I'm aware of the problem where sometimes your character can save after entering the Dark Forest, and sometimes you can't, and there's nothing you can do about it. So I make it a habit to "test" my character by entering the Dark Forest ASAP, and making sure that, yes, it's ok for me to save. But now I'm facing a similar problem with Verdistis. I can enter Verdistis just fine, but I can't save or leave (except for teleporting) after having done so, and if I head due north from the opening, the game grinds to a halt.
Any thoughts on how to fix/avoid this annoyance?