Hi from Kiwi Land [2000]
I just wiped out my message with an unknown shortcut key, so I apologize if you already got one just now. Last time I wrote, I was between Madagascar and Mauritius in Nairobi. Madagascar was great, but the last day while I was hiking, when the rain stopped the mosquitos attacked me so have a plethora of bites on my calfs (or is it calves? I think calfs).
The flights have all been fine - only one with a mother I wanted to belt for not attempting at all to hush up her screaming child (who was too old to be putting up such a fuss, if you ask me and all the passengers around me). Mostly I read - 'Circle of Friends', a good book!
When I landed in Mauritius, I realized that I had not been surrounded by Westerners for over a month - it was kinda weird to be in a crowd of people I could understand. Most of the tourists there were British, plus a healthy dose of French and Indian. It's a very touristy island, as evidenced by the fact that Prince William was on holiday there a little while before I was there. The water is beautiful, as are the mountains that fall into the sea, but I guess I have been spoiled by being in places that have more raw power. So the night there was fine, but I was not overly impressed.
The next night I spent in Perth Australia, but after a late flight and all the customs rigamaroll, I checked in at 11:30 pm and had to leave at 9:30am. So what I saw of Perth was through a cab window. It did look similar to San Diego, as Tony said it would!
Last night I arrived in Christchurch and again went through alot of customs stuff for a few small wood things I bought in Kenya, and here they checked my boots to be sure I didn't have mud sticking on them. The Aussies and these guys are very serious about quarantine stuff. I had picked up 2 feathers - one in Ireland and 1 in Kenya and I have to have them fumigated before they can leave the country. I guess it is good to be careful - look what kudzu is doing to the southeast. Well, I guess none of you would know that story (imported vine for erosion control, took over uncontrollably, climbing on trees, killing them, decimating forests).
Anyway, I got into the hotel at 3:30 and had to get to the train station at 7am, and including jetlag I got 20 minutes of sleep. So I'm ready to greet the dolphins! In an hour, I do my swim in the ocean, and hopefully we'll see some whales as well.
I'll tell you about that next time! Brigid
New Zealand [2000]
Lodging
Christchurch
Flight Out
CHC-AKL 10/25 11:10am-12:30pm (Air New Zealand 516); AKL-TBU 2:00pm-5:50pm (Royal Tongan 213)
To See
Swim with dolphins in Kaikoura, Christchurch
Mauritius [2000]
Lodging
Port Louis
Flight Out
MRU-PER 10/21 10:20am-9:30pm (Air Mauritius 940)
Notes
Port Louis – I just stayed overnight here – and it was a bit too much of a European playground after my weeks in Kenya and Madagascar.
another quick one [2000]
I'm back in Nairobi waiting for my flight to Mauritius, where I will spend tonight. And tomorrow night I'll be in Perth. Madagascar was very good - it was much harder to communicate there, since I don't speak Malagasy or French, but enough people spoke enough English for us to get ideas across. It is quite the land of disparity - such intense poverty but such intense natural resources, and my accommodations were very plush. I went hiking on the days I wasn't traveling, and it was very cool to see chameleons and lemurs in their native environment. The volume of wildlife was less than in Kenya, but hiking in the rainforest was really cool - and appropriately it rained. It took over 2 days for my boots to dry out. More on Madagascar later, as I have to catch my flight.
On the flight from Tana to Nairobi this morning, I read a copy of Financial Times from a few days ago, and I saw a little bit of CNN in Tana, so I'm starting to get reacquainted with the outside world, but very slowly. I can't believe I'll be home in a week. But between now and then, I have dolphin swimming, snowboarding and beach relaxation to accomplish!!!
Brigid
Madagascar [2000]
Lodging
10/13 and 10/19 :
– 23 Rue Printsy Ratsimamanga, Antaninarenina Antanananarivo 10/14-15 :
– Andasibe / Perinet 10/16-18 :
– Ambatomasina-Andranonangozy BP10 Maroantsetra
Flights
10/16 : Toamasina-Sambava-Maroantsetra (Air Madagascar) 10/19 : Maroantsetra-Antalaha-Antanananarivo (Air Madagascar)
Flight Out
TNR-NBO 10/20 5:30am-8:45am (Air Madagascar 730); NBO-MRU 10/20 10:20am-3:20pm (Air Mauritius 535)
To See
Parc National d’Andasibe-Mantadia (Perinet), Nosy Mangabe, Masoala Peninsula, lemurs!
