Over and Done But Never Forgotten

As most of you know and as some of you may not know, I have finished my travels and returned home after almost eight months of being on the move. I had my ups and downs, my favorites and not-so-favorites, but I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences abroad for anything. Deciding to take a hiatus from my normal life and travel around the world has been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences ever. I found a self-reliance I never knew I had, I accomplished activities I never thought I would, I met people I wouldn’t have ordinarily met, and I indulged in cultures I’d only previously read about in books. I believe that everyone should take the opportunity, if possible, to travel and open their hearts and minds to a way of life other than their own. I did what I set out to do, and though my journey is now over, I will carry what I learned with me always. Now it’s on to the next chapter…

I want to thank all of you who kept up with me and my adventures through my blog. Your comments and well-wishes helped me through some rough times and through the good times just knowing you were out there seeing it all through my eyes made me smile. If anyone would like to contact me, feel free to email me at j_sembler@yahoo.com.

Driving, Driving, Driving

Anthony and I stayed with his friend Shane in Galway for a few days. We went for a ride through the countryside one day that was absolutely beautiful. Ireland really is the greenest place I’ve ever seen. From remote roads all you can see is green for miles. After the weekend, we rented another car from Galway to do a tour of the south of Ireland. This time the car company gave us a brand new VW Golf. I thought car companies usually give you the cheapest cars to rent unless you pay a lot for it, but not in Ireland. When I rented in NZ, they gave me a 1992 Toyota Corolla that had about 100,000 kilometers on it. Old or new, they get me from here to there, but in Ireland I was driving in style. Since I’d already driven a fair bit of Ireland in a manual, I was more confident this time around, but the roads in the south were fairly narrow and windy, and it took a great deal of concentration not to crash into oncoming traffic or the trees on the side.

We first stopped in Ardrahan where Anthony’s aunt and cousins live on a proper Irish farm. After dropping our stuff and enjoying a cup of tea, we left to visit the Cliffs of Moher on the Clare coast. It was supposed to only take an hour to get there, but we went the wrong way from the start and it took a bit longer. Since we arrived late, the visitor center was closed and we didn’t have to pay to view the cliffs; I don’t think you should have to pay to view a natural phenomenon anyhow. To our amusement we also got out of paying for parking. They were charging 8euro just to park, but when we got back from viewing the cliffs a little after 7pm, we saw that the parking attendants had gone home. We stayed with Anthony’s aunt for the night and left stuffed full of Irish breakfast in the morning. On a side note, I absolutely love Irish breakfasts. I can feel my arteries clogging every time I eat them, but I just can’t help myself. I figure I might as well eat as many authentic breakfasts as I can while I’m in Ireland. I’ll get back to my oatmeal when I get home.

Dingle, on the aptly named Dingle Peninsula, was our first destination. It’s only a small town, but very scenic. It took us a good four hours to get there from Ardrahan, and we passed right by the hostel once we got in, but we found it eventually. We took a walk in town, but it was dead with only a scattering of people here and there. Instead of hanging out in town, we bought food to cook dinner and holed up in the hostel for the night. The hostel was a huge old manor house that used to serve as a soup kitchen during the famine. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, so Anthony and I hung out in the common room, lit a fire, and relaxed with a bottle of wine for the night.

The next day we headed for Killarney, but first we drove around the famed Ring of Kerry, which is basically interconnected roads along the Iveragh Peninsula. It was an absolutely stunning drive, albeit a tough one to navigate. I stopped a few times along the way because I was concentrating so hard on the roads that I missed most of the scenery. I thought I had seen beautiful views before, but the Ring of Kerry really is breathtaking. We then made our way to Killarney, the beginning and the end of the loop. That night we went out to a pub to catch a trad session (traditional music). I love listening to Irish music, and I love how informal it usually is – just a few guys with instruments jamming while drinking a pint each. The pub was packed and we seat-hopped until we scored a plush couch, where we set up camp for the night. An Irish band came on after the trad session and played a mix of traditional Irish songs and rock music. They were great and though I was nearly falling asleep, tired after driving for hours, I couldn’t tear myself away from the music and we ended up staying until they finished.

