Day 15: Trearddur to Holyhead
Mosaics and panoramas
I am a small person. You know, unlike a general vision person. A snail crossing the street stops me in my tracks. How beautiful, with its striped shell.
In fact, at first I thought it was just a shell. But when I got closer, it moved. However, “crossing” the street is an exaggeration. “Inching forward” is also too much.
I wonder. Should I intervene and help him? Would my intervention somehow have a butterfly effect? Change the world in ways I can’t foresee, for better or worse? Would it traumatize him? If I moved it out of danger, would a bird see it and sweep it up immediately after I put it down? Or would you just save it?
I have to do it. The snail could be crushed. I can’t bear the thought. Only later do I think, «Wow. I could have been crushed standing there.» Bigger picture.
Oh look…
The trail has been filled with stopping points and close-ups. Well, for me. Consequently, also for Jon.
It’s the little things for me. I often say, “I could spend hours…” Fill in the blank. Looking at flowers. Oh, a rhyme!
Or butterflies. Or bumblebees. Or lambs. Or in photographs of our grandchildren (we have a new one!). The tiny parts of life bring me joy.
We have not been delayed only because of the inordinate amount of time I spend contemplating, reflecting and delighting. Sometimes we have had no choice but to brake.
We have encountered mud, doors, rain, cobblestones and slippery slopes. We have had to avoid tripping and breaking bones, like our skull or even our little finger. Rushing also makes the big toe quite angry. So we take care of ourselves. Discretion is the best part of courage.
Oh. Look!
But today is an important day. Today is clear, the azure blue sky is sometimes painted with drifting or puffy clouds. It is an ocean that stretches infinitely, emerald, sky blue and cornflower blue. They are steep drops to secret coves where no one has ever been, I’m sure.
High cliffs and giant fragments of towering rocks jutting out of the water prevent access. There is no way to enter by sea or land.
Although… I see faint paths winding their way to the viewing areas. And beyond? Perhaps people have tried to go down to the coves and have fallen to their demise(s). I can’t stand to look. I feel dizzy even thinking about trying to see from above.
Jon and I kept exclaiming «Oh wow!» And pointing. It’s too much (almost). I can’t find words to describe it.
Cameras cannot express
I take out my phone. Switch from close-up and portrait mode to panorama.
I must show it to the others! But I can’t. My camera fails me.
The whole blessed day is like this.
And the breeze feels like… air conditioning. Living in Arizona for over 40 years has given me a vocabulary to describe fresh air!
Zoom in, zoom out
I have been amazed by the stacked slate fences along the path. Each piece of different shapes and sizes has been perfectly placed so that no mortar is needed. They are mosaics, carefully reconstructed, probably a long time ago. Works of art.
And then I see vast grasslands, with their square symmetry of varying shades of green, clearly divided by these walls of slate and stone, which from a distance look like simple brown lines. And the amazement also grows. Detailed designs serve a purpose. And it still adds beauty.
The other day, as I marveled at the way the ocean creates its own image in the sand with gentle waves, Jon said, «And the moon.»
«Oh, right!» say. «Moon phases control the tides.» He’s good at thinking about the big picture.
All this to say, today was… and I was there to see it.
I tried
Please enjoy the photos. And know that the day was impressive. Literally great. Like air conditioning. But much better.
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