lucky last

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sorry guys i know this is a bit overdue but im glad ive made u wait bcoz now it will be that much better.
we have been on a whirlwind journey together of beer, boozing and the occasional mistranslational and allow me to share the last week of my trip before providing a brief summary to tell u all wat i have learned.
last time i left off i was about to hit up loch ness, well i did and it was rainy and stormy, very real scottish weather. loch ness is big, some places almost 400m deep and said to contain enough water to submerge every person on earth two times over and still have room. after the morning cruise we took the bus to fort william and settled down for the night. next day i planned to get up early to hike up the mountain but due to scheduling conflicts, ie sleep, i did not make it. our train left at 11 30 along the great west highland way, a wonderland holding an undeniably mystical air about it. whether it was the lochs curling through the grassy mountains or the low lying clouds covering the flooded plains. it was really wat i expected from scotland and it delivered in spades. we even made a quick stop in perth to change trains and have a quick photo op before we arrived in glasgow. spent a couple hours in inner city glasgow before making our way to the airport for our delightful ryanair flight to dublin.
all in one piece we arrived in dublin that night, all be it very late and took the bus to paddys palace, the hostel where we would begin our three day southern irish tour the next morning.
got up nice and early, shovelled a quick breakfast down and it was on the bus my friends.
most of that day was spent on the bus but i did get to see and admire the treacherous bogs that i had read about from my friend seamus heaney. we had a brief stop at the cloncamoise monastery with its castle perched on a rock in the middle of the lake before making our way to galway where we would spend the night.
i spent the afternoon perusing galway, shopping with the bohemian irish crowd and watching the powerful river rush into the harbour buoyed up by the recent floods. that night we had a group dinner at a pub called molly malones where i was advised to try the irish stew which i have to say was amazing. i have to say it is not up there with my scottsih puff pastry pie, or my greek kebabs or my spanish tapas but it ireland can be proud of its cuisine.
that night hosted a few drinks but all in all ended well without any dire consequences. u wouldnt think this but in ireland they stop selling liquor after 10 pm unless its in a pub. backpackers cant afford pub prices so it was either go to the dodgy chinese deli or just have more of a quiet one.
oooo i almost forgot, our tour guide. a 37 year old bisexual long haired irishman called phillip who was about to quit his job as a tour guide to pursue an acting career and was on a mission to reach 1000 facebook friends by christmas. phillip tried to be the matchmaker, asking who was single and recomending good combinations.
next morning when we got on the bus phillip asks on the microphone, "so who picked up last night?" everyone is hushed until phillip subtly slips his hand into the air. a 19 year old hairdresser invited him over to his place for a cup of coffee because he said he had to drive the bus the next morning and the rest ill leave to ur imagination. phillips antics gave us enough entertainment until we reached the burren, a welcome natural distraction.
the burren is a 40 by 60km area of rocky hills along the irish coast. a truly unique landscape punctuated by huge manmade walls. the irish call these fences, the walls of sorrow and the story goes as follows.
as u may or may not know the english were huge pricks to the irish for a lot of the last 500 years.
during the great potato famine and several irish rebellions prisoners and many irish citizens were taken to the burren and put in prison camps were they were instructed to build walls that served no apparent purpose other than to tire them out and deprive them of hope. effectively, this was one of the first concentration camps in recorded history. the dark history enriches this areas natural beauty making it a true highlight of the irish countryside.
and then.........
THE CLIFFS OF MOHER!!!
for those of you who are not familiar with these phenomenal 120m seaside cliffs, get on google images right away or even better, ask to see my photos, id only be too happy to share with u.
i love nature, its grace, its strength but sometimes u can even marvel at its brutality. the ocean has pounded this coastline into a sheer fortress that beholds the eye. i payed 2 euros to climb to the top of a castle that gave me unhindered views of this forbidding coastline, one of the coolest things i have ever seen. as u can already see i was fastly growing fond of ireland and things got better.
that afternoon we arrived in kilarney and all our tour group had become quite close and so that night was one of the most full on and legendary nights of boozing i have ever had. round after round after round of guiness, spirits and laughter and the next morning i woke up with no memory, a killer hangover and a santa claus hat. now u guys know me, normally i hate talking about this sort of stuff so i am telling u this story with the return promise that this will not be discussed with me. (i even threw up on the bus on the way to our next stop that morning, blarney castle.)
blarney castle is an old rocky castle that has a legendary stone that you have to bend over backwards over the edge of the castle roof to kiss. a man holds u while u do this and it wasnt particularly exciting to me but im told its an important part of visiting ireland.
and so it was back to dublin that night, our irish tour over but our irish journey just begining.
second last day in ireland, inspired by my year 12 study i decided to visit the bru na boinne or boinne valley, the site of the ancient irish megalithic tombs that heaney talks of in his compilation North.
there not only did i see the oddly shaped hill of tara, crowning site of the irish kings but i was fortunate enough to see newgrange, a 5000 year old tomb that predates the pyramids. it is believed that the people who inhabited ireland at this time, (fairies, giants and whatever else the irish claim) worshipped the sun and thus built newgrange at a certain orientation that gives it a truly astounding yet odd quality. the direction of the entrance and inclining height of the entrance passage means that on one day of the year, the northern hemisphere winter solstice, as the sun rises up over the horizon it perfectly and vividly illuminates the entire tomb. to witness this phenomenon one must enter a raffle with 200 000 other people of which a group of 30 are picked.
that evening i finally gave myself a small tour of dublin, walking through trinity college and temple bar as well as to the cathedrals of this great city. i also paid a visit to the General Post Office, the famous site where michael collins held fort at the easter rising.
that night my last night i saw adina and amanda before getting to bed, ensuring i had energy for my last day.
that morning, we awoke at 5 am to get the bus up to belfast in northern ireland. today was the day we would visit carick a rede rope bridge and the legendary giants causeway. the day was so clear that from the tip of northern ireland we could see scotland. walking along another violent coastline, glimpsing far off islands we came to the fisherman built suspension bridge that strands the 25m deep chasm between the mainland and tiny carrick island. there are very few things that provide more of a rush than shaking an old bridge 25m above roaring seas amongst the undeniable beauty of northern ireland.
back on the bus, next stop, giants causeway.
the giants causeway is an explained geological anomaly that fascinates all who visit it.
the causeway is composed of thousands of polygonal shapes, mostly hexagons and pentagons that tessalate together to form a ridge that juts out into the sea.
legend has it that the irish giant fjon mcool built the causeway to get the the woman he loved over in neighbouring scotland which is as good a reason as any that geologists have found to explain wat is now there. a couple hours, hundreds of photos and some great memories later it was back to the bus.
a quick stop in derry, a city tormented by the irish troubles and location of the famous bloody sunday murders and it was back to belfast and on the long bus back to dublin.
that night i farewelled europe, i said goodbye, adue, cyas all later.
next morning i was on the bus to the airport, flight to london luton, bus to london city centre, bus to heathrow, flight to singapore, immediate changeover to fly to perth and greeted by mum and dad back home.
and that my friend, was 3 and a half months of travel for u.
from september 2nd to december 18th i had a little fun, met some cool people, saw some awesome places and came back 107 wiser with cultural experience and memories from 19 countries.
hope u all enjoyed the ride and for the last time
Dylan Out

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