I journeyed to Skellig Michael on Saturday. It was, ostensibly, to check out the place for taking the class on a school trip. The journey was long - a seven hour trek - but the place was well worth it. Too long for children though.
However, I fell in love with the place. And it was more meaningful than I would ever have imagine it to be.
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One of the many, many cliffs of Kerry. In this attraction, you can get very close to the edge because they have
put up a really huge fence. BUT it means you CAN get a near vertical view of the sea below. |
I discovered how much I love travelling - ALONE. And travelling alone in Ireland is actually really easy. Firstly, it is quite safe. Secondly, everyone is so friendly that you are never really alone. It reminded me of my interrail days when I did travel alone and you'd find OTHER lone travelers and strike up conversations.
It was great just doing EXACTLY what you wanted. If I wanted to get up at 6, I got up at six. If I wanted to snooze on a pier, I snoozed on a pier. If i wasn't to take a two hour long walk in a bog, I could do that also. And of course it was waaaay cheaper. Not having anyone else meant I was only paying for one. So i could eat in nice places. Also, it is a good time to travel on my own. I am still complus mentus. I am fit and healthy. I am able to figure things out on my own. So travelling alone is really easy for me.
I don't actually remember when I began to be able to plan things on my own. Traveling always seemed like SUCH A BIG DEAL, even though I did think of myself as a kinda world traveler. The truth was that I wasn't very good at it, and I certainly hated planning for it. I can't quite remember when or how I developed the ability to plan a trip - or plan a trip loosely and take it from there.
I have learnt a few things about traveling. ALWAYS figure out where you are going to stay before you get there. It takes the stress out of the process. And then, now with the internet - it has made traveling so fecking easy. You can find out about places instantly. You no longer have to spend hours painstakingly researching a place. All you have to do is type in the name of a place and viola! you are given a million different things to think about.
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| The seabirds had started coming in to breed... the cliffs were covered with fulmars and kittiwakes... and guillemots |
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| Stephanie Sim, World Traveler |
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I saw my first Choughs. Kerry is full of them.
By the time the trip ended I had seen seven. |
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| This pair spent the time strolling in this field and eating |
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| The power of the Atlantic |
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| Mists were coming in from the sea and they were sent straight up and above us by the cliffs. |
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| They were like sleeping giants, the land is still alive in Kerry |
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| Port Magee in twlight - colours and stillness |
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| Fishing boats in the harbour - everything is so picturesque |
The other thing about Kerry is that, perhaps it was early in the season, but they did not seem to resent tourists or visitors. They really knew how to make anyone feel at home. That whole Cead Mille Failte thing - that was real there. Also, they were very welcoming to strangers and outsiders. I was always being looked after when they found out I was traveling on my own. People swapped their stories with me - I had forgotten how lovely it was to share a tiny slice of someone's life.
You really had a sense that the people also loved their place - they loved looking after it. It was so lovely to be in a place that was cared for. In the surrounding countryside people had this instinct for beauty. They didn't plonk Dupont factories on the coastline - it wasn't jobs at any cost. Little houses were left to become moss covered ruins. Hedges which had a light dusting of light velvety green, were not squarely cut. Someone, they had managed to perfectly manage their landscape so that it looked gorgeous, but feel authentic.
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