Ireland 2010

Ireland Posted June 26, 2010

Simply stunning. I was amazed by how beautiful Ireland is. If I had to describe Ireland and its beauty, it would be as if God had too much green paint and mountains when he created the world so he decided to drop the mountains in Ireland and slather them in an emerald green with pockets of wild flowers everywhere.

I really didn’t do all that much research for this trip. I just planned a basic itinerary; however those plans were thrown out the window after day one. The pictures I took give Ireland no justice of what the landscapes are like. And, unfortunately, photographs can not give an indication of the people's character which was rough around the edges, warm, funny, and sincere. It was an entirely different trip than I had done before. Instead of spending time in cities, I tried as hard as I could to avoid the cities, and really just soak up the scenery. I was tired of seeing urban areas and this trip was perfect. I did a lot of hiking and it reminded me of being home, being surrounded by nature and hiking around Ft. Collins, CO.

I flew into Cork early in the morning and immediately looked for a bus to Doolin which is where the Cliffs of Moher are located. Doolin is on the west coast of Ireland just a bit south of Galway. I had a four hour bus layover in a small town called Ennis. There wasn't really much to do in the town. After you walked around it once, there was no need to walk around it twice. Please keep in mind I was running on less than 4 hours of sleep (sleeping in airports will do that to you). So, I sat and watched hurling, a sport similar to field hockey but the ball can be lifted in the air and hit like a baseball. The game moved incredibly fast and I was told it was the fastest sport in the world. A coach of a 17 year old girl’s team saw me watching with interest. He walked over and asked if I wanted to join. Who am I to turn this down? So I walked out there having no clue of the rules or even the name of the sport. I was wearing jeans and my sneakers. I was confused and sleep deprived. The girls thought it was funny to see me out there running around like a chicken with its head cut off. They also thought it would be funny to 'miss' the ball and 'accidently' hit my shins numerous times. I did not find this funny. On several occasions I was found on the grass writhing in pain after being smashed by a very heavy and thick wooden stick. Also numerous times, I was called a word which I do not wish to type as my mother reads this. Tiny Tim looked less pathetic as I hobbled off the field swearing under my breath in pain as each step brought on a new shock of pain. A few of the dads chuckled and invited me for a couple of pints at the local pub. I agreed. To my amazement, Guinness healed me. So my first impression of the Irish was outgoing, mean enough to destroy your legs and then nice enough to buy a few pints of Guinness at 11 in the morning.

I arrived in Doolin in the early afternoon. This is a place where goats, sheep, cows, and horses all outnumber the people. It is spread out through the rolling countryside. The town looks like a quilt from on top of any hill. The seams of the quilt are white stone walls keeping the livestock in their emerald green pastures. Gorgeous. I chatted with the bus driver as I was the only traveler heading to Doolin for the majority of the way there. She provided me with local town gossip about the town drunk, and so on This provided even more color to this beautiful town. I stayed at a fabulous hostel which was rated the number one hostel in Ireland five years running. It was an experience, to live in a 300 year old farm house. Most of the interior in the common rooms still have the original stone and dark woods.

Karl, the owner drew me a map of a 8 kilometer hike to the cliffs. So I set off, not really expecting a lot besides a few big cliffs. I was wrong. On the way I chatted with an Irish farmer who invited me to help slaughter and prepare a lamb for a roast the next day to celebrate his daughter’s wedding. I would love to have done it because when else can I say 'ya I killed a lamb and prepared it for a Irish farmers wedding and joined in on the celebrations'. I however had to decline as I had already booked a hostel in Cork for the next night.