We left for Cork the next morning, and I have to admit that I am not a fan of the place. People rave about how great Cork is, but I didn’t think it was anything special. It was probably due to the circumstances when we arrived; it was pouring buckets, having made no prior reservations we found that the hostels were booked out for the weekend, and the roads were impossible to navigate. The only detailed map we had of the city was in the Let’s Go guide, but even that omits the smaller streets that are essential to know in order to find where you are in the city. After finding the first hostel was booked, we tried to make our way to the second hostel but to no avail. We drove around for over an hour, yelling at each other in the car, until I finally pulled into a spot on the side of the road, and Anthony jumped out to find the hostel on foot. An hour later, he finally came back and told me that he’d been to three hostels, which were also booked. We called our last and final option, and luckily they had beds left. It was a little out of town but better than nothing. By that time it was 4pm and neither of us had eaten anything since breakfast so we went out in search of lunch. We were dead-set on Domino’s, which Anthony had seen on the way to the hostel but couldn’t remember where it was. We ended up getting stuck in the city center for an hour and a half in traffic, moving only an inch every minute. I finally pulled into an illegal spot, and Anthony left to find a Domino’s. He returned after a half hour with Subway. Apparently, the Domino’s had been a mirage. We ate in the car since we couldn’t leave it parked illegally, and then headed back to the hostel. When the rain finally stopped, we set out toward the city to have a look around –I wasn’t very impressed. Ironically, we passed a Domino’s on the way into the city, which we ended up having for dinner since we hadn’t found it earlier that day. We went out for a quiet drink afterward and then headed back to the hostel.

We made our way to Blarney, only 8km away from Cork, the next day to visit the Blarney Castle and stone. We spent a few hours exploring the castle and the grounds and made our way up to the Blarney stone at the top of the castle. It’s really only a small piece of a stone slab that you arch backwards to kiss. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone you’ll never be at a loss for words again. Legend also has it that local boys drunkenly stumble to the stone in the middle of the night and pee on it knowing tourists flock in hordes to kiss it. It had rained heavily the morning that we made our way to the stone so I was hoping that if it were true, at least the pee would have been washed away.

After visiting Blarney, we left for Kilkenny, a quintessential Irish city. I was pleased that we arrived at our hostel and found a parking spot easily. I was hoping Kilkenny wouldn’t be like Cork in the way of driving, and thankfully it wasn’t. We went out in Kilkenny that night with a few people from the hostel. After a few drinks at a local pub, we decided to hit up a nightclub and dance. The first one we entered was a bit too goth and rockerish for my tastes so we left. The next one we came to was charging a cover, and as backpackers, we don’t do covers so we moved on. We turned down another street and entered a club, not initially realizing it was the back entrance to the club we had just tried to go into. The bouncer didn’t stop us and we were pleased that we’d gotten in for free somehow. The place was dead and was playing horrible music so we didn’t stay very long. I was happy we hadn’t paid to get in to only stay for 15 minutes.

On our way back to Galway the next day, we stopped in to visit Anthony’s aunt again before making it back to Shane’s apartment. We dropped the car in the next morning to my delight. I was proud of myself that I had driven all over Ireland on the “wrong” side of the road in a manual car, but I wouldn’t want to do it again anytime soon. I’ll be happy to get back to my automatic when I’m home. Gas go, Brake stop, no clutch needed.

To the North and Back

I arrived in Northern Ireland last week after finding a cheap Easyjet flight from Glasgow to Belfast. I stayed with my friend Richard’s parents in Antrim for a few days. On my second night, they took me for a coastal drive along the famed Antrim coast through the Glens of Antrim all the way to Portrush. On a clear day you can see across to Scotland, but unfortunately the night we went couldn’t have been any foggier. In fact, on the supposedly most spectacular part of the drive we were actually driving through a cloud and could barely see three feet ahead, let alone miles across to Scotland. I enjoyed the drive regardless and sat taking in the scenic greenery of Northern Ireland.

I spent the next day touring Belfast city. I decided to take one of those big, red sightseeing buses. In every city I visit I always want to take one but they are usually expensive so I opt to walk around myself finding the sights. Everyone recommended that I take a black taxi tour of Belfast but when I contacted the different companies I was told that it would cost 25pounds for one person. I asked to join another group if possible but I was denied. I figured the big red bus would be the next best thing so I bought a ticket,
sat back, and listened to the driver comment on the sights and the history of Belfast. We passed the murals in West Dublin, where most of the troubles of the past culminated, and it was fascinating to see the opposing sides. Though Belfast is in a time of peace at the moment and the troubles are, for the most part over, there is still tension between the two sides and it is most apparent in West Dublin where the Catholic and Protestant areas are divided by 50 foot fences in some places. It’s crazy to think that a westernized country like Northern Ireland isn’t exempt from hostilities
stemming from religion and country loyalties.