Notes
- Antananarivo – Madagascar’s capital city is noisy, dirty and shockingly poor.
- Toamasina – We drove from Tana to Toamasina through Perinet Reserve, stopping at the Centre d'`elevage et de reproduction, Marozeco Farm (roadside "zoo") and the Reserve Vakona, a private park on the grounds of my lodging. In Perinet we hiked through the dense forest looking in the treetops for lemurs.
- Maroantsetra – I stayed in the wonderful Relias du Masoala across the bay from Nosy Mangabe. There were no other guests! I had guided hikes on Nosy Mangabe and Masoala National Park, via boat rides.
update on Earthwatch study [2000]
Jambo. Sorry I skipped over the black rhino study - and I don't have time to do it justice now, but I'll see what I can do in the 5 minutes I have.
I definitely recommend doing one - the people are great and very eager to learn, the people that run it are very aware of safety and getting the most out of the experience. My team was 9 people - 2 couples, a set of brothers and 3 single women. The 3 of us shared a thatch-roofed hut (individual rooms) and we were also teamed up together, so I got to know Wendy and Anette very well.
We would go out into the bush each morning between 7:45 and 8:15, and walk between 5-13 km. The most exciting times were those first few days being chased by elephants, lions, buffalo, and rhino (more details on those later). The last day was a special treat - we went out with the rhino patrol (as soo as they spot them, we note where they are on the GPS and what they are doing). We tracked 2 adolescent males and found them! They were napping in some brush 50 m away!! Rhinos can only see 50 m, and the wind was blowing in the right direction so they couldn't smell us, so we were relatively safe. But when we took some pictures, they both stood up and looked in our direction. We stood quiet and still, but they were at attention for a good 15-20 minutes. And when the guard made sure we knew to climb a tree if they started charging, it didn't make us feel so secure! But eventually they lay back down (ears still rotating, listening for us) and we backed away. What a way to end the experience!
Brigid
Hi from Nairobi, again [2000]
Quick note to say I'm still kicking after my Mount Kenya expedition - I'll try to send another one before I leave for the airport tomorrow morning. I'll send another email with more details on the rest of the Earthwatch study later, but that ended on Monday (lots of fun, great people). I got to the gate of Mt Kenya National Park in the morning, and we had to deal with rain so got up to the first 'hut' Monday evening - Old Moses (9km, 800 m ascent - not too tough). By the way, the huts have no heat (just a bed), no hot water and you have to bring your own toilet paper (I didn't know that, but brought some in case, but not enough so I had to ration for 4 days).
Tuesday we went 17km, up 1100 m to Shgipton's Camp so that was tougher, because we also had to deal with more altitude affects and again the rain and mud. But most of the altitude was in relatively extreme chunks so it was ok. Wednesday I got up at 2:30am (after sleeping maybe an hour due to the altitude) and we started our ascent at 3:45am. It was 3.5km up 800 m - straight up gravelly and rocky slopes. And the rocks slid, so you couldn't put full weight on them. My guide, Joshua, later told me that nobody ascends after 6am because if you could actually see where you were going, you would be too scared to continue. It was intensely exhausing, and Joshua had to pull me a couple of times, but I made it to Point Lenana at 7:15am (just under 5000m). Unfortunately, since I took so much time going up, the ice crystals that held some gravel together started melting and the way down was not fun, or fast. We had to do the crab quite a few times - on hands and feet, sliding down the slopes, when you are going too fast or get close to the very steep, unrecoverable edge you stop yourself by dropping your butt. I don't get the gluttons for punishment who do this as a hobby. I'm glad I did it once, but I'm thinking high altitude trekking is not for me.
So I finally got down at 9:15am and realized that I had to hike 17km out, to the first hut. Oh - and because of the altitude I could not eat - I wasn't ill, just couldn't force anything down. After resting an hour, we left. My guide Jimmy got a little ahead of me, and I realized I was lost as I saw Jimmy disappear into the fog. I kept going, thinking my trail would meet up with him at the river, but I kept going up. So a few minutes later I sat down on a rock and thought about what you are supposed to do when you are lost: remain calm (nope - I was so exhausted and scared that I would have to spend a night where I was that I started sobbing - a real energy boost); have enough food to make it through the night (check - I had 1/2 a power bar, and 2 pkgs of candy a guy from South Africa gave me when he saw how exhausted I was after the ascent and that I wouldn't eat); water (check - I had 1/2 liter); a signalling device (check - the powerbar's label was silver inside, but it was all foggy so that doesn't really help); a whistle (check); a flashlight (check). So I calmed down a bit - in between yelling 'Jimmy! Joshua!' into the fog.
