The History of Northern Ireland and My Role In It

Ahhh!!! Lots to catch up on! Sorry it's been so long but sometimes internet isn't easy to come by and when I do have it I'm busy with emails and now facebook (mistake! but so many peple were asking about it I had to) So look me up on face book and you can see when I'm going for biscuits, when I'm doing wash and all the dull everyday stuff that I do. :)

Ok, let's start at the beginning. When I last blogged, I was just leaving Westpot on my way to Derry, Northern Ireland. Before I begin telling you that adventure, a quick history lesson (sorry if this isn't exactly correct, but I think I have it down pretty well). Warning: This is long. If history bores you (that's ok) skips the itallicised part and get to the good stuff in the normal font! :) I wouldn't have found this interesting before I got here, so all you must know is that Northern Ireland is a different country than Ireland but not everyone wants it that way. That's the oversimplification of Northern Ireland in a tinny tiny nutshell! For the rest of you, here goes:

So, present-day Ireland and Northern Ireland were once both part of England, English colonies (United Kingdom), actually, just like Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and the US. Most of those have become their own countries, but Canada and Australia still pledge allegiance to the queen, unlike the rebel US. Ireland has since broken off and become it's own country recently and Northern Ireland is part of the UK, just like Scotland and Wales. Way back when before all that, England "planted" Protestants in Northern Ireland and they began treated the "native" Irish Catholics very poorly. Eventually, Ireland split off to their own country and Northern Ireland was left to the British.

When they made the border, the followed the River Foyle for the most part, but since it runs through the city Derry, the British took all of Derry. This left the Irish Catholics as a minority still so the Protestants still had the upper hand and left the Irish poor and without a vote, essentially. The Irish Catholics had their part of town, on the "Bogside" of the Foyle River and the Protestants were on the "Waterside." People rarely passed from one side to the other and it was the same in Belfast. Recently, there has been much fighting here over whether to join the Republic of Ireland and make the island one country (which the Catholics want) or to stay as they are, part of Britain (what the Protestants want).

This is NOT a religious thing, it just happens to be Protestants who originally came from Britain and want to remain part of Britain and Catholics who have Irish heritage and want to become part of Ireland again.

The region of Northern Ireland is commonly called Ulster (from the traditional counties' name) and it's easier to find a Ireland flag sticker than a Northern Ireland sticker. When I was trying to find a Northern Ireland patch, the lady at the shop told me that for many people, there is peace at the surface level, but underneath people feel very strongly.

The Troubles, as the violent times are called, are long gone, and most of the violence you hear of today are kids who just want violence and don't truely understand what the fighting was about. I've meet several men and women who lived through those times and they are very sad they happened, but they are looking toward peace in the future and want their way, but not so much to push to violence. On a walking tour in Belfast I took, the guide casually said hi and chatted with a man then told us he used to be a leader of the IRA (the Catholic side army). The governer of Coleraine used to also be a leader of the IRA and order people to be killed and now he governs those people jointly with a Protestant leader. These are real people who are still living today! There is a lot of recent history here, but there are some people who weren't affected immediately by it. I met three ladies today at St. Columb's Cathedral who lived through it but didn't hear about some things until a friend from London called and asked if they were ok because some bomb went off or there was shootings somewhere.

The whole area was not a warzone, but it certainly was in some places. The images we see about The Troubles are not false, but they are not the entire country's state at that time either.

That is the condensed (but not short) history of Ireland and why it is so important to realise it is a different country than Ireland. Many tourists come here and think they are still in Ireland. The border is nothing and many roads can cross it several times in just a kilometer. All that switches to the tourists are euros to pounds, kilometers to miles and most things are cheaper here than in the Republic.

But there is so much more if you look at the past, even the recent past, talk to the people who lived through it and look at the murals painted across town, both on the Catholic and Protestant sides. It's really amazing how recent this was (and it's still going on) but how little people know about it. The people of Northern Ireland feel so much for people in Basque Country and Palestine and other places where the same thing is going on.

