Megan in Ireland - v. 2.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2003-06-07: Westport I was reading through the previous entries, and noticed that I totally forgot to tell you where in Donegal I was. It was Falcarragh (run to your maps!). Probably I didn't tell you because I didn't actually know where I was at the time. Anyway...I want to tell you about Westport, County Mayo where I was last weekend. I went with Anke and Sarah (German and not so identical twins. Anke was here a few months ago for a long time as a volunteer) and my roommate Claire. This was a very good trip for someone like me who like a lot of planning because we did none. Anke is a very good traveler who thinks of things like loading up on jam at the Centre before we leave so we don't have to buy any while we are there, so I trusted her. We took the DART from Bray to Dublin, lugged our bags around for a couple of hours waiting for our bus. Then we took a bus to Westport and found a hostel (the Club Atlantic Holiday Hostel) which was great. The facilities were a lot like the Centre and there is a kitchen which can be used for your own cooking and everything, so you can do everything for cheap. I mean, it was only �22 for the return bus ticket and �12 per night at the hostel. Plus we packed sandwiches from the Centre and bought groceries which is cheaper than eating out. So we got there and the first night we ate out at a little take-away which boasts traditional fish and chips and that sort of thing. Then we went to a pub which played dance music but had no dance floor. Very strange. It was great because there were so many people out and about because of the bank holiday weekend. The next morning we got up and decided we would like to see the ocean, and because we had no money, we decided to walk to see it. 9 miles later we got to the harbour, but the tide was out, so there was no water. The walk was mostly really nice though, except for the 6 miles of walking beside the road. I forgot too...we stopped at a great pub for lunch and I had Guinness and beef pie. Yum! Even without the water, the shore was interesting, and we got a great view of Clough Patrick which is the mountain St. Patrick climbed in the infamous driving out of the snakes. Then we were tired of walking so we hitched back, and the four hour walk took 8 minutes. Sigh. Then we went shopping for a bit. That night we went first to a pub, then to a club which opened at midnight. A Canadian guy from the hostel came with us (John from Calgary area!), and we partied it up on the dance floor (well, Sarah, Anke, and I anyway). It was really really great craic. There were loads of young people and everyone dances, guys included, although not necessarily well. The next morning we got up, checked out, and walked about 3 miles around the local manor, Westport House. Because it wasn't open, we just explored the grounds, but it was ok because some people had no money. We kept talking about how amazing it was that people actually lived in places like that. Excessive displays of wealth I think, but beautiful. Then we got on the bus and came home. It was an absolutely fabulous trip. In other news, it was Vanessa's birthday the other day, which was fun. What else? Last night we all went out to a club in Bray and danced our little butts off. It was so much fun! I had the day off today so I stayed in bed until 6pm which was lovely. Oh yah! I am on the insurance now, so I take my lesson on Monday, and then I am a Glencree driver, which gives me a little more freedom and a lot more trouble about having to drive people around and pick them up and blah blah blah. That is all for now folks! xox Megan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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