Ireland

Hey everyone! I know that I have failed you again; it’s been nearly two weeks since my last post. You have chosen to follow a subpar blogger. If I were at the level of some then I would be posting every few hours not sparing my trips to the bathroom, the finer details of my funky-colored food, how bad my hair looks, the name of all the streets I’ve visited, and many other important matters. As it stands, I am confined to sharing the highlights.

After Germany I traveled to Paris and spent a couple days with a friend there. I didn’t see much; I relaxed, and it felt good. I was supposed to catch a flight from Beauvais to Shannon, Ireland. Instead my train broke down, I missed my flight, and because the flight was a budget flight (Ryanair), I had to pay an extra €100 (about $130) to change my flight to Dublin a little bit later. At least I arrived in Ireland. And did I feel overpowered! There is an incredible feeling after spending two months immersed in foreign languages to know that no matter what situation I was in, I could communicate my way out of it. I’m sure the other travelers stepping off the plane thought I was a madman since I couldn’t help smiling idiotically to myself after this revelation.

So I spent about four days working for a lady in exchange for free room and board. This allowed me to save a little money, stay active, and experience Ireland from more of a local’s perspective. However, to reach her house I had to hitchhike for the first time in my life. Four seperate vehicles, about 30 miles, and about 3 hours later, I arrived at my destination. I did some garden work and explored the beautiful Irish landscape. After that I got a ride from a really nice Irish guy named Eammon. We didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but he obviously had some wisdom that he didn’t mind sharing with me. He was my guide to Galway where I stayed for a night; it turned out to be a very nice city. But I moved on from there and toured the Burren and the west coast, including the Cliffs of Moher. Here is a picture of me going on a bike ride. I’m the guy in the back.                                                                                                                                                    Okay, actually I stole this picture from Google images. This is some random picture; I just wanted to scare anyone who was concerned for my life. I’m cruel. But here is a picture of the stunning cliffs.

                                              Pretty impressive huh?

                                                                                                                                                            I stayed one night in Cork where I, of course, visited Blarney Castle. And I kissed the famous Blarney stone in which legend declares that the kisser will be endowed with a powerful gift of speech. Hey, it worked for Winston Churchill. Is that like kissing a dead guy then? Hmmm….     I celebrated Easter Sunday with an incredibly friendly group at a church in Cork that is making a pretty big influence on the surrounding communities. And then I headed to Killarney.

                                                                                                                                                     Killarney was a great town, very cozy, and very scenic. I decided that I need to take at least a peak at the Ring of Kerry while I was in Ireland, so I went on a bike ride…. I couldn’t have picked a worse day. I meant to travel about 45 km; I might have endured 25. The wind was so strong at some points that I was struggling to pedal downhill! After being blown around bad enough for about 3 hours (and still managing to see Ross Castle, Muckross House, and Torc Waterfall) I called it quits. I didn’t want to get caught in even worse weather without a cell phone and no way to get back. Good reasoning right? Well, I found out later that a group of three girls completed the bike trip I had meant to finish, all 45 km. Ouch!

All in all I had a great time. The countryside is beautiful, and the coast perhaps even better. The people are marvelous; I’ve had so much great craic (conversation) while I’ve been here. People would even wave and smile at the bus as it passed by; they seemed genuinely interested in others. It’s a great challenge to me; I should never be too busy for people and conversation.

Right now I am in Holyhead, Wales. I want to share some great pics, but that will be another blog. Ahh, the suspense builds. Take care!

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