Ok, everyone awake still or just confused? Get a book and hopefully it can explain it better. It's really interesting once you get into it. But for me it's easier to understand and connect with if you are here.

Ok, so I left Westport, coatless as you may remember, with my thumb sticking out and getting into random cars. Yes, I hitchhiked from Westport 5 hours Northeast across the border to Derry, Northern Ireland. It was my first time hitching and I did very well. I only took a bit longer than the bus, I never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a lift and I had 8 people pick me up, I think, and one even had me over for tea before taking me to a good spot for hitching! Very nice people in Ireland, I must say. And a very successful first day of hitching.

I arrived in Derry and was dropped off right in front of the hostel and after checking in, treated myself to 4 GBP fish and chips at Wetherspoons, a cheap chain restaurant. Back at the hostel, I met my roommates, Jessica and Shawn, and talked my way into going with them in their car around the countryside the next day. After a restless night for all three of us (who puts normal matresses on kidsize bunks????) we took off to explore stone circles in the countryside. It was very cool, (free) and besides the rain, wind and lack of coat, it was great.

When we returned, we were all exhausted and Urko, a Couchsurfing host, had me over for dinner. He is Basque and made me Mussel Paella. Yum. It was delicious. He also introduced me to Kalimotxo, which is a fifty/fifty coke and red wine (sorry Mom, I sinned... mixing wine and coke) and it was quite good. A nice way to fix cheap red wine. :) Well, Urko couldn't host me that night because he was going to leave the next day to a long weekend away, and I returned back to my hostel to brag about my dinner. :)

Sunday, I bummed another ride with Jessica and Shawn to Doe Castle, which is a cool castle in the process of being restored. It's in County Donegal, in Rep. of Ireland, and was great fun for taking photos and exploring.

Monday, Jessica and Shawn went on the Giant's Causeway for two nights, but since I hadn't seen the murals in Derry yet, I stayed behind, plus I had plans to stay at Urkos Monday night and didn't want to cancel on him last minute. I explored the murals, both on the Protestant and Catholic sides of the River Foyle. I was glad to meet up with two other North Americans so we went together, which was good because I don't think as a single female I would have felt comfortable there alone. It began to rain and they had left me to return to the hostel, so I ducked into a mural museum or sorts and began talking with a man there who told me many stories and showed me "just down this street and to the right there was regular fighting" or "just here at this street corner, the Catholics would throw stones at the Protestant soldiers, pausing only for women with their shopping bags returning from the market and for tea time, except this one guy...." It was very interesting.

Coming back to the hostel, I just wanted to decompress, so I watched a movie with Don, from the hostel and went to Urkos for dinner and bed. We had to finish the mussels since they were going to go off that day so he cooked them with a buttery (he never uses butter! just a huge vat of olive oil and a teeny partial stick of butter that expired months ago!) wine sauce and garlic. It was very good. And, again, of course, Kalimotxo. :)

Tuesday I went to Giants Causeway on my first train of the trip! I went with Don, from the hostel and met up with Jessica and Shawn at the train station. We took our bags to the most fabulous hostel ever, Downhill Hostel, and I didn't want to leave! It was like an old country home on the ocean with amazing views and it was also a pottery studio, so it had a great homey feel with their pottery used at mugs and plates, etc.

We left heaven and drove to Giant's Causeway, the four of us, and paid an outrageous 8 euro to park! The causeway was amazing, though. It was an old volcanic field that, over time, reshaped itself into thousands of hexagonal pillars, acting like steps in places and making amazing natural geometric patterns everywhere! After a few hours of wandering, we returned famished to make dinner, only to find out the gas wasn't working. The hostellier's wife was from Seattle and was entertaining guests from Bellingham (wow!) and cooked our pasta and meat for us in her kitchen. Her guests cooked their own food. Everyone was really good humoured about it and we combined our meals to make it less work for her. and we got to eat together. I was still sick, so the hostelier gave me Irish medicine of honey, whiskey and water to help me sleep. It was great.