The next day I took a bus down to Dublin where I met up with Anthony. Since he was extremely jet-lagged after having flown direct from Australia, I set out on the streets of Dublin on my own for a bit and ventured down the main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, to take in some city sights. The next day Anthony and I went to the Guinness Storehouse. The storehouse was huge and full of information on everything Guinness but was a little expensive at 14euro. It did, however, include a free pint and I had my first proper pint of Guinness. It’s not my favorite beer in the world and is a bit on the heavy side, but I did enjoy it. We met up with his friend, Paddy, later that day and stayed with him for another night in Dublin before heading north to County Cavan, where Anthony is from.

I spent a few days in Cavan and saw my first Gaelic football match. I’d only ever heard the term Gaelic football but had no idea what it entailed. It seemed to me to be a little bit of every sport thrown together. It’s like rugby, soccer, and American football all rolled into one. I also saw the Shannon Pot, which is where the Shannon River, Ireland’s longest river, rises from the ground. I decided though to rename it the Shannon “Kelly” in honor of one of my dearest friends.

We decided to rent a car for the next few days and head up north. Traveling Ireland by car is by far the most convenient way to see the country but since Anthony doesn’t have a driver’s license, I had to drive. I didn’t mind until I found out that the car rental company didn’t have any automatics. Now I know how to drive manual – it’s what I learned on – but I hadn’t driven a manual in almost six years and not only did I have to drive a manual, but it was on the opposite side of the road. At first I was nervous, but I practiced on his mom’s car to get used to it. The rental company gave us a brand new Toyota Yaris and off we went. It was a little awkward at first but I got the hang of it and drove around Northern Ireland and the north of the Republic for the next three days. It took a little getting used to the serious amount of roundabouts but I was virtually a pro by the time we dropped the car off.

The Giant’s Causeway was our first destination. We made it to Portstewart, where we were staying, in good time and then set out for the natural wonder that is the Giant’s Causeway. Basically, it’s a series of honeycomb-shaped rocks formed through volcanic activity. It looked to me like a rock version of Superman’s home in the original Superman series. It was interesting to see and was an absolutely beautiful day so we spent some time there before heading to the Bushmill’s Distillery. I’m not big on whiskey but it was interesting to learn how it’s made and matured. Like the Guinness tour, this one also came with a free drink but I decided to go for a hot tottie, a delicious blend of whiskey, sugar, and hot water, instead of straight whiskey.

We left Portstewart the next day and headed southwest to County Donegal. We checked into our hostel in Letterkenny and headed out for a drive to see the beautiful countryside that Donegal is known for. We drove for a few hours up to high point overlooking the water and mountains, and then made our way down to a nearby beach and set up camp for a few hours. It was an extremely peaceful afternoon barring the two women, their children and dogs that decided to set up near us. The children screamed the whole time and the dogs ran all over the beach, jumping on me and Anthony a few times. The women finally leashed the dogs to the bumper of their cars after their wet dogs jumped on us for the fourth time and we jumped up yelling.

Since our three-day lease was almost up, we went back down to Sligo to stay with Anthony’s aunt for a night before dropping off the car the next day. We went out to Strandhill, a really picturesque beachfront area, and decided to get impromptu seaweed baths. I’d never had a seaweed bath before but they are supposed to be good for the skin and circulation. I started with a steam and then took the bath. I could barely take the steam room – it was way too hot for me, and my face looked like a tomato when I exited. I was supposed to stay in there for five minutes but I barely lasted four. I think if someone wanted to torture me, all they’d have to do is throw me in a steam room. I’d give up any information they wanted. The bath was too hot for me at first but once I got used to it, it was extremely relaxing and enjoyable. We met up with Anthony’s aunt after our baths, and went out for dinner on the water to soak up the last rays of the day. I have to say that the weather in Ireland has been brilliant. I even had beautiful weather in the UK. Everyone complains about how gray and rainy it is, but luckily I’ve had a different experience.

Anthony and I headed to Galway the next day. We were supposed to meet up with Shane, Anthony’s friend, in the early afternoon but Shane got held up at work so Anthony and I dropped our things off in front of his flat and laid towels on the grass to sunbathe. We had no way of getting into the apartment so we chilled on the lawn for a few hours waiting for Shane. The weather was so nice though that I didn’t mind one bit. Eventually Shane arrived and we all went out for dinner and a fantastic night on the town sampling the best of Galway pubs.