The hike was gorgeous. There was not another soul in sight. To the left of me were rolling green hills and livestock. To the right of me were dramatic views of the Atlantic and wild flowers growing along the cliffs. It was one of those moments that you say 'I am alive in this moment' I don’t think anyone could say otherwise. So the adventure on this hike came when I was taking photos of a herd of sheep, I must have gotten a little too close and a ram looked at me and stood its ground. I kept walking, and then the thing I feared happened. It charged me. I don’t think I have ever run so fast in my life. If this ram hits me, I’m falling 600 feet to the waters below. So I sprinted for about 20 or 30 yards and literally dove over a barb wire fence separating two different pastures. I doubt Rick Steves ever had such an adventure. If I had to run another 10 feet, there is no doubt in my mind that ram would have hit me. So I laid on the other side of the fence, laughing at what just happened and thought 'Well this sure isn't Florida is it?'. The views of the Cliffs were great. The scent of the ocean filled my nostrils bringing me back to home. When I closed my eyes I could see myself lying on a Florida beach wiggling my toes in the loose sand and feel the sun beat on my face. When I opened my eyes, I was not there but somewhere maybe even more beautiful. Puffins and seagulls flew around in search of food. They were dive bombing and leaving small splashes hundreds of feet below in the sea. The soft and thick grass consumed your legs and flowers were everywhere along the edges of the cliff. There was also some type of plant that looked like grain but had small flowers on it. This plant grew in very large patches. The wind blew them and it looked like waves the way they moved. They even crested. This was truly an awe inspiring place. I feel lucky to say I have been there. It’s in the running for the ' Seven New Natural Wonders of the World' at least for today on my list.

I went to a couple of pubs in Doolin but found them to be very cliché. They played 'traditional' Irish music for the tourists and I did not see one local in the pub. I, of course, ordered a pint though and watched a world cup match and met a couple of great Germans there.

The next day, I went to Cork as it is known as Ireland's 'people's capital' so I went there with high expectations and what I found was a city that smelled and had trash strewn throughout the city. Drugs were prevalent. I was offered cocaine no less than 4 times in the night, and also saw some one tie off and shoot up heroine. I’m sure it is a wonderful place. It’s just hard to enjoy the city when you are offered lines of coke while at a pub with new friends. Then on the walk home we saw someone tying off. Needless to say, Cork is not my favorite place. I did, however, meet three girls(two Americans and a Swede) that wanted to rent a car and drive around the Ring of Kerry. This sounded good so I went in on a tiny little car with them and we set off enjoying the views and the adventure of driving on the wrong side of the road. The Ring of Kerry is breath-taking. Every moment you are surrounded by large mountains covered in lush vegetation. Sometimes I thought I wasn’t in Ireland but the Pacific north west. However, the character of the villages and people were authentic Irish. This was not just the tourist version where tourists heavily outnumbered the locals. We passed through valleys and we really didn’t have a map. We just asked locals along the way. This is not a problem because the Ring of Kerry is really only a few roads unless you get off the main track which we did. While lost, I stopped and asked directions from the stereotypical Irish man ever. He was walking along side of the road with a cane, wearing a wool sweater, and that hat they are famous for, while his sheep dog walked along. I asked for directions and all I understood was garbled English. No clue what he was saying. It’s funny to think he spoke the same language.


We made it to the quaint village of Killarney which is the base camp of the Ring of Kerry. I said my goodbyes to my road trip partners as they were heading to Galway and I wanted to do some hiking around the ring. So I dropped my pack at the hostel and asked where I could find a couple of long hikes. They gave me a trail map. There were about 35 kilometers of ground to cover to get to them.. I decided to try my luck at hitchhiking and it worked out great. I met an Irish man that had two lucky charms in his car, a couple from Tasmania on their 40th anniversary, two Germans on a honeymoon, and a hilarious group of Aussies. I never had to wait more than three cars before someone would pull over. It was fantastic.

The hikes were gorgeous. Not another soul in sight, just cruising through narrow footpaths that weaved up through the large valleys surrounded by trees. Wild flowers covered the forest floors. There was an ever-present aroma of wet earth, flowers, and just the general smell of nature. It was completely silent besides the wind blowing through the trees and the crunch of moss beneath my feet. It was truly wonderful to be away from the sounds of cars and the noises of cities. I think this is the first time I have experienced complete silence since arriving in Europe. I close my eyes and now and I can feel the cool breeze and the sponginess of the moss. It is sublime. I want to head back as soon as possible.

