Tuesday 21 September 2010

Rhaeadr Ddu


Here I am at the amazing Rhaeadr Ddu (Black Waterfalls) at Ganllwyd. These waterfalls are surrounded by beautiful woodlands which we walked through to get to where I am sitting here. This is one of June's most favourite places. She found it when she was driving down the road last year and recalled a childhood memory from when she was a child. The memory was of someone picking her up to look at the double waterfall you can see from the road's edge so she must have been a very small child indeed because she's a bit big to pick up now (but don't say I told you that!).

I'd heard that salmon can jump up waterfalls so this seemed to be a very good place to look for the Wise Salmon because if I were him I would want to live here. This photo doesn't really do the Rhaeadr Ddu justice as it was taken from the bottom. It looks much bigger from the top but June didn't want to climb up there and wouldn't let me do it either in case I ended up falling in again and being swept away. So we sent Simon up instead but he said he couldn't see any salmon from the top.


He did spot an amazing seat in the rock though a bit further down which was the perfect size for a hedgehog to sit in and look into the river. So I sat down to rest for a while and looked into the river. It was very beautiful and peaceful so I think if the Salmon was there he may have been having a little sleep. Not that I had a little sleep ... I just rested my eyes while I was resting my paws after I had been looking for a while.


June and Simon then said it was time for them to rest their paws as well over a cup of coffee. So just before we went June and Indi helped me have one last look into the river for salmon.

Still no salmon but it wasn't the end of our holiday yet so I still have one more story to tell of my time in Wales so do visit my blog again soon.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

The Search for Salmon


When we got to Wales I was very happy to learn that there was a river on the site we were staying at. So I got to work straight away looking for the Wise Salmon. June said she wasn't sure there were salmon in that river but nothing ventured nothing gained I say. As you can see its a very pretty river with lots of stones and things you can stand on. Its called the River Twrch. Did you know the Welsh for river is Afon (pronounced Avon with the 'a' like in apple)? So the River Avon (the 'a' is pronounced like in bay) which starts near where Indie Shaman is based must be the river River!

We were staying at the campsite at Bwch yn Uchaf, which is in Llanuwchllyn, Bala. This is in the Snowdonia National Park at the foot of the Aran and Arenig mountain range and about a mile from Bala Lake. Its very beautiful round here. There is even a little steam engine which runs near the site so you can watch that as well or go on it for a trip into Bala.



Indi is my friend now. She mostly just licks me on the nose which is much better than trying to bite my nose off. We discovered we have a lot in common as we both come from rescues. She comes from Four Paws Animal Rescue who helped her mum so Indi had lovely foster homes to be born in and live in until June and Simon found her. I of course come from Secret World Wildlife Rescue and was adopted with the help of all the Indie Shaman members and customers.

Indi was helping me look for salmon and said she might have found something near this rock. She didn't know if it was salmon or not because she is still too young to know what a salmon is yet. This was her first adventure so she isn't quite as experienced a traveller as me.

I decided to get down onto a rock to look for myself. I couldn't see any salmon so I peered a little closer and that was when .... I fell in! Luckily as you can see the water was shallow so I only got my back wet and Simon fished me out quickly before I floated away down the river.

It was a bit of a shock though and I was a bit exhausted after all that excitement so June gave me a lift on the walk back to the caravan. June and Simon promised to take me to look in another river another day after I'd had a chance to get warm and dry again so I wasn't too disappointed. I'll blog about that adventure soon.





Friday 3 September 2010

Starting the Search for Salmon


I’m back at home with Indie Shaman. June said I needed a little rest after my travels around the UK, Ireland, Greece and Peru so that’s what I’ve been doing. Everyone was very interested to hear about my experiences in Peru. I learned so much and had a great time with Ross Heaven and hope to visit him again one day in Spain. And as you can see he gave me a wonderful wooden pendant to take home with me.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to carry out my new cosmic purpose yet as no-one has any shrimp. I’ve talked a lot about my new cosmic purpose, all the important shaman I met and all the important ceremonies and blessings I took part in. June said I could do with a little grounding as well as a rest. I think I got the grounding when I met Indi, the new puppy, as she seemed to think I was a new ‘Mr Squeaky’! A ‘Mr Squeaky’ apparently being a cuddly toy belonging to Indi and I’ve seen what’s left of her cuddly toys!!

There have been some questions about what to call me now since my discovery that I am Ezekiel the Fish. I’ve decided not to change my name officially as I’m quite well known and Sham is the name by which everyone knows me. So you can call me by whichever name you prefer and I'll answer to both!

While I’ve been resting I’ve been looking up more about fish and have been learning about the Salmon of Wisdom. The oldest and wisest of these Salmon is the Salmon of Llyn Llyw who apparently can be found in the estuary of Afon Hafren (the River Severn). Afon Hafren starts in the Cambrian Mountains and makes its way to the sea between Wales and England. Where I am now isn’t very far from this at all and when I heard June and Si were going to Wales I got very excited and asked if I could go as well because I want to look for this Salmon!

However they are not going to mid Wales but to North Wales. At first I was disappointed but then I found out about the Welsh Dee Salmon. These swim across the Atlantic, go up the Wirral estuary marches, past Chester, Overton and Erbistock, then past the racecourse at Bangor, through the vale of Llangollen, across Corwen and Bala to swim in the pools and falls of Snowdonia. And Si and June are going to be staying at Bala and walking in Snowdonia! So I’m going too to look for these wise Welsh Salmon. In fact it might be easier to talk to one of the Dee Salmon rather than the Salmon of Llyn Llyw given as there is only one of him and he sounds incredibly old and clever so is probably very busy.

The only thing of slight concern is Indi is going too, but I’m sure we will have sorted out our slight misunderstanding by then …


p.s. June asked me to add that Indie Shaman will be closed from today until Sunday 12th September, apart from the forum which will be open as usual. Will talk to you all again when we get back!