Eventually a voice called back - Joshua had found me. So I had to go all the way down the ravine to the river to take the 'easy' route back toward the ridge. For a 1100m descent, there was a ton of uphill and muddy downhill. But I made it to the Old Moses Camp. There were about 15-20 cheery energetic people at the camp, ready for the next day's hike to Shipton's camp at the base of the mountain and I was so worn out, they just stared a bit as I dragged my sorry butt in. I ate a bit and slept. Today was much better, except that I discovered 2 huge blisters, but I ignored them on the way down. The car Jimmy had arranged did not pick us up, so he got the park rangers to agree to take us. After ~20 min they got the car started, and it was a wild bumpy ride to Nanyuki since the steering was so loose. At one point we slid around into an embankment on the muddy way down, but nobody was hurt. In Nanyuki we had a beer at the Impala Butchery and Bar (to get to the cafe area, you walk through a little room where they are hacking at carcasses) and I took an incredibly packed puegeot station wagon to Nairobi. I cannot tell you how nice it is to have a bath, and toilet paper!!!!!
Gotta go - I'll try to send more in the morning as I don't think I'll be able to email in Madagascar. I cannot believe I will be staring at lemurs tomorrow!
Brigid
Jambo from Kenya [2000]
That's hello in Swahili. It has been an exciting week. I'll go into details later as I can only write a page worth today. Monday was spent traveling to here (Sweetwaters Reserve outside Nanyuki). My accommodations are 1/4 of a thatch-roof hut, which is very comfortable. So far I have been chased on foot (and had to run away from) 3 elephants, 2 rhino, a cape buffalo and today we had to walk slowly away from a lion (running would have only encouraged her to gore us). The guards only had to shoot (to scare off) for the elephants - we had followed one big male swimming down the river, and when he cane out of the river and charged us, we ran towards a momma and baby who charged us as well. Lots of running for that one, but I haven't had to climb a tree to get out of reach of anything yet. Other animals I have seen in their natural habitat include: zebra, lions, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, hartebeest, eland, hyenas, baboons, cap buffalo, bushbuck, impala, Thompson's gazelles, reedbuck, ostriches, jackals, hippos. Also chimps in a Jane Goodall sanctuary - one threw rocks at us through the fence! Yesterday I went into town to look at their wares, and that was a whole different adventure.
Other notes: The night sky is gorgeous - I can see the milky way clearly - but I have not seen the moon yet - I'm not sure why. Daily schedule is: get up ~6:30; eat breakfast (usually porridge and toast); go out into the bush with an armed guard from 8-12 or so (different tasks each day),; shower; eat lunch; rest until 3 (generator-run electricity is only on 6a-12p, 3p-11p); download data we collected in the morning; do an afternoon activity (or nothing); eat dinner; night activity (or nothing). Afternoon and evening activities are things like game drives and trips into town. Tonight we are going to a disco in town - should be very interesting!!
By the way, I can't see my own email, so I will not be able to read/respond to them for another week. Hopefully next Thursday or Friday.
Brigid
Arrived in Nairobi [2000]
Very quick message from Nairobi. I made it here safely yesterday and the team is now assembling for our trip into the wilderness. I think I'll be a bout to email every once in a while - I'll send it to one person and they will forward it to you. After resting all day yesterday, I'm pretty much over my cold and ready to go! As I was drifting off to sleep yesterday I could hear beautiful singing and chanting, I think from a church close by. It was soothing. But there is definite absolute poverty here, And the hotel is across the street from the Israeli embassy, which makes the heavily guarded police stations in Northern Ireland look tame.
talk at you when I can -
Brigid
Kenya [2000]
Lodging
9/24 and 10/12 :
– 10 Bishops Road, Nairobi
Earthwatch Study
, Ol Pejeta Ranch on Sweetwaters Research Centre – PO Box 167, Nanyuki
Flight Out
NBO-TNR 10/13 10:15am-2:30pm (Air Madagascar 739)
To See
Animals on Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Goodall Chimpanzee Reserve, Hike Mt Kenya, Nairobi
Notes
- Nairobi – We stayed in Nairobi on the first and last nights – a very crowded and dirty city.