Wednesday, Jessica, Shawn and I drove to Belfast along the Antrim Coast. It was pretty, but most of the time I was admiring the inside of my eyelids. When we got to Belfast, I was overwhelmed with how large it was but we ended up finding another surfer of my host and he walked me to our host's house. After a few moments of relaxation, we went for coffee and pastry and wandered town. We went to Tesco and got ingredients for dinner. He made us chicken, cous cous and roasted veg and I put together Greek youghurt, honey and blackberries for dessert. With hot toddies, of course (whiskey, hot water and honey. Be careful, though, to not boil the whiskey otherwise you will burn off the alcohol and it's not worth it!)

Thursday was another relax day. I used the internet, started to get over my cold, went to the mall, Starbucks, journaled, then watched the final episode of ER with my host who insisted on silence. :)

Friday I went with another surfer to St. George's Market and shared an Ulster Fry, like an Irish breakfast, black pudding (sausage from you-don't-want-to-know-what-from), white pudding (ditto), egg, bacon, toast, beans (in a sauce like baked beans) and some other greasy thing I've forgotten about... a symptom of not blogging in two weeks... sorry. We then explored the Botanic Gardens and returned to the flat to watch some much needed movies, Friends and West Wing. After dinner, we went to Duke of York to meet up with some CouchSurfers but since we didn't know them, we didn't find them. We did, however meet some very nice and sociable locals who danced the night away with us (not very soberly).

Saturday the other surfer and I went on a walking tour of Belfast, the murals, the IRA headquarters and the Catholic and Protestant cemetaries (and everything in between). It was really amazing to hear what he had to say, since he lived through it and is helping create peace and rebuild Belfast and Northern Ireland. If you go to Belfast, I strongly recommend Coiste Political Tours. I learned so much I can't even tell you it all, especially since most of it is just more detalied version of the history lesson I gave earlier. :) After, I went to H&M to get some green stylish leggings and journal on the City Hall lawn with all the teenage punk and goths. After dinner, I met other CouchSurfers (and actually found them this time- mobile phone numbers are so much help!) for drinks and hanging out. There was live music and the drummer's girlfriend was in the CouchSurfing group, so it was really fun.

Sunday I met up with my new host, Tobias, and he took me to see street theatre which, this week, was a youth circus group and then a tightrope walker. After, we went with Tobias' friend in her to on an impromtu trip to the beach. Yes, a beach in Northern Ireland on the Irish Sea. It was actually pretty nice, but the water was cold. There were a lot of people out and it was quite full of smoke, kids and sunburnt people. We came back after a few hours and went to another host's house for a BBQ where he bought every meat possible. Beef, chicken, lamb, pork and probably some rat thrown in there that we didn't know about. It was an amazing BBQ. We just hung out and chatted for hours and when we left, there were still 4-5 people there and it was nearing 11:30p I think.

Monday, I wandered Belfast with Lia, a German girl who was also staying with Tobias. We found a lot of the murals and then wandered around the pedestrian shopping district. I found sunglasses at T.K. Maxx (just like our T.J. Maxx), bought a new phone for 10 pounds and we shared a Dark Mocha Berry Frappuccino, which, when we discovered whole ice in the bottom, true to Starbucks standard they remade it for us fresh. There were still ice chunks but we had already had twice what we both though we wanted and didn't want any more sweetness. That evening, I took the train/bus/train combo back to Derry and on the last leg, from Coleraine (Giant's Causeway) to Derry I had a beautiful view of the sunset and when one of the train workers started talking to me, I joked that if he could ask the conductor to slow down, I would be grateful. He laughed and several minutes later, came back to me on his cell phone, talking to the conductor but smiling and shaking his head no to me. I laughed and made sure he knew I was kidding and he just teased me more. I did get some good shots, though, just through a dirty train window with trees flashing by.

I suppose I should let you know that I was coming back to Derry on Monday to catch a flight somewhere mysterious that was cheap (I'm going to make people guess) but since I didn't have internet at Tobias', I hadn't bought the ticket and by the time I got to Derry, it wasn't cheap anymore so I bought one for Saturday instead. So I got to hang out in Derry for several days. As if I don't have enough relax time already. But it was still nice to get caught up on blogs, emails, couchsurfing and making the mistake of creating a Facebook account.