My last day in Ireland, I flew out of Dublin at 10pm. It was ok if I didn’t spend that much time in the city. So I took another morning hike, and then hopped on a train to Dublin. On the bus from the train station I met a gay couple that invited me to join them in a gay pride parade. While I am not gay, I have friends that are and I support them. I marched with them for about 30 minutes until I said my goodbyes and explored the city to see the main spots as I only had a few hours. I found the city surprisingly nice. I saw a lot of diversity there. In each section of the town I saw little differences in the people in the way they acted or dressed. Temple bar was a pretty cool little area. It is very eclectic and I would compare it to Riverside, Jacksonville, however Temple bar is more rugged. As I was walking around, I also ran into another parade, of course, a zombie parade. Hundreds of college students were protesting something. I don’t know what. They dressed up like zombies, put on makeup and ran around the city. They stormed into stores, mobbed cars and ran up to people just to scare them. So I can say I participated in a gay pride parade and a zombie parade all in the same day.

This next is the best story I have in Europe and probably the most interesting and eye opening night of my life.

While I was road tripping through the Ring of Kerry we stayed in a tiny fishing town. It was off the beaten path and supplied us with authentic Irish culture. The girls were too tired to head out to the pubs but I wanted to see what they were like. So I walked down the street, opened the door, and found a small pub with dim lights decorated with old fishing nets, weathered stools, and weathered, retired fisherman. When I opened the door and stepped in, the whole bar turned around. Their faces were tan and wrinkles from the weather. Their eyes were kind but Im sure they thought 'What is this guy doing here?' I pulled up a stool between two guys and ordered a pint.

I started talking with them and the conversation moved to fishing. I told them about fishing in Florida. We swapped fish tales. I explained American football to a former professional rugby player and so on. These men were full of laughs, stories, and just jokes. The bartender invited me over for breakfast the next day but, once again, I had to respectfully decline as I did not know what the girl’s plans were. The two men and I talked to the most were Neville and Billy. Neville 64, a retired lighthouse keeper, had curly black hair with touches of grey. He had smile lines as deep as the Grand Canyon. Billy, his first cousin, was in town from up north and was a mackerel fisherman. He was around the same age and he had silver white hair and piercing ice blue eyes and a smile that could light up a room. Both of their hands were gnarled from the hard work they had done in their life. Their hands were the size of a baseball glove. They loved America, they said. Kennedy and Clinton made Ireland what it is today and 'without the help of those great men we would be impoverished and be miserable'. I had no idea. We talked about the IRA, but Billy quickly changed the subject.


He asked if I had a woman stateside. I said no. I asked if he was married. He was married many years ago. I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories so I dropped it but he continued. He told me this story that will stay with me forever. Years ago, he walked his newly wed wife, Shannon, to the car and opened the door for her. He kissed her and said he loved her. Billy closed the door and started walking away. He figures he walked away about 10 yards when he felt heat on his back. Billy was thrown off his feet. His newly wed wife was in a terrorist attack. His world had just been a victim of an IRA car bomb. She was dead after a year and a half of marriage. They had been sweethearts since childhood. The car had been rigged to explode when the key was turned. As he was telling me this, his voice shook, his lip trembled and his iceberg blue eyes began to swell. He continued with tears freely rolling down his leather like cheeks. He said that every morning since the day she died he writes her a letter telling her how much he missed her. Then Billy burns it to send it to her. I tasted salt on my lips and felt my own tears slowly slide down my face for this man. You could just tell how much pain this man had gone through. His world, his love was gone. It was random terror. Someone chose her car instead of another. I hugged him and he called me son for the rest of the night. Billy and Neville referred to me as their American Son. Billy showed me the burn marks on his neck. I have goose bumps and feel my heart drop for him still when I think about it.

They paid my tab when I went to the bathroom. I protested, but he said 'you are my American son'. He gave me a wink and said 'let me take you out for a meal'. I felt very uncomfortable allowing them to pay for everything. They said it would be very insulting if I tried to pay. So here I am in a tiny fishing village with two retired men that worked long hours their whole life. They take me out to a five course meal. We talked until we were kicked out. We said our goodbyes. We hugged. We exchanged emails. Billy looked at me and said in a serious voice, 'remember my wife?' I said of course. He made me promise to tell everyone that I loved how I felt each time I said goodbye because you never know when your time will run out. I made that promise and intend on keeping it so I start today. I love you all out there with all of my heart. Stay safe out there and be good to one another. Live with a zest and a smile.

Seize the day.

Nathan