Aberdyfi.

Modern Kyiv.

Today has been sunny and warm, a lovely spring day. Perfect for us to go on an adventure. At least it was an adventure for us as apart from two short drives to Ynyslas the only times we've gone out since we've been here have been for shopping, health matters or the dump.

Today we took the plunge and headed out to Aberdyfi [Aber-dove-ee] a small town on the other side of the estuary directly opposite Ynyslas. We can see it from here but to get there takes 45 mins of driving through wooded roads up one side of the river Dyfi [Dove-ee], crossing over in the town of Machynlleth (impossible to pronounce for non-Welsh speakers) and driving all the way back down the river. There's a large pay car park but we were lucky enough to find a free spot on the road. Being able to walk along the river makes the town very visitor friendly plus there was a neat little garden/park, which I didn't photograph, that led to the harbour buildings and jetty and beyond those there is a stunning beach backed by sand dunes. 

Looking across the river we could see Ynyslas and beyond that Borth. I had my binoculars with me and could make out the Memorial and the general shape of the houses along the cliff. (This bit won't justfy.)

Having a small working harbour gives the place a great deal of charm but at 45 minutes further away from the hospital in Aber we would still choose the hospital over the harbour.

Beyond the harbour lies the sandy beach which runs for many miles around the coast line. Wide golden sand backed by low sand dunes, wonderful to walk on but .......... it's not safe for swimming. It's fine for children to paddle and maybe to swim close to shore but the river creates strong currents. It's not unusual to hear of the Aberdyfi lifeboat being called out to rescue swimmers who have got into trouble and sadly not everybody makes it. I can also imagine that the beach gets crowded in summer. However I'm still jealous of that beach.

It's interesting how different locations on the same coast have different beach shells. On the beach at Aberdyfi the strand line was littered with cockle shells and not much else.

We had a good walk along the beach and then returned to the town to buy some fish and chips for our lunch. A treat for us and a way to support the local economy. I waited outside while Peter went in and ordered and then carried on to have a conversation in Welsh. While I would not have been so confident I did understand most of what he was saying. We sat at the edge of the beach to eat our fish and chips and very nice it was too. I ate a whole piece of fish including all the crispy batter, so unhealthy but a tasty treat and never mind the diet, and shared some of Peter's chips. Neither of us felt like eating supper tonight so I just had a small mango this evening.

The sun was still shining when we got home and for the first time this year the sun had reached the terrace so we sat outside for a while. It made a change to be able to simply put our chairs in the sun rather than having to balance on the uneven surface where the old bay window had been. After a reviving mug of coffee I was tempted into the sunny front garden to do some weeding under the hydrangeas. That done I came inside, played the piano and did my second exercise bike session. The first along with DuoLingo was done before breakfast.