Fly to Ireland with Ryanair...had to pay for luggage! Honestly...may be a cheap airline but they get you on fees and what not! With a 15kg luggage allowance, and 1(!) piece allowed for had luggage - packing was like oi! Yeah yeah, only 10 days...but I am female - I'm slowly getting better with the packing thing...although I still wish everytime I have to do it that I could teleport!
Anyhoo - the day I leave the UK it's one of those miserable, grey, overcast and rainy ones - get to the airport 2 hours prior to check in - as stipulated...overkill for like a 45min flight, but I guess it is considered international...eventually board and rise above the miserable weather to sunshine and clear skies.
Flying over the Irish sea and seeing the coastline was amazing! This country (and Ireland) really is green - to be expected with all the rain this place gets! - and from an aerial view it really is amazing. Land in Dublin to find the weather still great.
Get into the city, check in to hostel, dump backpack (under 15kg!) and go for walk around the city. Didn't make it in time to get to Trinity College - I really really wanted to check out the library; another time!
Was a beautiful walk in the Docklands area and along the Liffy River. Had a decent night's sleep - first time in ages (and pretty much only time while on tour).
Of course the day the tour started it would be the weather the region is known for - rain and overcast! [img]http://emoticons4u.com/sad/1011.gif[/img] I know I keep going on about the weather but really...it's the one thing I don't like about this side of the globe! We did have days when the weather played along - more days where it didn't - but what can you expect if you chose to go travelling when it's autumn in an area known for rainy weather?
So day one had us headed to Derry. Didn't go directly there - saw part of the Irish countryside along the way and stopped at a few places before reaching Derry. We were informed that the Clarence Hotel's (Bono's hotel...oh and the Edge) penthouse suite about €2000 per night...and then you still pay €35 for breakfast...klomp geld!
Drove through some small town...and passed the Slane Castle where U2 got their break as the opening act for Tinned Lizzy. On this tour drove through many small towns - many with Gaelic derived names I really had difficulty in remembering. Add that a lot of the countryside looked the same and merged into one - was a bit difficult to distinguish one small town from the next.
Our tour guide and bus driver was hilarious - and knows so much about Irish history (his job I guess...but geez there's a lot!) It really was an info overload - my brain could only hold so much information about invasion and dates before it became addled.
Quick(ish) version - so Ireland was it's own country way back when. Monk's came- brought Christianity. Somewhere along the line it was invaded by the Celts - hence the Gaelic spoken (somewhat) today. Also invaded by the Norse and Vikings, and the English.
Vikings (and possibly the Norse) destroyed round towers - looking for things of value. Ireland has more castles than England, Scotland and Wales - 73% are in a ruined condition - partly because of a tax law the English set - if it had a roof you had to pay tax. So off came the roofs. And partly because of 'the fooker' Oliver Cromwell. English man who thought that by destroying all the castles the wealth would be redistributed back to England. Of course, that didn't happen. Add the famine wars from 1845-1849, which basically happened because the English screwed over the Irish and then more recent happenings with Ireland being divided into the Republic and Northern Ireland (under British rule) and you have a country with a whole lot of political drama.
First overnight stop - Derry. Derry (part of N.Ireland) is known for two things - Bloody Sunday (30 Jan '72) and for being the city with it's walls still standing. Oh, and also for having a larger Catholic compared to Protestant community. We found out a small part of the happenings of Bloody Sunday, and all the fighting etc in general between the Catholics and the Protestants - the IRA and the UVF... it's hectic!
Hostel we stayed wasn't particularly great - was a bed I guess. I really wasn't impressed with most of the hostels we stayed at - at least the Paddy's Palace ones. Went out for a cheap meal - the Irish version of the British Witherspoons. It was food I guess. Another thing I wasn't overly impressed with - the meals. Aside from feeling like I spent practically all of my money on food ( I think Ireland more expensive than the rest of Europe...) - I only thoroughly enjoyed two meals in the entire 10 days. Portions too big, too much fried food, meals a lil too heavy for my liking and I was over chips!