- Sweetwaters Reserve – I stayed at the Sweetwaters reserve while doing the black rhino Earthwatch study. It was incredible!
- Mount Kenya – To top off my Kenya experience, I climbed Mt Kenya – it was very tough and I got lost at one point!!
Dublin, ancient stuff, brawl [2000]
I have just a few more hours in Dublin! The last time I wrote was Monday. On Monday, I was not feeling so hot, so instead of heading out on a train, I decided to hang around Dublin. I did some souvenier shopping, had some yummy Italian food for lunch, then went on the Jameson distillery tour. It's similar to the Guiness 'tour' - they have some dioramas (spelling?) set up and don't actually make the stuff there anymore. That evening I went to what was advertised as the "home of Bailey's", which was a short movie and a drink at a bar in a shopping plaza connected to a racetrack (!). I don't recommend that one. Also Monday I took my first malaria tablet (whoohoo!!). The first of 8.
Tuesday I wasn't feeling worse, so I went on an all-day bus tour, stopping at the Hill of Tara (ancient sacred spot), saw the castle that was the centerpiece of the movie 'Braveheart' (no, Mel was nowhere to be found), stopped at Slane for lunch. There are rock concerts on the lawns around Slane Castle - Springsteen was there in the mid-80's. That night I decided it was about time for more Irish music. It is so handy to have that bar with nightly music just downstairs! I found out that about 50 Irishmen will be descending on San Diego next spring, for a wedding. Also, I heard of a good San Diego Irish bar - the Old Sod (or maybe it's Auld Sod). I'll have to check it out when I get home.
Wednedsay I was feeling much worse, so I spent most of the day in bed watching the Olympics - mostly swimming. In the afternoon, I shipped a huge box of stuff home (I didn't realize I had accumulated so much!). It'll get there in 6 weeks, when I get home. That night I went to the Olympia Theater and saw Trisha Yearwood. I was in about the 10th row, so it was a great show.
Thursday I was feeling better and took the train to Athlone, checked out the castle on the Shannon River there, and took a bus to Clonmacnoise, an ancient Christian site. It was inundated with American tour bus patrons, so I slipped out the back cemetery and checked out the Nun's Chapel which was just as dramatic as any of the other 7 church ruins in the complex. I knew about it thanks to my wonderful Lonely Planet guidebook!
My next stop was Kildare, where St Brigid started her abbey. I got there just in time to climb the tower (I hadn't realized I could climb the tower! It's the 2nd highest round tower in Ireland and the tallest that you can actually climb (of the 2). Then I wandered around the grounds, and the caretaker snuck me into the church though it was officially closed. Very beautiful church. My next destination was the Irish National Stud Farm, so I hustled the few miles out of town to try to get there before they closed at 6, arriving at 5:45 (yay!) but their last tour was at 5, so they were effectively closed at 5 (boo). Walking around, the only animals in the fields were cows. On my way back to town, I followed the signs to St Brigid's Holy Well - it took me down a serene secluded country road. Birds chirping, breeze blowing, sun waning but still shining. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, by the time I sojourned to the train station, I had missed it by 5 minutes and was starting to rain. I spent the 1-1/2 hours to the next train having dinner at a pub (Silken Thomas) and hanging out on the platform in the rain because I thought the train came 1/2 hour before it actually arrived!
On Friday, much of center city Dublin was blocked off as a pedestrian zone and the local trains were free - a few other cities in Europe did the same thing at the same time to try to encourage public transportation. I took the DART to Dalkey and walked to Killiney along the sea. Stunningly beautiful, green water, sandy/rocky beach (though much of it was covered in aromatic kelp). This is the most expensive houses in Ireland - it was a bit like wandering around Bel Air. But I didn't see Bono. I cut off the road on a path that appeared to lead down to the beach. It went over a railroad and there was a bit of graffiti on it - 'the Beatles Rule', 'clothing optional beach',... I thought it was just graffiti, but as I rounded the last turn in the path I realized the clothing optional statement was true, and it appeared to be some sort of organized thing. So I went back up, and took the next path down to the beach!
