alfiejacquess

[alfiejacquess]

Hiking, Swimming and Gong Therapy!

30/04/2023

This particular trip to the lakes was unsurprisingly centred around swimming. I am lucky enough to have a delightfully friendly munchkin friend named Scarlett who lives in a beautiful cottage nestled between fells in the Lake District. After Last weekends swim we decided to meet up for a swim of our own and a unique therapy session.

I arrived in style this time accompanied by The Rolling Stones. If you would like a song to help picture this specific adventure I would recommend “100 years ago” that’s the vibe I’m going with. Arriving too early to meet Scarlett, I decided to go for a walk. That walk turned into a hike up a hill, that hill turned out to be a fell. That fell turned out to be Helvellyn. The walk quickly escalated form a leisurely stroll in the Lakes, to a full blown expedition up Englands 3rd highest peak. I do love an unexpected thrill ! never failing to use my undying determination to reach the top. Always accompanied by bad luck with weather,resulting in me seeing absolutely nothing while at the summit. Nether the less I made it up there completely unharmed and completely unprepared, by simply looking up and saying “that one looks nice”.

A quick few pics at the summit then straight back down because I was awfully late for my pre arranged swim and gong class. Excitement building to see my… UNIQUE friend I have not seen in many months. Scarlett had informed me on my ascent that she was “taking a nap” but I still felt her love and encouragement pushing me on despite being asleep. Making it back to the cottage I was strangely craving a whiskey, maybe because I was soaked, cold, exhausted and borderline dead ! I kept it together and was determined for a successful “gong” therapy session. Gong therapy is a form of “sound healing” that relaxes the body in hopes to enter a meditative state.

While resting my tired legs at Scarlett’s house I noticed most doors had child gates on them, presumably to stop the two dogs from entering certain areas of the house. I was informed that the gates are because Scarlett sleep walks and the gates stop her from wondering the house in her sleep. This information may be interesting later.

So to explain how the gong sound healing session went I need to try and explain my relationship with this girl. We have known each other for years starting from when we were both very small and in primary school. Then followed by me thinking she was dead, as she moved abroad for a chunk of her childhood. Upon return our relationship is still the same and has continued to be full of laughter and just pure silliness, nothing at all has changed. That perfect relationship where unstructured nonsense filled conversations are accompanied by long lasting belly laughs, consuming your entire day. Our shared love for hiking, swimming and the outdoors make for extremely fun outings !

I went into this “gong” experience with an open mind as I am well connected with the idea of “inner peace” etc. As we drove to the venue in Ambleside, my laughter was constant and not subsiding. A sense of breathlessness caused by constant giggles, a common side effect of time spent with Scarlett. The fear of carrying this energy inside the therapy session was almost terrifying. Around 10 yoga matts all laid out in a circle with candles and all kinds of zen hippie style paraphernalia, I had no idea how I was going to keep it together. When I’m forced into situations where talking and laughter are not best advised, combined with the pre-explained relationship I have with my friend, the thought of a successful therapy session without bursting into laughter seemed Impossible!

Let’s talk about how the session went. It stated with everybody lying down with comfy eye masks and blankets. Listening to everyone inhale and exhale extremely passionately was enough to set me off. Let’s be honest, unfortunately I was not in the correct mind frame to take this experience seriously but I had to bloody try ! When the gong sounds started it was actually very soothing and relaxing, but often my mind would wonder and focus on something funny (like Scarlett mistakenly thinking I had 6 toes) My brain clearly trying to sabotage this experience for me and trying anything to make me giggle. Sometime into the therapy session I heard some rustling sounds of the person next to me moving or standing up. So I understandably thought this was Scarlett deep in sleep and attempting to get up and wonder around in a meditation class that has no child gates and plenty of zen people lying innocently on the floor. I had to see this so I turned my body and lifted my eye mask but only to find her lying down on her back with her mouth gaping wide open inhaling flies, seemingly fast asleep. If it was not for my fist being quickly forced into my mouth, I would have certainly burst into complete hysterics. I somehow managed to keep it together with only my shoulders and body moving from laugher. From immense determination I made very little sound. I think I got away without alerting other participants of my immaturity. This may not seem funny to others but for me in this moment it was the funniest thing ever.

Once the session had finished we both made a sharp swift exit straight to the car. As soon as we were clear and in the car park we both began pissing ourselves with laugher. Realising the therapy had no benefiting results to our character. Scarlett had a hilarious theory that the lady running the class pressed play on a YouTube video then left for the pub and returned to wake us after 90 minutes. Although this experience seemed to be a train wreck crashing into a joke shop, I was still glad I did it and it was incredibly memorable!

By this time it was too late and dark for a swim so we headed straight to weather spoons for food and pints. We met up with Scarlett’s incredibly sweet sister in law for some food and movie night back at the cottage.

The next morning we woke up ready for our swim. Heading to Grasmere water before her shift at the family chocolate shop. This body of water had not yet been christened by my huge body plunging into it, so it seemed the perfect spot. Nestled between stunning green fells and surrounded by gorgeous scenery, this is now certainly my new swimming spot.

After the swim we walked to the chocolate shop so Scarlett could start her shift. By this time I should have probably headed home but for some reason stayed and did a 3 hour shift, being paid in truffles.

Very memorable weekend.

[alfiejacquess]

Let’s go see this damn cave !

23/04/2033

So my Sunday started off like many others, with an initial idea from the night before of where my day would take me. Usually involving swimming in some form of cold water, I will dive deeper into my strange addiction to wild swimming at a later date, no pun intended.