I also watched Angels & Deamons in my free days here and it was very good. I'm not spoiling it for those of you who haven't seen it, but once of the charecters (Ewan McGregor's) is from Ulster (Northern Ireland) and talks breifly about The Troubles. It's interesting watching that movie here, in Northern Ireland where many people can connect to parts of his charecter. Oh, and if that wasn't fun enough, in Northern Ireland, they offer the choice of salty or sweet popcorn at the theater! We had salty, but tried the sweet. It's like Caramel Corn, but not as sugary. It was good, just not what we were expecting.

This morning, I went to morning Litany at St. Columb's Cathedral. I was one of three people there and it was nice and intimate. After, we had tea and sweets and just chatted. They told me about The Troubles and their experiences, or lack of experiences. They told me often, something wouldn't happen but they wouldn't know about it until a friend of London or somewhere called them and asked if they were ok because there had been a bomb or a shooting or something. Coming back, I went back on the hunt for a Northern Ireland patch and finally settled on a patch with the four counties on it, including Ulster. The lady at the shop told me it isn't common because most tourists think Northern Ireland is just part of Ireland, so they want Ireland patches. It's also tough because many people on the Catholic side (where I'm staying) want to be part of Ireland, so they consider themselves Irish, not British. It's an interesting conflict that is, as she said, not apparent on the surface, but deep inside people have strong feelings one way or the other.

Well, tomorrow I fly to a mysterious location and will post a photo here and on my Facebook page and maybe by email, too. So standby and guess where I am. Hint (but not much of a hint): I have to fly there. But I'd have to fly anywhere from Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ok- that should be all! Hopefully I'll be less than two weeks next time in my blogging! Keep in touch!

Il dolce far niente in Doolin, Ireland

I've had a nice relaxing day in Doolin. Il dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. I did do some, but not much. I did laundry, washing everything but my dress (which I wore). I read my book, Eat, Love, Pray, by Elizabeth Gilbert and am in the Italian chapter of the book where she talks about the sweetness of doing nothing so it was ironic that I read it on my most relaxing and laid back day.

In the evening, I met with Madori and we made dinner next to four Italians. One, Arianna, spoke great English, one spoke some English, Sam was shy with English and Lia was learning from Arianna. They were very nice and used my computer to transfer their photos to their flash drive. I decided I am the technology ambulance. I recharged an French girl's mp3 player last night, Madori's iPod today and now the Italian's photos. It's good to be able to help people out and it allows you to meet more people. I talked with them (and Madori) for a while and they taught me a little Italian then asked it we were going out to the pub, so we joined them for music at McGann's pub.

McGann's, like most other pubs in Doolin, has trad music (traditional Irish music) every night so even though it was Sunday, there was still a full pub. We got a combination of Guinness, Irish Coffees and glasses of Baileys and just talked. Usually English, but often with the Italian translation from Arianna. They taught me quite a few new words then three of them left me with Lia, who is learning English, so they could go smoke (they are Italian, after all). We learned that the more animated we were and the slower we spoke, the easier it was to understand each other. We taught each other new words with drawing with our fingers, acting out and describing with words we did know. Lia taught me polipo, which is octopus and I taught them goofball because Sam, the guy, is silly. We had a lot of fun and were exhausto at the end. It's difficult to learn a new language, especially after a few pints. It really takes it out of you, but it was great.

I made plans with them to go to Inishmore, on the Aran Island, today and they are at breakfast now and will come back at noon to get me so we can drive to the ferry dock. We are staying overnight on the island and then coming back to Doolin and then I will go to Galway maybe with them in their car, but it will be crowded with five of us. Good language experience though. I've been inspired by Madori learning English so quickly and the book I'm reading where she is doing a "tandem language exchange" where she meets an Italian for coffee or lunch a few times a week and teaches each other new words and practices together. That will be me for the next few days. I will teach Lia some more English and she will teach me Italian. Arianna will translate if we need it.

Thirty minutes and then we will leave for the ferry but we are running on Italian time, so maybe 45 minutes. :) Ciao!

