On to Ireland

I've been to a few stops since my last post, more up's and down's and more brushes with coming home. Me and Kate and Jess didn't see a whole lot of Glasgow until we were walking around with our bags waiting for our bus to Edinburgh and took a grand total of zero pictures. After a quiet first night in the hostel we made some friends the second night and stayed up pretty late exchanging stories so I was fairly groggy the rest of the day traveling back to Edinburgh (after scoring bus tickets on line for just 1 pound sweet!) and had a nice long nap when we reached our hostel.

That night we went on the hostel sponsored pub crawl and had a good time meeting some other people in the hostel and seeing some. Kate and Jess only lasted three of the five stops but it was good time's (despite the incredibly loud Canadian guys who I was a little embarrassed to be associated with, most of the time everybody who wasn't with the group thought they were obnoxious Americans, I guess nationality only goes so far). The next day I slept in a bit while the girls caught an early tour of the city, and I spent most of the next day reading on the hill underneath the castle overlooking the city. It was a but breezy, but amazingly dry so I was pleased. The next day we caught a bus down to Manchester and walked around and this time a snapped a couple photos. We got some dinner and played some cards, and after I watched Manchester United loose the UEFA Super Cup. Needless to say the atmosphere in the town was slightly depressed after that. Despite the downer I had another late night after discovering some girls from Boston that we had met on the pub crawl in Edinburgh had happened to be in the same hostel as us again in Manchester. You'd be surprised how often that happens backpacking around, and we got along well.

The next day I bummed around the hostel all day napping off the night before as I waited for a 6 o'clock flight to Ireland. I arrived in Cork around 8 and had an easy time catching a bus that took me straight to my hostel. Cork was a cool city with loads of cathedrals all stacked along the hills. I was pretty disappointed in the people I was staying with in the hostel and basically kept to myself and felt really uneasy for most of the time. But on the second day I happened to stumble upon the final stage in the Tour of Ireland bike race and watched as the stage winner and tour winner cruise passed me as I was right up against the barrier at the finish line. I wish I would have had my friend Richard with me to tell me actually how big the race was and if he recognized any of the riders (most of whom I can't recall) and the styles of bikes. After really enjoying myself at the bike race I went to really not enjoying myself in another uncomfortable night in the hostel room with less than savory people. I booked hostel stays up to Northern Ireland as I tried to avoid the people in my room and thought about how worn out I had become, and how tired of staying in hostels I really was. It kind of put me into a funk all through the next day and through my bus ride up to Galway, where I was keen to meet up with a couple of class Irish lasses I met in Prague. When I got to Galway I hadn't heard from the girls, so I spent a while surfing and looking at plane tickets, feeling like my trip was coming to a close. I actually bought a cheap ticket home out of Dublin, feeling I was ready to be home.

Immediately after doing so as I went to find food I ran into a guy named Sam who mentioned something about my University of Oregon sweatshirt. I stopped to talk and ended up going for a pint with him and his mates and tagging along with them up to Bellina for the night. It was spur of the moment and completely random and definitely made me second guess my earlier purchase. When I got back to Galway the next day I canceled my ticket and decided I needed to go see Ross in Holland again at least before I decided to come home. After coming back from the edge after literally jumping off I was re energized and booked a bus tour for the next day through the Burren and to the Cliffs of Mohern. It was a class trip that had a bus guide with a hilariously dry sense of humor and a lightning quick wit. The first stop on the tour was an hour and a half guided walk led by a young guy through his families farm that had been in the family for hundred of years. We learned about the limestone geology of the Burren, the multitude of cool rock walls all over the landscape, as well as some history, pagan lore, and great info on the plant life around the area. It was absolutely spectacular weather, calm and clear and as we got to the top of the hill we could see clear across Galway bay the the city of Galway we had just came from. So far, after record rains in both Scotland and Ireland just a few weeks ago, I have barely felt a drop, and am very thankful for the amazing weather).

After the walk I had some home made apple pie at the farm shop, and we continued on to the cliffs. They were absolutely spectacular and I would have killed for another hour to linger there. People on the tour were due to catch trains and what not so the bus driver was very strict about time, and wasn't afraid to leave people if he had to. But there was still time to soak in the awe and majesty of the sharp cliffs, and stroll along the path that came very near to the edge, very thrilling! After some more stops, some hilariousness from the bus driver and some pictures it was back to Galway. I still hadn't heard from the girls, but I had an address so I decided to take a walk and see more of Galway and maybe drop in if I could find the place. I eventually did and totally took Doria by surprise (I had talked to Aine and Aoife, but not Doria). She was awesome though and introduced me to some friends that were there and even cooked me a meal (a delicious chicken and couscous salad, which I ate lettuce and all and quite enjoyed). She had to work for a few hours that night so I went with her friends to watch a movie, and then met up with her when she got back for a pint. It turned into a coffee because she ended up having to stay later than she thought and she still had to drive home (they just changed laws in Ireland to severely crack down on drinking and driving), but it was much more pleasant to chat in a quiet coffee shop than scream at each other over live music in a bar.

Doria and Aine both work again tonight but I am planning on meeting up with them when they get off and tomorrow is free to have some fun with them before I head North to see the Giant's Causeway and take a few day hikes. So I don't have a ticket bought for home right now but this round of travels might be drawing to a close. We'll just have to see though, who knows what will happen, I sure don't.

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