From Derry we made our way to Belfast - driving along the coast and stopping at more small towns as well as the Giant's Causeway - another miserable day. It was still beautiful and just awesome being outdoors, and the feeling of space! Also saw one of numerous castles that we were to see that had been destroyed by the fooker Cromwell.
In Belfast we did the optional and highly recommended Black Taxi Tour. It certainly was an education. There's way too much history, and it really won't have the same impact hearing it second hand - but I found it all quite fascinating. And it made me appreciate where I come from so much more.
Finding out about this war, how the Brits screwed over the Irish, Michael Collins signing over 4 cities of one county to the Brits and in so doing signing his own death warrant (he said so in his speech) and how - as usual - it's the people who suffer. Why they stayed is a bafflement - but after chatting to our taxi driver - who was of the first to hijack a bus and burn it to protect his property it made more sense. Trying to equate it to what happened back home can't really be done, but there are a few similarities. One major difference being that in N.Ireland - it's the majority that has the rule (not the minority as it was back in SA).
I didn't know much about British or Irish politics - and the little knowledge I gained now - politics is such rubbish. But there's no getting around it. Catholics are allowed to be public servants, but not civil servants - e.g. they won't serve in the army. Why? Cos the IRA's in government - and they're watching. Both the IRA and UVF (Ulster Volunteer Front - Protestant and pro-English) had (?have) no qualms about shooting people's kneecaps. Where you shot is an indication of who did it, one group shoots behind the knee and on on the side. The hospital in Belfast has specialised in knee replacements - by default, and not a reputation to be proud of. The Brits had put a gag on the media regarding the goings on of the UVF, Orange order etc - to make the IRA seem worse than they really were - where both sides were equally bad.
It's amazing how objectively the drivers were able to tell their stories, but I guess they've had time to get to grips with it all - even though it doesn't mean they've accepted it. When we were looking at the murals in the Protestant area of Belfast there were some kids around, gave a version of one mural, using a derogatory term for Catholics that had our guide shaking his head. As we climbed back into the cabs, these 10/11yr old boys bid farewell with unsavoury hand gestures.
Drove to the peacewall - it's huge and over 40 ft high, and people were still capable of throwing things over it. There's a gate between the Catholic and Protestant area - if trouble arises you have a few minutes to get to the appropriate side before the gates are shut.
The black taxis were used as alternate transport - since busses were all hijacked and burnt. People stayed because they couldn't leave. No skills, no money. Same old story. The skilled workeres were the Protestants. Our paddywagon tour guide mentioned somewhere along the line that Ireland's greatest export is it's people. A ridiuclous number of passports are issued per year when there aren't even that many people in Ireland. There's around 6 million people in Ireland today - this number is now only reaching what it was prior to the Famine was in the 1800s - 1.5million people left and 1.5million people died (unnecessarily) of starvation during that time.
Today, they are still trying to get N.Ireland back under the rule of the Irish - but of course there's a whole lot of drama. N. Ireland has it's own goverment - made up of Protestants (who hold the most seats and want to remain under British rule) and Catholics. They are at a stale mate of sorts since neither side wants to be seen agreeing with the enemy and so nothing gets done. Our taxi driver said they'll continue to try, but he doubts he'll see N. Ireland becoming part of the republic in his lifetime. Intense fighting between the Catholics and Protestants was as recent as 2005.
All this political drama just made me realise that shite happens the globe over. History keeps repeating itself and we foolish humans never learn. Each country may have a slightly different version of it but in the end they're all very similar, and all equally senseless. And it will keep happening. I don't know whether or not I held the British goverment in some sort of high regard - I'm not one to pay great attention to politics - but what I learnt, and with connecting a few dot with other random bits of history I know - they've certainly dropped a few notches if I did. It's quite atrocious the things that happen in an apparent first world country.
Right, enough rambling about a political situation I still know very little about.
From Belfast we headed back to Derry - not really sure why, but hey. Along the way stopped at some small towns and the took in the Irish countryside - much of the countryside blurred into one, and I can't really remember what day we were where...what with the weather pretty much being grey,town names being unpronounceable (and not always catching what our Irish guide said)...and it all looking very similar with green fields and sheep...and a few ruins in between, can you blame me?
