Traveling to the north and the south

As I think about what to write for this blog, I am looking out the window of a train at green fields made soft by low clouds and haziness as we travel swiftly back to Dublin from the city of Cork. From being in Cork this weekend to Buncrana, County Donegal last weekend, the last nine days have been a comparison in contrasts – from north to south, from rough basics to great comfort – and I was reminded of how much I enjoy the crazy variety of this world we live in.

A few weeks ago, I met an American guy from California with a fascinating story. He told me that he and a friend had spend the past three months living in a rundown farmhouse in the northernmost county in Ireland and working to restore it to livable conditions. This intrigued me and filled my mind with visions of a picturesque, old house set amidst rolling pastures along the ocean. How could I not check it out? So, another Rotary Scholar, Eddie, and I jumped on a bus nine days ago to travel three and a half hours north out of Dublin for a weekend of exploring and construction. The bus dropped us by the side of the road under the light of a full moon and we started walking – two miles along a winding road, right between an old church and cemetery, over a hill and down the other side and left on to a dirt road. Thank goodness for the full moon because otherwise we would have been completely lost! Brian had warned us but it was not until we arrived that we realized what we had really gotten ourselves into – the house was in really rough shape, even after months of work. There was no bathroom, no kitchen, no hot water, no heat in the bedroom and very little keeping the wind from blowing through the rooms. I do not remember the last time I was so cold while I tried to sleep. We spent the day on Saturday working around the house and trying to get it in order for the guys to leave it safely for a few weeks while they travel in Europe. It was a picturesque spot but there is a harsh reality in the form of cold and damp conditions with few, if any, luxuries. They recently put a small wood stove in one of the rooms and we spent our time warming up around this small source of heat as the rain poured down outside Saturday evening. Despite the discomforts, I am really glad we went there for a few days. I am also really glad it was only for a few days!

This weekend, I took a train in the opposite direction. A friend from the US was in Cork City for business last week so I took the train down at the end of last week to hang out and explore Cork and Kinsale for a couple days. Cork is an interesting city with its foundations sunk into the earth of an island in the middle of the River Lee. We meandered around the island and the surrounding area discovering colorful, fascinating buildings, restaurants, cafes and churches. Late in the afternoon, we discovered the Firkin Crane (don’t say that name too quickly), a round concert hall situated next to the Butter Museum, and impulsively attended that evening’s concert featuring a couple playing Brazilian guitar music and a man from Cameroon. It was an amazing concert! If you ever have the chance to hear Duo Siqueira Lima or Muntu Valdo, definitely go for it.

The next day, we took a bus to Kinsale, a cute coastal town that reminded me a little of Rockport. After window shopping and getting a drink from the Blue Haven café, we followed someone’s recommendation to walk southeast to a fort across the bay from the town. The ~two mile walk followed the coast past beautiful houses, restaurants and lush trees with branches shading the path.

After the frustrations of the last few weeks, it was so good to get out of Dublin for a couple weekends. Now I have vacation for a week so hopefully I will be able to finally straighten out my visa, catch up on reading assignments and start researching for the papers that are due for this term. I also have a few presentations scheduled at area Rotary Clubs so I need to put together what I am going to say at those. When I thought about being a full time student, I imagined that I would have a lot more free time than I did when I was working. I was definitely very wrong. That is not necessarily a bad thing because I definitely have not been bored since the first week I arrived.

Pictures:

1) The front yard

2) The backyard - cows and sind farm

3) The colorful streets of Cork

4) Sailboats in Kinsale Harbor

5) Standing on an old fort near Kinsale