My Trip to North Wales- 8 days aboard the Astralship
THE ASTRALSHIP
An optimal collaboration space for highly talented people.
I first became aware of the Astralship when Captain Liam Kurmos reached out to me at the beginning of last year to create a flagship image representing the vitality and intention behind his vision. We worked closely together over about 9 months to lock in all of the important details and symbols that were necessary to represent the full scope of his ambitious project.
Liam purchased the Welsh Chapel in the Snowdonian village of Deiniolen from the Welsh government about 7 years ago and has pulled the weight and carried the burden of gutting, renovating and ultimately revivifying the 200+ year old convent. The project has proven to be a massive undertaking and is a long way from setting sail but the energy of the space is overflowing with creativity and the future is sure to be bright. Upon completing the flagship artwork for Astralship, Liam invited me to North Wales on an all expenses paid trip. I took nearly 200 photos of our journeys in the surrounding Elidir Mountains and our short trips to neighboring towns. I have chosen the best of these images to provide a glimpse into this magical, albeit short lived voyage upon the Astralship. Enjoy.
Setting Sail
My first day aboard the Starship was mostly occupied by getting acquainted with Liam and his partner/assistant Aglae, and recovering from the 18 hours of travel and layovers from Portland, Oregon. We ate delicious, vegetarian meals prepared by Aglae and conversed over coffee.
I learned of the various projects that Liam has been awarded funding by the Welsh Government for and we charted our course for the next few days including a trip to nearby Llanllyfni (pronounced Hyan-hyiv-neh... I think:)) where Liam and Aglae provided guided trips in VR space for local children. I found out this was a regular gig for them around North Wales.
In the Groove
Liam and Aglae and I quickly warmed up to each other. We spent our days exploring the surrounding Elidir Mountains in the Snowdonia Region and our nights high on wine and great conversation. A highlight of my trip was a gorgeous hike through the nearby slate quarry. As we traversed the ancient Druid landscape surrounded by literal mountains of excavated slate and twisted trees out of European fairytales, I learned much about the English occupation of Wales and the systematic destruction of ancient Welsh history. As my eyes were opened to the underbelly of Britain's history and the sometimes dishonorable power plays of the invading English Army I was whisked away into a magical land of Druid Magic, Arthurian Lore and tragedy.
Later that evening we took a trip through Google Earth in VR and explored the Quarry and surrounding landscape in more depth. We ended up across the ocean flying through the Grand Canyon and making a stop outside of my apartment in Fairview Oregon.
Caernarfon and Engedi
So as if one Starship was not enough, Liam acquired a second chapel in the neighboring city of Caernarfon. This chapel called Engedi was operated by a collective of Welsh folks that abandoned Caernarfon and set sail for Patagonia in search of freedom. Engedi is extraordinarily beautiful but seems nearly on the verge of collapse. Liam obtained the chapel from the Welsh government and has set out to restore it with the help of the local community. Like the Astralship, Engedi will be an optimal collaboration space for highly talented people but unlike the Astralship, Engedi is positioned in the center of a bustling town and is a prominent symbol of the surrounding population's heritage. Liam has a great responsibility to navigate the expectations of the locals meanwhile achieving his goals of introducing travelers to the future of visionary thinking.
We made several trips to Caernarfon and I took many more photos of the gorgeous city but this concluded our visit for the day. Back at the chapel we settled into idea generation and explored some potentials for both the Astralship and the future of Engedi.
That evening we drove to Bangor to see a string quartet perform at the Pontio Cultural center adjacent to the old University. But what is a string quartet without wine and vegan cuisine:)
Cae Mabon
Another highlight of my journey was our visit to Cae Mabon, a transporting plot of land in the Elidir mountains and home to the Cae Mabon Eco-village. Upon arrival I was not exactly sure what to expect. It was only after a short walk down into the trees that the glimmers of alternative civilization began to appear. The creator and keeper of Cae Mabon, Eric, was friends with Liam's father who lived on the property for some years. Apparently the land was so important to Liam's father that his body is buried there.
Here is a short documentary about Cae Mabon by livinginthefuture.org on Youtube
Back to Caernarfon
From Cae Mabon we made our way back Caernarfon to grab some proper fish and chips and a couple souvenirs for the family back home. While we were there we had a few minutes to check out the town square, 800 year old Caernarfon castle where the consecration ceremonies take place for the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) and some lesser known back alleyways.
Back at the Astralship, Aglae did Liam and I a solid and cooked up one helluva steak. Imbibing ensued, tobacco was puffed and our favorite youtube videos were shared for hours on end.
The Last Day
Our last day was spent traveling the countryside and discussing Mabon VR, Liam's language-teaching, immersive adventure game. We made a stop at Engedi and visited a pure, British pub for drinks and chips. Scrumptious.
And here is the Astralcat. He is a big old, one eyed, pirate kitty that I would find sleeping in my bed. We became good friends.
And one more shot of my last night onboard. I finally figured out what the presence was that I would periodically feel in the chapel late at night. There is a picture of him hanging on the wall in the background of this image. He is definitely a guardian of the chapel. As disconcerting as supernatural intuition can be, I felt nothing but protection from him and grew to feel very comfortable having him around.
Well that concludes this adventure. Thank you so much to @astralship and @astralaglae for all of their incredible hospitality and generosity. I look forward to manning the ship with you and navigating into a bright future of visionary insight and innovation.
@astraship and @astralaglae will be leaving in just a couple short days for a 2 and a half month trip around Asia. They will be documenting their adventures here on Steemit and will be engaging us all with contests and bright insights into all manner of cultural and celestial strangeness and beauty. Please consider following them and helping them make their journey a great success.
I hope you enjoyed this trip through North Wales. See you next time.
Kindest Regards,
Sean
Thank you so much @elohprojects for this great article. We miss you a lot here. I just mentioned you in my Steemit post too :).
This picture of you and Liam discussing the future: It is a shame it came out a bit blurry, but I love it to bits. It is so representative of your stay here. I used it in my post too.
I am looking forward to our next meeting and all of the love to your kids and fiancee. Sail on AtralArtist! We love you :) X
https://steemit.com/travel/@astralaglae/a-few-more-days-before-the-road
Awesome Aglae. I love that picture too. I will send your love to my fam. Hoping your journey is a massive success and I can't wait to follow you along the way. Writing up another post now but I will definitely read your article this evening. So happy to see you going at this.
I added some formatting info and text dividers to the Steemit Doc that you shared with me.
Much necessary indeed :)
Epic write up. Thanks Sean. It what really great having you on board with us. We're also missing you already.
Got the vestry cleared and work has began. Now a new phase of the adventure lies ahead. I can't wait to see where this one is going to take us and am looking forward to continuing to work together.
Amazing Liam. I hope you are feeling ready and super excited. Can't wait to see where your journey takes you. I hope I got all of the facts and town names correct in the post. Wasn't totally sure about where the library was but I pulled up a map and put my memory to the test. Hopefully it served me well. Good luck and godspeed my friend. Cheers!
I've added formatting info and text dividers to the Steemit Doc that Aglae shared with us.
A fascinating post about some fascinating places and projects. Loved your painting of the Astralship and the sunset from the back garden. The videos really helped to get the feel of Cae Mabon across. Thank you for a quality read and good luck to the projects.
Yeah this year should be big. There is a lot of work to do but these guys are super charged and we expect some great moves this year. Be sure to follow @astralaglae and @astralship. They are leaving for Thailand tomorrow and will be heading all over Asia, documenting their journeys.