From Derry we made our way to Cong - small town in N. Ireland - the hostel we stayed at was about 20min walk out of town but with the rainy weather we certainly weren't walking there. Before arriving in Cong we drove to the mountain where there's a annual pilgrimage for St. Patrick
This was the sign at the base - so basically it means, don't climb the mountain. Spent sometime in the town (?village) of Westport - made use of the supermarket there and bought groceries to make our group dinner in Cong. Just chilled indoors when we got there. There was a hazardous staircase - especially when wet - I went and slipped and fell down about 4 stairs, hurting my back in the process...later that evening, a about 4 people and our tourguide drove into town (with the big green bus - after having had a few drinks) and went to a local pub...when they came back, one guy went and fell down all the stairs when he was making his way to the loo (toilets were downstairs, along with the showers)...trip to the hospital in the next town and 6 stitches to the cut above his eye later...
Cong to Galway, and along the way passing the lake where the scene for PS I Love You was shot - of course it would be a day when it was pouring with rain... In Galway we met up with a few other Paddywagon tours, and got a few people joining ours. Had a group dinner at the pub Munroes - I had the Irish stew...it was really good! First decent meal I'd had all trip through. Listened to the live music for a bit - the drummer and guitarist were cute :p and then was supposed to go pub hoping - but the pub we went to afterwards was dodgy, and just killed the vibe...so some of us headed back to our hostel (the best one we'd stayed in - and not a Paddy's Palace)
Left Galway and drove along the coast through the Burren region - completely different landscape to the rest of Ireland - a very rocky region, and saw the walls, known as Famine walls, that served no purpose except for the British to exert authority over the Irish.
Stopped at the Cliffs of Moher for a while. It was beautiful - especially looking out onto the ocean and the horizon
From the cliffs made our way to Annascoul. This is a one horse town, minus the horse. It has a population of 330 - give or take a few tourists and has nine pubs! Apparently not all the pubs are open all year round. The Paddy's Palace is this green monostrosity as you enter the town (well, monstrosity compared to the rest of the town) and it (and it's pub) is across the the Sacred Heart Church. People in the town weren't very happy when it opened...but it did result in more tourists acutally stopping in the town - its a five minute walk down the road before you hit the end of the town...
Annascoul was our rural local stop in South Ireland and Cong was the it in the north...Cong is famous for the movie the Quiet man (uh, before my time...) and Annascoul, don't if it has a claim to fame.
Leaving Annascoul we drove along the Dingle Peninsula - this was by far my favourite day of the tour. Especially because we had clear skies while driving along the North Atlantic coastline.
Dingle to Killarney where we spent two nights. Some of us did the horse and carriage ride throught the Killarney National Park - no cars allowed. The national parks here are very different to the ones back home. To be expected I guess, but I've always associated national parks with places where there's dangerous wild animals and you're not allowed to walk in. We saw a few reindeer, and just rode along enjoying the scenery. The park is 55000 ha and has a few lakes as well as Ross castle...destroyed by guess who? This was supposed to be similar to the black taxi tours re getting information about the place etc - our driver didn't say much.
Back at the hostel - where we found out we were in a dorm of 14! Went out for a mediocre dinner, met back at the hostel and went to a pub/club where drinks were 3 for €10...I'm not a big drinker, but I really have not drank as much as I did on this tour - and it's still a miniscule amount compared to everyone else! I opted out after my third -did a round each with two others...people had like 9/12 drinks each...and it was any drink so be it beer or spirits. Drunken dancing to the guy playing his guitar and a few other shenanigans I only found out about the next day... I was like, I really am in my own world aren't I? Got woken up a couple times that night by the battle of the snores. Ohmygosh...people can snore. At one stage 3 guys were taking turns snoring...by this time it was nearly time to get up anyway, so I gave up on the extra 20min sleep. What I managed to sleep through though was one guy falling out of bed - off the top bunk. And from those who woke up - sat on the floor and laughed. Same guy had fallen asleep on the pot - one girl heard him snoring from the en suite bathroom. This is the same dude who got the stitches...funny I tell you. He argued saying he didn't fall out of bed...but enough people witnessed it!