Relaxing at the Cliffs of Moher... in the wind and rain

I've had some relaxing but adventurous few days here.

When I last blogged, I was getting ready to leave with Allison, an Australian I met at the hostel in Dingle. We left around 3 and four hours drive and a ferry ride later we were in Doolin. It's not remote, but it is a very small town. There's a lot of music here. Every night the pubs (which outnumber shops) have music. It usually starts around 9. We got to town around 8p and we were staying in different hostels, which I figured was ok. Mine turned out to be very institutional, very clinical and overrun with a group of 20 17-19 years old German students over for a school trip. They were nice kids and I ended up going to the pub with them. Only slightly odd to meet a group of school kids and seeing them all drink beer on a school trip, but welcome to Europe! They were great- only three girls in the lot of them so I hung out with them. When I was listening to the music I recognised the sweater of Catherine, who I met in Cashel over a week ago! We talked a bit and made plans to meet the next day to the Cliffs of Moher. They're two hour walk or 20 minute drive and she had a car so it was great!

She picked me up and had a car load of other people from the hostel who were just getting a ride with her. It ended up being just Catherine, me and Madori. Madori is amazing! She's Japanese and went to Dublin for a month to learn English with a private tutor and has been speaking it now for just two months! She's learned so much! It's really amazing! And she's learning all the time. I've learned that phrases don't always mean the same as the words they're made of which makes them hard to explain. Today she learned "cool beans" from a kid who walked by and I just told her it meant "cool". She's funny and really easy going so it was good to spend time with her.

The Cliffs of Moher were rainy, cloudy and windy. It was still really beautiful though- evocative. We parked about a kilometer away so we didn't have to pay 8 euro for parking. The walk there was really nice. Views from every angle and one minute it may be cloudy and the next clearer (but not clear). There are puffins there that only come for a few weeks before going to South Africa, so we were luck to see them. A ranger pointed them out to Catherine and we would have completely missed them if he hadn't said anything. Catherine had binoculars with her, so we really got to see them better than most. We went into the displays they had set up and learnt why the weather is the way it is, how they were formed and lot of other facts and stories.

From the Cliffs, we came back to their hostel and I realised just how much better it was so I talked to Karl, who runs the hostel, about moving in for the weekend. He said it was ok and was happy to have me so I was very glad to leave my sterile, soulless hostel! We picked up Allison (who gave me the lift from Dingle) and went to lunch for pub grub. I had Chicken and Cheese Panini, chips (French fries) and salad. It was really good and only 8 euro. Catherine got apple crisp (they don't have it in Switzerland so she was very excited about it) and shared with all of us. She's very generous and Madori and I decided she is our mother here, always making sure we're happy, have food, water, toilets, time, everything. In Cashel, she was the one who I had dinner with (and her friend, Thierry, who is gone back home now) and paid for it all because "it's not that much more for one person after two." She's really a great person.

After lunch, we went around the countryside and found some wedge tombs and portal tombs that were prehistoric. They are just in a cow pasture off the road, no trail going to them, sometimes a sign pointing in the general direction and maybe steps built into the stone wall to get over from the road. Some were from 4000 BC! Amazing. And the sun had started to come out by this point, so it was even better.

With the sun out we went back to the Cliffs of Moher and it was almost a totally different place. It was beautiful in a very different way. No wind so we could hear the birds more. It was around 7p by this time and the sun sets at 9:20p these days! So much sunlight. You almost forget to eat dinner until 9, which is what we did that day and what will probably happen tonight with Madori and myself.

We came back for a feast of white sausage, tomatoes, noodle veg soup, bread, garlic toast, fried rice and Japanese tea. Madori's mother teaches tea ceremonies so she showed us some things. When you serve two cups at once, you fill each halfway, then wait, then fill up each bit by bit alternating pours between cups. It was interesting to learn about Japanese culture in Ireland but that's what this trip is all about!

