Day 9 - Galway!

Land!!!

Have you ever wondered what lifeboats are like?  Or if they work?  We got to find out, because our first port city was the port-less city of Galway, Ireland.  To get ashore, they loaded us 100 or so at a time onto the lifeboats and scuttled us slowly but surely toward solid ground.  The ship was leaving port later that night and would meet us in Dublin two days later.  We had to option of getting back on the ship or traveling to Dublin ourselves.  I was planning to stay on the ship, and packed only a few rain essentials.  Customs from Ireland was to get onboard and check our passports in the morning, after which we would be shuttled off the ship in groups.  Customs arrived late, and the whole process moved so slowly, that I had enough time to change my mind, pick up my passport, and pack for a journey to Dublin.  We finally get put on a boat to shore, and after a brief check by a drug sniffing dog called “Customs,” we were greeted by traditional Irish fog and drizzle.

After hastily checking into a hostel, we booked a tour to see the Cliffs of Moher (for 1/5 the price of SAS) and we were on our way!  We took a scenic trip through the Irish countryside along two-way roads the size of large bike paths, passing by cows, sheep, and occasionally alpacas grazing in large green fields surrounded by stone fences.  Two and a half hours later, we arrived at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, the sharp 100-200+ m wall where Ireland meets Atlantic.  Pictures don’t even begin to cover it, but here are a few anyway.

 

Our driver took us to see some more natural formations on our way home along a scenic ocean-side road the size of a not-so-large bike bath.  He told us all the coach drivers agreed to only drive along that road in one direction so that, god forbid, they never have to pass each other, which would be entirely impossible.  We made a couple sleepy stops at vistas to take pictures, then piled back on the bus to resume napping.

We arrived back at our hostel (complete with many heartwarming sayings, like the one pictured) to get pretty.  Given the cold, rainy weather and the limits of what was in our day-packs, this consisted of briefly sitting down, standing up, and asking, “Ready?”  And so we made our way to the Irish pubs to have a Guinness and chat with the locals.

 

I arrive at a pub on the main street of Galway (one of three streets total) to find it packed…with SAS students.  I can’t take two steps in any direction without running into one of our own.  The highlight of my night was learning how to rhumba/salsa/jive with a German guy we picked up along the way.

Our huge group got split up, and my portion returned to the hostel sometime after midnight.  We went to bed still waiting for one of our girls.  There was a couple arguing vehemently upstairs, and we could hear every scream and stomp right over our heads.  We couldn’t sleep, and on top of it, we still felt like we were rocking on a ship.  All the beer didn’t help.  Sometime around 3 am, I hear a knock at our door.  I get up from my bunk and open it; our friend had come home.  I went back to bed and settled very nicely into the warm comforter.  Then another knock at the door.  At this point I had no desire to get up again, but I did anyway when the visitor began pounding.  It was a boy from a large group staying on the floor above ours.  “Hi, Penelope,” – they call me Penelope Cruz – “What’s up?”  We exchanged a few very confused sentences, and he told me that they were all kicked out of the hostel.  I suppressed the reflex to invite them to stay in our extra beds and wished him a good night.  Some peace and quiet at last!  I cuddled back into bed and fell asleep to the sound of the loud party that replaced the fighting couple.