Did the Ring of Kerry - more coastline driving, but this time the weather was back to being grey. When we could see out the window...and the little we could see in the distance when we stopped for photos was pretty. Lunch in yet another small town with a name I don't remember, stop at a view of the lakes and the Torc waterfall - part of the Killarney National Park and then we headed back to Killarney. The waterfall was a small reminder of Sabie and the Lowveld :)
Stayed in that night - had tesco's roast chicken and salads for dinner. not very exciting! but at least cheap.
Surfer, Lahinch Beach
Killarney to Cork. Missing out some stop on the way and going through more small towns including Blarney. Don't know whether guide forgot or decided not to do the stop since whether was again miserable. Stopped at the roofless Blarney castle....destroyed by guess who? Kissed, uhm make that, bumped my head on the Blarney stone and then just walked part of the grounds - not condusive to a proper wander with the wet weather. Had lunch in Blareny and then made our way to Cork.
In Cork, wandered around the city for a bit, had a drizzle all the time but really couldn't stay indoors. Ready-made-meal for dinner and had a chilled evening. A few people opted to go out but most of us stayed in.
Last day of the tour had us heading back to Dublin. More small towns, more ruins, more castles and we get to Dublin and head to the Guinness storehouse. Go through the factory - paying a little attention to how Guinness is made - my brain really had an overload of information over the 10days... get to the top floor with the Gravity bar - where you have a 360 view of Dublin. It's a city.
We could pour our own pints - so stood in the line - and got asked for ID! I mean seriously! I know I look young and all...but for crying out loud, younger than 18? I think not! I go to fetch my driver's licence - only for the girl who asked for it to leave. And the other girl there just took my ticket stub, no worries. Poured the perfect pint - got the certificate saying so.... and then tasted it. I decided to save my tasting Guinness until we got to the Guinness factory. Just as well...Guinness may be good for you and give you strength but it doesn't agree with my tastebuds! Took a sip...was like yeugh...and dug around for the kitkat I had in my bag to get rid of the taste. Left my drink on the table. Quite a few people of our tour gave their pint's to someone else who'd actually drink it...but we were running out of time so nobody took mine. Oh well...a pint wasted.
Back to where we started, dropped off and we head to this hostel on the suggestion of one girl - who said it was cheaper compared to Paddy's Palace, was clean and provided breakfast. Yeah. Right. Cheap- definitely. Clean, debateable. You get for what you for with €9 - nooit weer nie. One - you had to hire blankets. And they'd run out! I have issues with blankets anyway, much prefer duvets. Was in a 20 bed dorm, it was only for one night and the dorm was filled but still... I don't know how much I slept that night. Add that our room didn't lock so the key cards was pretty pointless - didn't risk leaving behind my laptop (in a padlocked backpack) so it came along when we went out for what was supposed to be a group dinner. People couldn't agree so we split up but bumped into the groups in pubs later that evening. Dinner in the Temple Bar, went to Buskers...and Ireland was playing against Cyprus so the match was on...and everyone getting all patriotic for Ireland - with two Aussies cheering the loudest when the one goal of the match was scored. After dinner at Buskers to a long trek to Whelan's pub...really liked this pub (it's where the pub scene in PS I Love You was shot...ok, no more ps i love you random snippets after this :p ) and then met up with a few of the others at yet another pub in Temple Bar where live music was played before heading back to the dodgy hostel, Brown's ( where not to stay in Dublin, or rather a when you have very little money and have absolutely no other choice!).
Back to Brum the next day...clear skies once again so the flight was good. And the weather held in Brum too. Was literally there for a laundry and repack stop before leaving for Wales...but that's another blog
Liffy River at Dusk, Dublin
1 comment:
Hello
I enjoyed your comments about my country and your correct about some of the hostels
Next time if you come back try and have a look at bed and breakfast have look family homes of Ireland I can recommend them there on the web
Kind regards
Phill
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