I took it to the other end of its track and had dinner in the seaside town Howth. Last night I went to the Celt Pub to get my last night of Irish music - 5 or so girls who were very good. People keep talking about the Irish group the Corrs, who is apparently enjoying some success in the States right now - everyone is very proud of them! Afterwards I went to the Zanzibar night club and walking home, the guy I was walking with had a freak (who we later learned just finished a 7 year jail term) land a flying kick on his back, for no reason, after we had watched him chase after a car and rip off the rear windshield wiper. This was quickly followed by a brawl in the fast food joint that he dove into. So I got to meet some of Dublin's finest Garda (police). Interesting last night in Ireland.
Today I'm off for Nairobi. I'm not sure when I'll be able to write again, but worst case scenario, I'll write it all up when I get home at the end of October (I'm keeping a pretty detailed journal).
Hope all is going well for you - bye from Dublin! Brigid
more Dublin and Northern Ireland [2000]
I guess the last time I wrote was a little over a week ago - when Cindy went home. Lots of stuff to report. I spent Fri and Sat mostly recovering from our whirlwind week, plus doing laundry (required quite a bit of effort), grocery shopping and I took a bus tour - one of those open top, double deck ones. It only rained a little :) I had been to most places, but I it was a good overview, and I'll make sure I get back to Kilmainham Jail to do the tour.
Sunday I went to mass in Latin and there was a boys choir - really beautiful and interesting. Then I headed to the National Library and the National Museum. The library isn't normally open on Sunday, so I didn't have my geneological stuff with me, but found a record of an ancestor, John Wilkinson, in 1861 (might have been 1833) that rented land near a lighthouse on Rathlin Island and had to pay £6 in taxes. After that, I caught some of the All-Ireland National Hurling Championship (I think it was Kilkenney-orange/black stripes- and Omagh-green/white/orange). The ones in orange/black won. The town was not nearly as wild as I expected for that. That night, I went to a sing-along screening of the Sound of Music. Very cute.
Monday I spent most of the day at the National Library looking for ancestors, with not much luck. Almost all of their records are from 1861 forward, and I already have at least that much for the 4 branches of my ancestrors I was looking for. I did find a few books on Rathlin Island, though, which I skimmed to get familiar with my next destination.
Tuesday I got on the train at 7:30am, and 3 train changes and 2 buses later I arrived in Ballycastle at about 6pm for the night. On the way, between connections, I wandered around Lisburn and then Portrush, and took a tour of the Old Bushmills distillery in, oddly enough, Bushmills. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous - rolling lush green fields separated by crumbling stone walls, with cows and sheep. It reminds me alot of where I grew up in rural PA (plus sheep, and more rain). The coast is very dramatic with lots of cliffs, similar to San Diego, but rocky instead of sandy cliffs (and less sunshine and colder). Supposedly Portrush is a surfing town, but you would have to pay me alot to get in that freezing water. Listened to some local Irish music (led by a Scotsman) and had a pint or 2 in the Angler's Arms.
Wednesday I caught the ferry to Rathlin Island at 'half 10' (10:30). Once there, I took a mini-tour over to the north end of the island, where there is a bird sanctuary. Apparently in the summer there are thousands of puffins nesting. But they left at the end of August so I only saw a few seagulls. A guy on the bus was a shipwreck diver, and he said there are hundreds of wrecks around this tiny island, because the sea can be so incredibly rough. The rest of my birthday I spent wandering around the SE section and much of the afternoon and evening with a very distant relative - Dolores Kyle. That night I caught a pint and played some pool at the pub, and stayed at the lone guest house on the island.
Thursday I rented a bike and went to the SE end - Rue Point. I interrupted the sunbathing of many seals, and again saw lots of sheep and a few cows. Then I decided to head to the lighthouse, but turned down the wrong road - seems incredible because there are only 2 roads to that side of the island! But I'm glad I did. I followed what I thought was the path after the road ended, but then that ended. So I just headed to the coast and pushed my bike along the edge. It was absolutely amazing - lots of little coves, some tumbeld-down abandoned farmhouses and again the lush green hills rolling to the sea. Tons and tons of pheasants - a sporting group sponsors a pheasant hunt a few times a year and drops a huge amount on the island. I also came upon the Bruce castle ruins, on top of a tiny piece of land jutting into the sea. I didn't see the cave where Robert the Bruce hid out for awhile, but I believe it was below the castle (sheer cliffs). Eventually I got to the lighthouse, hoisted my bike over the wall and rode back to town. That was a much less spectacular route, but still very pretty. I spent the rest of the day with Dolores, walking a bit, at the pub - met a few very colorful characters - and stayed that night at Dolores' brother Patrick's place.