I went back to the sterile hostel since I had paid already and in the morning I moved to this hostel and I am so much happier. I hadn't met many people at all besides the German students and here I've met some many more people in much less time. At the other hostel, I never even met my roommates because one of us was always sleeping or gone while the other was up but here I'm in the common room and just waiting for Madori to make dinner. It's the same price, just a ten minute walk away so first thing in the morning, I checked out and moved here.

On my walk there, Catherine and Madori drove by, honking, saying they were glad to catch me because they were going to a Slow Food Festival in Lisdoonvarnna, about 15 minute drive away. We went back to the hostel so I could check in and get some food and then took off for the festival. There was a lot of organic, local food and plenty of samples. I think I got full just on samples. Breads, jams, sauces, cookies, loaves, quiche, cheese and much more. It was great. We got some picnic supplies after walking around for an hour (two loops- one to try things and look, the second to buy) and then had another feast outside at the picnic benches, right in the wind. It was still great and we all shared with everyone.

Coming back to the hostel, Catherine left for Dingle and Madori and I made plans for dinner. Well, not really plans, we just planned on making something for dinner sometime, and after tea and a biscuit (cookie) I went for a nap and now I'm blogging and emailing and then will read until she appears. Probably pasta, leftovers from the Slow Food Festival, a bottle of wine we bought (for 10 euro it was the cheapest I've seen outside of cheap convenience stores) and whatever else we find.

I'm sitting by the fire now and there around about a dozen people in the common room which is a little lounge area by the fire and two big dining tables. I'm apparently the person to go to with questions and request. An Australian, Megan, just asked me if I could email her my pictures of the cliffs because "they were better than the postcards"! That sure made me feel good.

An American from California, Heather is studying for her Masters in London and first asked me if I thought it was ok to put her coat straight on the stove to dry but I suggested on the back of the rocker so it didn't melt. :) Also, she asked why people were putting newspaper in their shoes by the fire so I told her it was to absorb more liquid and let them air out more and that maybe she could take out the insoles, too. People are funny sometimes. I have no idea if my answers to her were right, but I obviously seemed certain enough that she followed them.

I just saw a guy walk by with a Seattle Mariners shirt and he's from just South of Olympia. He just finished studying in Austria so is traveling before he goes back home. Good idea. It costs so much to get her it's good to use the time once you're already here to travel.

Staying on the left, free Nutella and hauling seaweed

A lot to catch up on again.

Saturday night I went to Corine's. I'm never sure if my CS hosts want to to arrive hungry and eat together or full because they don't have the time, money or desire to feed me. Corine wanted me to arrive hungry and then gave me the choice between liver or lamb. I chose liver but she made bacon also (not like our bacon, less cooked and much wider but still thinly cut) just in case I didn't like the liver. It was not too bad. Kind of gamey texture like venison but not a really overwhelming taste. We went out for drinks and I got a Beamish which is made in Cork.

The next day, Eleanor and Jen took me to Kinsale, about a 30 minute drive from Cork on the coast. It's a pleasant little harbour town with a star fort in it and lots of little shops. We explored the fort a bit, drove through an antique car show and then had lunch and wandered. In Europe, it's often more expensive to eat in than to take away because they want you to pay for the table so our sandwiches and pasteries were 1 euro more each but it was nice anyway.

On the way back, Eleanor let me drive! She got us out of Kinsale and on the main road and then let me take over. It wasn't too bad and beside one bike I had to pass (with no shoulder and a road barely wide enough for two American cars- their cars are much smaller in general) they said I did pretty well. I even got to do a few roundabouts which is exciting since the steering is on the right side of the car and you drive on the left side of the road. We switched back before getting back to Cork because there were some really strange roundabouts and I shouldn't do them on my first day driving in Ireland. Even Eleanor got confused as to which lane she should be in.

