Often the characters you meet become as much a part of the fabric of the trip as the places you see. And when you travel alone the amount of people you meet increases exponentially. I will introduce a few folk from my Irish journey so far...ten days no less and already stories to be told.
I met Glenn at Abigail's Hostel in Dublin - A 29 year old South African from East London. He is proudly of Irish descent as a tattoo of a harp in the middle of the African continent on his arm testifies. He's crashing with a friend in the city until he finds a job. We had three nights of excess in Dublin's exuberant streets. It was a great time; watching rugby, drinking and listening to music.
One session involved some of the more passionate discussion conducted by two white men on the state of hip/hop music, including a Tupac vs Jay Z debate. Of course I was firmly in Tupac's corner - A true urban poet. On that note Glen introduced me to Die Antwoord ('The answer') bringing quirky Afrikaner rap mixed with dance beats. Surprisingly very good with a unique sound. Check them out on YouTube 'Enter the Ninja' would be recommended, you'll need to have a good sense of humour though!
Danielle was a precocious American in her early 20s with an Arabic symbol tattooed on her neck saying something about the duality of life. I met her on a pub-crawl on Dublin along with Glenn of course. She was standing alone across the bar and looked like a cross between a European catwalk model and Natalie Portman. Of course she had to be talked to...
Surprisingly we got along very well, despite the fact I kept insisting she couldn't be a native New Yorker as she had a slight European twang. Glenn thought I was crazy but it turned out her mother was German and she bilingual. Score one for me and my super attuned ear! Anyway she had already travelled the world and even taught English in Africa and was now considering what to do with her life. Her father became a lawyer after having some time homeless on the streets. He is encouraging her to pursue law school but she feels she is not cut out for that.
Cat; another American - from San Francisco with a great smile and a passion for travel. She has literally travelled the world from Asia to South America. I met her at a hostel in Galway and we had a good night out at the pubs around the city. She was a solo girl at the end of a three month trip around Europe. Travelling alone as a single person she was having what I would hesitantly call 'connection overload'. The sense that you meet so many people you get along well it becomes a bit emotionally taxing. Ironically I think I have had my first taste of this recently!
She was a victim of my poor orienteering cycling through Inismore, going completely the wrong direction for about an hour! It was good fun though and she was understanding. It was a beautiful, peaceful island and the sense that we had the coastal roads to ourselves made the trip.
Seamus was a middle aged Irishman living in Paddy's hostel in Killarney on Ireland's West Coast. A lovely bloke perhaps a bit lost, now living off welfare in hostels and also still claiming benefits from a stint in France apparently. We went out for a pint the first night and he even set me up with free internet access at the local library; on the down low.
I hope Kerry County Libraries don't come after me now.
I guess Seamus had given up on a lot of things in his life workwise and relationship wise though it's unclear why and I wouldn't press him on it. He had travelled a lot and I guess enjoyed the freedom of moving from place to place with no ties. I wished him the best and he's now the proud owner of a nearly new Tasman Mako's hoody courtesy of the fact I have far too much stuff in my backpack. He will get some odd questions when he wears it I'm sure.
Apart from spending a bit of time chatting to Seamus in Killarney I spent a day cycling around the national park and another day doing a 'Ring of Kerry' tour by bus. The reserve is all forests and lakes and beautiful greenery. Enroute to the Tor waterfall I was reminded of New Zealand by the moss on the trees of the dense woods.
Despite a mild dislike for organised tours it was a good way to see a few places I couldn't dream of reaching on the bike. Picturesque Dingle Bay for example.
Our tour guide was certainly full of stories and I picked up a few historical gems I wouldn't otherwise have known anything about. Skellig Michael is an isolated monastery founded in the 7th century on an steep island in the ring. It's located 700 feet up, high above carved stone steps. At the time the island was so barren that when accepted into the order, new recruits would have to have to bring enough dirt for a vegetable and herb garden that would help sustain their life. The same dirt would eventually be used for their grave. The monastery was in use for 600 years and survived a number of Viking raids before being abandoned sometime in the 12th century.
Later we passed through the little town of Kilorgan which is famous for holding 'Puck fair', Ireland's oldest festival. Each August a goat is crowned 'King Puck' and treated as such for three days while townsfolk eat, drink and make merry. It's thought to be a pagan harvest festival with possible links to the Pan deity. Whatever it is in aid of it sounds like a great time! Nobody parties like the pagans.
Speaking of great parties, another glimpse of Irish life came during my final night in Killarney. In what other country could a small town pub hold concerts on Sunday night and pack out the place? Not a small pub either, there was in excess of fifty people there. A four piece Irish rock band played a great mix of international and Irish covers from 11.30pm till 3am including the best version of 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' I have heard live. The band rearranged the songs to their style with the lead playing the Irish flute which created a really authentic folky sound.
I leave Ireland tomorrow via Cork and will miss it's people and it's craic.
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