Friday I caught the half 8 ferry back to Ballycastle, and had a lazy day walking around that little coast town and taking it easy.
Saturday I went driving around the whole area with someone who was working on Rathlin - Geard - a wonderful tour guide. We went to the Giant's Causeway and to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. I'm running out of synonyms for 'beautiful', but you get the idea. Then we drove all around the coast and inland. Again, it reminded me alot of eastern rural PA. That night I stayed at a hotel in Cookstown, and went to an amazing huge club called The Opera - all the decor inspired by Phantom of the Opera.
Sunday morning I tried to catch a bus back to Dublin but much to my (temporary) extreme chagrin, very few buses run on Sunday - one to Dublin at 9:30a (which I missed) and one at 7:30p to Belfast. After calming down, I took a taxi to the closest reasonably big town, Dungannon. Amazingly, a bus was just leaving for Belfast so I got on. As I walked around, it reaffirmed that my favorite city so far is Belfast - I'm not sure exactly why.
The place I stayed Saturday night, Cookstown, is in the heart of the 'Troubles' area. In the surrounding towns as well, there were some seriously high fences and barbed wire, multiple layers of gates and lots of cameras around all the police stations and RUC headquarters. In Cookstown itself, there is an Army depot with blast walls in addition to the police station measures. I saw many British flags flying, and one Irish -which I was told should not be flying. In Belfast the courthouse was protected in this way, but otherwise everything was normal. There were 4 high schools in the Cookstown area - 1 each of 'normal' public/protestant and Catholic(St Pius X!) across and down the street from each other and then 1 each of gifted public/protestant and Catholic. There is a new very well funded integrated primary school which has some pretty ominous high fences. In one small town at a stop, Geard pointed out 4 major buildings that had been blown up by bombs a few years ago. But pretty much everything is rebuilt. There were some signs saying 'Disband the RUC' - apparently they are a pseudo-police arm and are very one-sided (I'm not sure which side). Also, I saw a bit of 'IRA' graffiti but it was all few and far between. All that said, I felt very safe and would definitely come back.
So I caught the train from Belfast to Dublin yesterday and cannot believe I only have 6 more days here! I have so much more to do!!!
Brigid
pub crawl (stumble), Inishmaan, Galway, Cliffs of Moher [2000]
The musical pub crawl went really well - I highly recommend it. There were 2 musicians that played, told stories and talked about Irish instrument history, while we hit 3 pubs. The next morning we ran for an early train to Galway (3 hrs away). Some women on the train told us that we should definitely hit the Aran Islands if possible, so as soon as we got there, we were able to get directly on a boat (10:30). The boat is connected to a shipping company so it looked like a fishing vessel and there was cargo in the lower part of the deck. It was about 2-1/2 hours to get to Inishmaan - the middle-sized and least visited isle of the three. We arrived around 1 and the boat home left at 5. It is a very small island (8km long x 3km wide I think - pop about 100) but we managed to get lost abs harassed by the local village idiot. Eventually we got our bearings, and climbed on top of a few ancient fort ruins - very impressive. The while island was criss-crossed by those intricate stone walls, often penning in belligerent cows as Cindy discovered when she tried to photograph one. It was the 'typical' quaint Ireland I have heard about. That night we explored Galway a bit - a very nice city much like a ski town. It is a college town definitely geared for tourists but still retains the 'village' feel. The next morning (Thurs) we rented a car and drove down the coast to the Cliffs of Moher. I only drove on the wrong side of the street once! It was interesting not only because of driving on the other side of the road, and being in such a tiny car, but also because they have tons of traffic circles instead of stoplights. Some of the roads were insanely narrow, too, with those picturesque stone walls about 3 inches from the road's edge and the road barely wide enough for 2 cars. I did alot of trimming of overgrown foliage - and Cindy felt like she was being pelted by it. On our way down to the cliffs, we came upon a castle on a lake and climbed up to the top. It was spit-raining and blustery, much like you would imagine in the middle ages. Very cool :)
By the way, the only rain we have gotten so far was a few drops one or two mornings, full rain in Scotland, and Thurs morning and early afternoon. So it has not been the stereotypical dreariness.