I went to their apartment for tea and biscuits (our cookies) and pretty soon about 7 of us were there and I had to figure out what they were all saying with their accents and the volume. It was pretty entertaining and good craic (a good time in Irish terminology! not the drug!). One of them guided me back to Corine's and she made lamb for me! Yummy! Great to have French hosts who cook amazingly! :)

The next morning, Monday, I caught a bus to Killarney where there is a lot of hiking. I got to the hostel and found out Killarney National Park is an hour's walk! I figured I would just rent a bike but when I got to my room to drop off my stuff, there was a German girl, Sabine, who had a car and was going there too so I got a lift (not ride- ride implies something different- sexual) with her to the shop (grocery store) and to the park where we had a picnic on a really nice sunny day, explored Muckross House and went to Torc Waterfall. She then drove me to some points on that end of the Ring of Kerry, Molls Gap and a few others with great views and the sun was setting so it was nice (just a bit chilly). We came back to the hostel and made dinner- just pasta- and went to bed after internet. She was leaving the next day to go back to Germany so gave me some of her leftover juice and nutella. Yeah!

The next morning, Tuesday, I got the bus to Dingle and on my connecting bus I noticed the American couple in front of me were passing back and forth a bag of Trader Joe's Rainbow Trail Mix. I commented on it and started talking with them and it turns out they're from Bellingham! Small world! They were nice and chatty and had family they were meeting up with so it didn't work out to make plans together.

I met up with my CS host for that night, Kristin but while she was finishing up some errands I went for a walk out along the harbour to the lighthouse and just beyond. There is a dolphin, Fungi, who has made the harbour his home and they do boat tour out to the harbour to see him. I noticed one of the boats and soon I saw a whole pod of dolphins doing flips and swimming alongside the boat. It was great.

I came back and met Kristin. She's American and really cool. We went foraging for plants for a salad and she taught me some plants I can eat that I found on the peninsula. Then we went to collect seaweed from the beach and put it in her car to use as fertilizer. The next day we took it to the garden and she let me pick some more plants for salads at the hostel, including some mint for tea.

Wednesday I took a minibus archaeological tour of the Dingle Peninsula recommended by Rick Steves. The bus only held 12 people so it was small enough to visit many smaller sites on the peninsula and were able to go into a beehive hut. On the tour I met a nice couple from Seattle. They took me out to lunch after which was great and then we wandered town together for a few hours. We went to an antique shop and I found some great mostly white shell earrings for 2 euro! That's nothing! Only about $2.60 or something. They're really pretty but quite large. For a 2 euro souvenir though, I won't complain. :)

Back at the hostel I made dinner (pasta) but realised I didn't have lettuce to add to my weeds so I shared with someone who did have some. We just made one big salad with his lettuce, my weeds, pepper and mushrooms. It was pretty good with some balsamic vinegar on it. There are usually free food shelves so it was good to have some different food besides my pasta.

There were some nice people at the hostel but one really loud obnoxious Canadian (nothing against Canadians- she just was one). She was really loud (most Europeans are quite and respectful) and was making fun of the German girl she met and was traveling with because she didn't know certain English words (she was mixing up mermaid and nightmare for some reason- maybe they're similar in German). The girl put up with it but I would have not. When I got up to the dorm, her bags were all over my bed and she said I 'hadn't claimed it properly' because I hadn't undone the sheets but she still moved them since I had my stuff out at the foot of the bed and I was getting ready to go to sleep then. Crazy Canadian! Strange girl. I'm glad she left really early this morning so I didn't have to listen to her again.

Well, today I'm just taking it easy. Just interneting, going to the ATM and making lunch. I met a girl from Australia who is working in Wales and has her car here so she is letting me go with her to Doolin this afternoon. She is out cycling now and should be back around 3 so I will finish this, do my errands and make some lunch and come back to the internet until she gets back and then we leave!

Doolin is really near the Cliffs of Moher and I think I'll stay there for the weekend. Lot of hiking and stuff to do. Hopefully I'll get at least one good day of weather. From there, I go to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands, overnight (probably Monday night) and then on to Galway for a few days. I like to stay in one place for the weekend to relax and buses usually run less or not at all on Sundays so it's good to stay in one place for a few days. Plus shops may not be open on Sundays so it's good to get food on Saturday and then cook it on Sunday.

Ok- I'm off in the rain to the ATM and maybe the shop but I think I have some pasta and sauce left from last night so I'll just make that again for lunch.