Todays plan was to hike along the Roman wall close to my house (luckily the section off wall close to me is the most scenic) but I have done this many times before so the drive and excitement was not as prominent today. Shortly after a quick scroll on all travel hack seekers favourite app TikTok, I discovered a cave in the Lake District that looks incredible.

So off I went to the Lake District. The drive down was incredibly enjoyable (apart from a couple pot holes) purely because of miss Swift as usual, these solo karaoke sessions are superbly choreographed and becoming more eccentric and energetic with every drive.

I am always determined to avoid paying for parking, so as soon as I was close to the start of my trail I saw an opportunity on the side of the road and I took it. Armed with my AirPods and some bloody good playlists I happily hopped of on foot up the road. Looking for any signs for “cathedral cave”. I wondered off on a path that seemed far more interesting than the road, leading me up to plenty of lush waterfalls.

Continuing up past the falls and onto the green fields, I realised what an extremely perfect idea this outing has turned out to be with not a single cave in sight. The views and energy of the lakes is unmatched. There is a certain Beatrice potter esc demeanour to the small cute stone farmhouses and cottages dotted throughout the bright green fells. The energy is entirely different to the likes of the Canadian rockies, something reassuring and so proudly British about its quaintness that never disappoints. A small part of this country that I am proud of and can happily say is not overrated, a pleasure to have on my doorstep.

These moments where accompanied perfectly by miss Lana Del Rey in case you were wondering, Terrance loves you. I was able to see the cave entrance from far away, a black hole in the side of the fell that enforced characteristics of Lara Croft as I paced faster towards it while switching my playlist abruptly to skrillex.

Arriving at the entrance to what I now know is an abandoned mine, my stamina and enthusiasm were still high. The tunnel forced me to crouch and turn my phone torch on. The tunnel seemed to continue on for an alarmingly large amount of time. The darkness and silence made me feel slightly intimidated.

Eventually the tunnel opened out into a bright open chasm where I spotted a few tourists, it seemed to be a way for all the other tunnels to connect. I climbed down a steep and slippery rock face that took me through another tunnel and opened up into the large cave I had seen on TikTok a few hours ago. It was a huge open cave exposed to the sun through a gaping hole in the cave roof. The entire place was supported by a beautiful sharp column that seemed to act as a center piece. One of my first thoughts was what an excellent location this place would be for a rave. I took a few pictures and then decided to leave as other people entered the cave, I hate other people cashing in on my caves so I dashed.

Guess who I bumped into on my way out? Standing at the entrance to the tunnel waiting to go in. 6 of my old school friends who I have not seen in maybe 6 years! It was kind of unbelievable to have bumped into so many old friends at a random cave in the middle of the Lake District. I explained how I had seen this cave online a couple hours ago and decided to visit, we had a short catch up then I said farewell and headed to the pub for a pint. I knew there was a local pub a short walk away from the cave so I set of in pursuit of a fine IPA . And my gosh was that IPA fine ! The best Iv ever had in fact. I stayed for maybe 30 mins while I enjoyed my incredibly refreshing beverage before I headed along the road in search for my car that I had parked somewhere. If I walked for long enough I was bound to find it.

Now I headed to Keswick for a swim at Derwent water. The attention my swimming brings to tourists is something I find amusing. The constant “are you crazy” or “how do you do it” are staples of a great swim here. This time I was delighted by a lovely young couple who said how “inspiring” I am. I took the time to explain why I love to do it, how calming I find it and how it helps with my anxiety ect. This really made my day special and made me feel reset, as my swimming journeys often do. I swam for maybe 45 mins before drying off and heading home. On the way home I decided to ring Kendal who I will be meeting in San Francisco in a couple weeks. I wanted to ring her just to say hey and make sure we were all on track for our Yosemite trip. It was lovely to speak to her and made me even more excited for my next adventure. I then headed to my local pub for a another pint and all of these experiences added up to create a truly blissful day and created memories I will hold dear.

[alfiejacquess]

With great experiences comes a great desire to share and learn, so here we go !

18/04/2023

I admire immensely people who are able to express perfectly and poetically the feeling they are feeling and the journey they are travelling. Almost to a point where I become jealous of their ability to express themselves. I think of how nice it must be to just say what you mean all the time. To have people just listen because what you say makes sense and flows so perfectly. Examples who spring to mind are musicians and artists such as Taylor swift and Hozier. Their gift Is something I have always dreamed of acquiring. I am hoping by this new expedition into writing, somehow I will become more connected to my thoughts, memories and the person I want to grow into.

I wanted my first post to explain the reason why I am stating this new chapter, for myself mainly but if anyone is out there reading, I am delighted. Welcome to you and good luck.

This journey will focus on the experiences in my life that have shaped me. Maybe leaning on travel adventures, the places and people I have met as a young man travelling the world on his own.

With becoming accustomed to the same group of people in your life, people naturally start to have assumptions and predictions of who you are and what you will do. The beauty of solo travel is I can have the refreshing freedom to not be predicted and not be understood. To just live in the moment truly for the memories, along with the knowledge these experiences will eventually shape me into the man I want to be. With no expectations comes no responsibility is what Spider-Man probably meant.

But with great experiences comes a great desire to share and learn, so here we go !

I am going to use this space as a way to connect with myself and my inner thoughts in a way that I hope is not to cringy or a unreasonable request to my goofy fun loving self. 70% of myself is finding this extremely foreign but I know i will find comfort improving my writing and self expression.

I have a friend named John, whose selfless attitude to teaching and guiding has lead me to this literature expedition.