The Cliffs of Moher were beautiful - sheer moss-covered dropoffs falling down into the turbulent sea. We also stopped by the holy well of St Brigid which was very close by. One things that amused us was the kegs stacked behind the fence that surrounded the area. Supposedly the well has healing powers. The kegs tie into the story told at the Guinness factory that up to a few years ago, they were recommending that pregnant women drink a Guinness a day for the vitamin and mineral benefits - their ad slogan - 'Guinness for Strength'.
So we drove back to Galway, had a pint at Fibber Magee's and got on the train back to Dublin - dinner and some more traditional music at the Celt Pub.
This morning I sent Cindy home (luckily the French transportation embargo hasn't made it to Ireland yet).
It was great to have her here so we could explore enough for me to get my bearings. I think we hit all the big ticket tourist items, so over the next few days I'm going to have to figure out what to do for the next 2 weeks!
This weekend should be wild - the All-Ireland Hurling Finals are Sunday and the airport cabbie said they will start taking over the town tomorrow. I believe it is Kildare and Offaly I think ... I don't remember but I'm sure I will know by Sunday. The thing last weekend was Kerry and Armagh in a Gaelic Football semi-final - Kerry won.
Next week - Giant's Causeway and Rathlin Island...
Brigid
Dublin, Belfast and Scotland [2000]
Since we last left our heroes.... we hit the rest of the Dublin top tourist sights - St Patrick's, Guiness factory, Book of Kells. All were very good, though not amazing. And a few more nights of authentic Irish music.
Yesterday we took a train up to Belfast - lots of beautiful farmland, sheep and cows. We wandered around Belfast for a few hours - it is really bustling, and reminded us of Pittsburgh in the 70s. No evidence that we could see of the troubles. Then we got on a ferry to Troon Scotland. It is a quaint little village on the Irish Sea. Good pizza. The traditional Scottish breakfast is much like the traditional Irish breakfast - plus a very dark unidentifiable patty. We believe it to be meat since Cindy got it and I didn't, but who knows. We took the train to Ayr to shop and wander around, and had lunch in a pub that is a renovated church. This afternoon we took a plane from there to Dublin, so tonight - musical pub crawl...
Brigid and Cindy
Ireland diary [2000]
Ireland [2000]
Lodging
– 81-82 Talbot St, Dublin 1
Flight In
LAX-LHR 8/31 8:25pm-2:45pm (British Airways 268); LHR-DUB 9/1 5:25pm-6:40pm (British Midland 131)
Flight Out
DUB-LHR 9/23 5:10pm-6:25pm (British Midland 130); LGW-NBO 9/23 10:15pm-8:40am (British Airways 2069)
To See
Dublin + musical pub crawl, Book of Kells, Guinness Brewery, Dublin Castle, Old Jameson Distillery, Phoenix Park, Kilmainham Jail, Kildare, Clonmacnoise, Tara Belfast + Ballycastle, Rathlin Island, Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills Distillery Galway + Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, Inaishmaan, Liscannor’s Holy Well of St Brigid
Round the World - Preview and Itinerary [2000]
9/1/2000 - 9/23/2000
Where: Ireland
Lodging Info: Celtic Guesthouse - 81-82 Talbot St, Dublin 1; www.celticlodge.com
Flight In: LAX-LHR 8/31 8:25pm-2:45pm (British Airways 268); LHR-DUB 9/1 5:25pm-6:40pm (British Midland 131)
Flight Out: DUB-LHR 9/23 5:10pm-6:25pm (British Midland 130); LGW-NBO 9/23 10:15pm-8:40am (British Airways 2069)
To See: Dublin + musical pub crawl, Book of Kells, Guinness Brewery, Dublin Castle, Old Jameson Distillery, Phoenix Park, Kilmainham Jail, Kildare, Clonmacnoise, Tara Belfast + Ballycastle, Rathlin Island, Giant's Causeway, Bushmills Distillery Galway + Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, Inaishmaan, Liscannor's Holy Well of St Brigid
9/24/2000 - 10/13/2000
Where: Kenya
Lodging Info: 9/24 and 10/12 : Fairview Hotel - 10 Bishops Road, Nairobi; www.fairviewkenya.com
Earthwatch Study: Saving Kenya’s Black Rhinos, Ol Pejeta Ranch on Sweetwaters Research Centre - PO Box 167, Nanyuki
Flight Out: NBO-TNR 10/13 10:15am-2:30pm (Air Madagascar 739)
To See: Animals on Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Goodall Chimpanzee Reserve, Hike Mt Kenya, Nairobi
Notes
- Nairobi - We stayed in Nairobi on the first and last nights – a very crowded and dirty city.
