Back in 2018, when travelling abroad was something we could do without hindrances or second thoughts, the Eisteddfod in Cardiff was our first visit to Wales. We immediately fell in love with it all: the country, the city, the people, the language. Unsurprisingly, in 2019 we decided to go to Wales again. The Eisteddfod was to be held near Llanrwst and we found a place to stay at Paul’s charming little farm.
Riding our very heavy motorcycle down the small and winding country lane to the gravelly and steep slope up to the apartment was quite a challenge, that first time, but we quickly got used to it. Paul turned out to be a rather shy, but extremely friendly and helpful host, who left us to ourselves, but who was always ready to answer our questions and made sure we never ran out of fresh eggs.
We visited all of Northern Wales on our motorcycle, enjoying the countryside and Welsh culture, but never failed to feel like we were heading home, in a way, at the end of the day. We loved the farm and the idyllic view from the apartment, the little chats with Paul while he was tending for his cat and chickens, the sounds and smells that makes us all love the countryside in the first place. It felt like a place we’d happily call home for the rest of our lives.
At the end of our – far too short – week, we told Paul that we’d definitely come back to his little slice of paradise. And then all sorts of misery rained down on the world in 2020. Travelling was to be out of the question for quite some time. We didn’t forget Paul though.
While planning our 2022 vacation, optimists that we are, we were wondering if we could visit Paul’s again. We were greatly shocked when we found out that Paul had passed away shortly after our visit in 2019.
We are rather sad that we’ll never get the chance to reunite with Paul again. We remember him saying that his valley somehow always seemed to catch a little more sunshine than the rest of Northern Wales, and we managed to find out that he
Coen and Monique Mulder:
25/07/2021