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Published: July 28th 2018
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Well here it is, my first ever travel blog entry! Now most people start a travel blog when they first start traveling or when they go on a new trip or to a new country, well not me! This is approximately the 28th country I've visited (most of those within the past 7 years when I REALLY started traveling). I'm also already about two and a half weeks into this trip and have seen most of the tourist sights in Ireland I set out to see.
You may be asking why I'm starting a travel blog now, well my answer is "Why Not?!". To be honest I never really thought about starting one before - perhaps due to laziness, perhaps due to not having enough confidence in my writing ability, perhaps not wanting to interfere with the enjoyment of my trip, perhaps knowing that no one will ever fucking read this.
Well the reason why I'm starting one today is because I was inspired. After a crappy/disappointing/rainy tour of the "Ring of Kerry" yesterday (one that I was really looking forward to), I decided to do hike the "Dunloe Gap" today. I was expecting to see some cool things
but I wasn't expecting to be amazed, but that's what happened today, I was amazed. There is no grandeur better than unexpected grandeur, and today was a perfect example of that.
The tour started off with a small coach taking us to the entry of the "Dunloe Gap" trail. The hike itself is about 7 miles and you have almost three hours to finish it, where a boat is waiting to take you back through the Killarney lakes in the national park back into town. The first mile or so of the hike was pretty nice - pretty mountain valley views, lush green foliage, random wildlife. The rain was light at first but got heavier within a few minutes, as did the wind gust. I had to bust out my weak little umbrella that ultimately kept my upper body somewhat dry but left my not waterproof pants and shoes getting soaked more my the minute. It wasn't too much to handle, but was annoying. Taking out my camera and taking pics under my umbrella proved a bit tricky at first, but I got a few decent shots in (some with a wet lens ugh!).
Just as I approached
the actual gap the rain started to clear up a bit and the sun started to peak through. My favorite mix shuffled on my Ipod Nano (Desyn Masiello at Nikkei Beach 2005 for all you electronic music lovers), and yes I still use an Ipod Nano, it kicks ass when traveling! I stopped to take a couple pics and to have a snack. Even my trail mix was picking me up - having the perfect ratio of fruits, nuts, and wasabi peas! In addition my constant starts and stops had let the people in front of me get really ahead and the people behind me almost non existent. I had the whole trail to myself! (well kinda). I started dance walking up the windy paved trail in the gap, feeling the mix on my Ipod and the energy from the trail mix. As I came out the other end of the gap, the scenery just got better and better. The weather cleared up and those 7 miles almost felt like nothing. I honestly haven't seen that many beautiful landscapes in such a short amount of time since the "Salar De Uyuni" (salt flats) tour I did in Bolivia a few
years back. Breathtaking and inspiring screen saver views, one after another, until the hike ended at a place called "Brandon's Cottage". From there a nice calm boat ride through the Killarney National Park Lakes back into town. The tour was over but the experience of the day stuck with me, which is the reason why I'm writing this entry, which is the reason why I started this blog.
Solo travel has it's ups and downs. Boredom, loneliness, or frustration can easily set in, sometimes all at once. But it's days like this that make me remember why I do this shit. It makes me feel alive, it makes me appreciate the things the world has to offer. Yes the world is fucked up in many ways, yes my life isn't quite where I want it to be right now personally and professionally, but today made me feel alive and that's all you can really ask for from a day. Right?
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