

Climbing Around

Riding the waves

In the end, I came out with a few barnacle scratches (hence the extra shorts with the gashes), clear sinuses (thank you, salt water), and a huge sense of accomplishment.

Taking it all in

All that’s left to say is thank you, Preseli Ventures, for the chance of a lifetime! You have truly changed my world!