Nora suggested we take a picnic to the beach. We bought some pretty phenomenal food at the English Market and then rode a train to a little coastal town called Cobh (pronounced "cove"). We sat down and ate our little meal in this park-ish area on the water. We were planning on a beach, but there wasn't one very close to the train station, and we were all too hungry to walk much further.
We ventured around Cobh a bit after that. It was such a cute town! It was nice to finally be out of big cities; we all thought so. Nora went off exploring on her own at one point, and Jen and I went into a pet supply store in the hopes of finding people's pets in there. Thankfully, the store itself was the proud owner of two dogs and a cat. We stayed in there petting them and fawning over them for probably much too long - haha!
Jen and I ended up missing the train by about 5 seconds (I think the clock on Jen's phone was slow), so we had to wait around for an hour more before heading back to Cork to catch our bus to Killarney. It ended up being just fine, though, as we talked about some pretty great things. I was glad for the opportunity!
Finally, around 7 or 8 at night, we arrived in Killarney. Coleman - our interstudy contact - directed us by phone to the hostel he had booked for us. Upon arrival, we checked in, dumped our stuff in our room, and headed down to the kitchen to meet up with Coleman and the other interstudy students, including Nora, who had gotten there just fine on her own. Thankfully, we weren't too late for dinner, as it just consisted of interstudy paying for a meal from whichever restaurant we picked. After an interesting Thai meal, and a bit of mingling (but not too much, mind you - we were both so tired!), Jen and I went to bed. I think some people went out, as everyone over here does all the time, but we were just too exhausted. Plus, we didn't actually know any of the people yet and were neither of us feeling extremely social. Bed-time it was!
The next day, we ate breakfast at the hostel and then headed out for a day of outdoor activities! First, we went kayaking in a lake just outside of Killarney, at the foot of some famous mountain, most likely, but the name of which I can't remember. I had never been kayaking before, but I found I enjoyed myself. The water was freezing, though! They group that were our "supervisors" I guess, for lack of a better word (the people who taught took us out kayaking and biking) provided wet suits and shoes for us, but still - just stepping into the water to get the kayak out on the water about did me in! Once I was in the kayak it was much better, of course. We toured around the lake and in some limestone caves, played some games, and pretty much just enjoyed ourselves.
We broke for lunch after a couple hours and then started the biking. Again, the outdoor group provided all the equipment - bikes, helmets, windbreakers, etc. It was a beautiful ride. I took so many pictures, which you will see soon. (I didn't have my camera with me on the lake, as it's not water proof, but one of the guides did have a water proof one and will be sending those pics to us sometime soon, hopefully). We pulled over at one point and went spelunking kinda. We were instructed to not take our helmets off as we would need them, and then our guide guy took us into this cave on the side of the mountain. Inside, it was absolutely pitch black, the kind where your eyes never adjust. People were using the flashes on the cameras to get a glimpse of what was ahead. Jen took a picture of me, but my eyes were huge because I was straining so hard to see. It's kind of funny! I think most people were like that. It was a short little tunnel that you had to bend over for the whole way through, but everyone made it out the other side alright. It was really neat!
Like I said, the bike ride was just beautiful. I am incredibly out of shape, so going up the hills was rather difficult, but there were great downhill parts, too. All around, great ride!
That afternoon was a huge rugby match for Ireland. I didn't end up going out to the pub with the others to watch it, but I heard about it. Apparently, there are 6 nations in the rugby league, and there used to be only 5. When one team beats all of the others (they play each other only once), it is called getting a grand slam. I guess Ireland hasn't done it since 1949, but that streak ended this past Saturday night. I guess the match was pretty amazing. People were yelling and cheering all over town, and cars honked their horns. It was a cool atmosphere!
interstudy took us to dinner after that at this really nice restaurant. It was so nice, in fact, it was kind of less enjoyable for me, but oh well. I did get some steak out of it, so yum!
The next day, Jen, Nora, and I started the long journey back home. Thankfully, Coleman and this other interstudy gal, Katie, had vans to take us back to the airport in Cork. It was sunny and gorgeous that day, both in Cork and for the most part in Belfast, as well. We were so grateful, and soaked up as much of the sun's glory as possible. I was so eager to be home again, though.
Even though I hadn't really felt like going on a trip that weekend, it was still a good thing because it showed how much I appreciate my home here in Belfast, mostly because of the people. I found I missed my friends dearly. Every one I saw that I day I attacked with a hug, even Rosie, who is a self-proclaimed non-hugger. Woops, sorry Rosie! It was great to see everyone again, though. I really needed it! :)
Here are my pics from the bike trip:
I wanted to climb this tree cuz it was so big and wonderful, and it looked like it had the perfect little nook to sit on. It was too massive and smooth for me to get a foothold anywhere. Even though it looks short, I couldn't get up there. I settled for attempting to hug it instead, for all my tree-hugger friends out there. ;)
Just for you, Dad. Enjoy! :)
Bicycle Park. Cute.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe how beautiful your pictures are!!!
ReplyDeleteOoooo it's so pretty! And you are so adventurous!
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