- Sweetwaters Reserve - I stayed at the Sweetwaters reserve while doing the black rhino Earthwatch study. It was incredible!
- Mount Kenya - To top off my Kenya experience, I climbed Mt Kenya – it was very tough and I got lost at one point!!
10/13/2000 - 10/20/2000
Where: Madagascar
Lodging Info: 10/13 and 10/19 : Hotel Colbert - 23 Rue Printsy Ratsimamanga, Antaninarenina Antanananarivo 10/14-15 : Vakona Forest Lodge - Andasibe / Perinet 10/16-18 : Relias du Masoala - Ambatomasina-Andranonangozy BP10 Maroantsetra
Flights: 10/16 : Toamasina-Sambava-Maroantsetra (Air Madagascar) 10/19 : Maroantsetra-Antalaha-Antanananarivo (Air Madagascar)
Flight Out: TNR-NBO 10/20 5:30am-8:45am (Air Madagascar 730); NBO-MRU 10/20 10:20am-3:20pm (Air Mauritius 535)
To See: Parc National d'Andasibe-Mantadia (Perinet), Nosy Mangabe, Masoala Peninsula, lemurs!
Notes
- Antananarivo - Madagascar’s capital city is noisy, dirty and shockingly poor.
- Toamasina - We drove from Tana to Toamasina through Perinet Reserve.
- Maroantsetra - I stayed in a wonderful hotel across the bay from Nosy Mangabe.
10/20/2000 - 10/21/2000
Where: Mauritius
Lodging Info: Port Louis
Flight Out: MRU-PER 10/21 10:20am-9:30pm (Air Mauritius 940)
Notes
- Port Louis - I just stayed overnight here – and it was a bit too much of a European playground after my weeks in Kenya and Madagascar.
10/21/2000 - 10/22/2000
Where: Australia
Lodging Info: Perth
Flight Out: PER-SYD 10/22 11:25am-6:20pm (Quantas 64); SYD-CHC 8:00pm-12:55am (Quantas 65)
10/23/2000 - 10/25/2000
Where: New Zealand
Lodging Info: Christchurch
Flight Out: CHC-AKL 10/25 11:10am-12:30pm (Air New Zealand 516); AKL-TBU 2:00pm-5:50pm (Royal Tongan 213)
To See: Swim with dolphins in Kaikoura, Christchurch, snowboarding at Mt Hutt, jet boating
10/25/2000 - 10/28/2000
Where: Tonga
Lodging Info: 10/25 : horrible guest house, Nuku'alofa 10/26 : Hilltop Guest House, Neiafu, Vava'U 10/27 : International Dateline Hotel - Vuna Road, Nuku'alofa
Flight Out: TBU-NAN 10/28 10:20am-10:50pm (Royal Tongan 305)
Notes
- Nuku’alofa on Tongatapu - I spent a miserable first night in a rooming house, and a better night in the dorm-like Dateline Hotel. Beautiful, but the locals are a little too friendly.
- Neiafu on Vava’u - I had a nice few days here, wandering around the island and meeting Kiwi fishermen!
10/28/2000
Where: Fiji
Flight Out: NON-LAX 10/28 10:00pm-1:20pm (American Airlines 739)
Notes
- Nadi - I only had an afternoon here, and went on a pretty tense driving tour – they were gearing down from a coup a few months earlier.
France with Babu's Family and Woody [1999]
Nice Krishnan, Geetha, Lavina, Woody and I kicked off our adventure in Nice. Plus we took the train one afternoon into the nearby mountains of Italy.
Monte Carlo
I took an afternoon by myself in Monte Carlo - it definitely is an adult playground, and extraordinarily clean!!
Paris
We had a view of Eiffel tower from the hotel and spent a few nice days in Paris.
In this trip, I used my passport for the first time, and decided I don't like traveling with glasses or contacts, so I got Lasik surgery! And this is when the travel bug really bit, and I realized I could travel on my own.