Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip

Note to self: When traveling somewhere you've never been before, get a map. Also, bring along a snack, just in case. Popcorn doesn't count. When a relative stranger offers to buy a drink, accept gracefully and order food. Never ever accept a second offer of drink before eating food, and especially don't get on a boat afterwards thinking an apple counts as food. It doesn't.

The people on Inis Oirr (Inisheer) are really nice. The island is so small that everyone knows you're not a native but they wave to you anyway (or in the case of one of the men I passed on tractors, shakes his head as he passes you the second time). I woke up early on my Friday off (I love how this works out) and walked into town. As soon as I see the bus to the ferry, rain starts to pour. I mean, this was violent. I duck under an arch and think to myself, "Why didn't I buy an umbrella yesterday and bring my scarf today? I'm going to be miserable." I headed towards the ticket office anyway when the rain let up and got my boarding passes and then waited in line. It rained off and on during the bus ride. Outside it was freezing, I literally shivered as I boarded the ferry. A slightly wild looking man asked if I had a waterproof jacket and looked at me doubtfully. This couldn't be good. Nonetheless, I found a seat and settled in. I like boats and I like water. I don't like being cold, but it wasn't as if we were going to get splashed, we had windows protecting us. And so we started off. The ferry wasn't very crowded. This ferry went to Inis Oirr (the smallest of the islands) and Inis Meain (Inishmaan), the most deserted. Another ferry took those who were going to Inishmor, the largest and most tourist frequented, and I'm sure it was crowded. In fact, I think pretty much the entire bus went to that ferry except for me.

If anyone gets motion sickness, you would have thrown up on the boat ride over. The end of September isn't exactly tourist season because the weather starts to turn towards the winter. The wind is strong and the rains frequent. I felt like I was on one of those carnival rides that swings you up and down and on and on. It was rather fun. After awhile though, it felt like I was being rocked, so I just laid my head on my knees and napped a bit. I woke up to see an old man sitting next to me. He grabbed my arm and asked, "Do you know where you're going?". I said no, I figured I'd just roam around, the island wasn't that large. So he proceeded to tell me where everything was on the island in his curious accent (It sounded more scottish than irish). Then says "So now you know" and walked off. Then the boat landed and I found myself on the island with almost 5 hours to kill.

The first thing I did was buy an apple, a juicebox, a mini bag of popcorn (seriously, if you don't like plain popcorn and cheese and onion chips, you're so screwed), and a bottle of water. Then I set off against the wind, uphill towards a castle I'd seen. I never got there. The entire island is covered in stone fences and the roads are like mazes. After a brief, light shower, the sun came out and the day turned gorgeous. There was a rainbow and then, sunshine. The wind was ridiculous, but what can you expect when you're on an island that you can walk completely around in 3 hours. I don't know where I went, but as I tried to get to the castle, I found myself on the other side of the island. I ran into a girl walking her dogs (a giant black dog and a yippy jack russell looking character) and that was it, for at least an hour or more. I saw a lighthouse and found myself talking to cows and watching the waves beat up against the shoreline. Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it. On my way back to the other side of the island, I met a man I'd seen on the ferry coming out of a house. Turns out, his Granna lives there and he was incredibly friendly. He told me to go to the other end of the island (long ways) to see the shipwreck that's in the opening credits of Father Ted. Also, the church next to Granna's house is apparently used in the t.v. series as well. Who knew? So off I went again, I found the ship wreck and also the graveyard (the scottish guy told me about this) with the sunken church in the center. This sounds creepy, but it was my favorite part. I walked down into the Church and sat on part of the stone wall and just, rested, for awhile.

On my way back down the hill, I ran into two people I'd seen on the ferry. Turns out, they were from Boston and heading to the pub. I figured I'd join them since the pub most likely served food and I was getting pretty hungry. Except, I didn't get any food. Instead, my new friend Chris bought everyone a drink. Then, Chris, Holly and I met Margaret. An island local. She bought us another round. There was much talk about the Irish language and Irish music and Christy Moore performing in Killarney in April (apparently, I'm going to this). Then I had to leave to catch the boat, so off I went, happy to have made new friends.

The old scottish man hugged me when I got back on the boat. I ate an apple before boarding and hoped it would soak up the beer. This didn't happen. Still, I sat on the top of the ferry all the way to Inis Meain enjoying the salt, the sun and wind. The second part of the journey was longer and I found myself wishing I had a loaf of bread or something as I nestled down in my seat below. I fell asleep and woke up to find that the mainland was freezing and I still felt a little boat sick. The bus ride back was mainly quiet and I decided I'd splurge on a cab to get home, especially since I'd spent 3 euro the entire day, a journey day no less! I met a pleasant lady from Vancouver on the bus and we talked about islands for the rest of the trip. When we were leaving, a french guy woke up from his nap and asked if I knew where we were. "Is this the end?", he asked.

I walked up the row of cabs until a found one with an older man as a driver. Without thinking, I said "Would you like to take me home?" to which he laughed and said "If only this were 40 years ago!" My cab driver was a former fisherman and he told me that winter is indeed on its way quickly. He knows these things. He's studied the weather for years. He also knew a shortcut home, cutting an 8 to 10 euro trip down to 6. SIX! He asked about Virginia and West Virginia and I told him the 460 East joke. That got a chuckle. All in all, I'd say my day trip was a success. I drowned my stuffy nose in pizza and curled up in my blankets and fell asleep. I woke up today thinking there was a kitten in our house and ended up cleaning my room and sending in Monday's assignments for class. I also bought some vitamins (well vitamin c and zinc) tablets. I'd say today was a success too. Now I'm off to clean the kitchen. I hope.