Day #19 - Newcastle, Ireland

Mourne Mountains - if the fog was gone

Interesting pigs

Small town Ireland

Friday, April 2nd

I'm writing from the 'movie room' at a downtown hostel in Dublin, Ireland. More on this later.

I went into the day with a good plan, but my execution just didn't turn out the way I had hoped. I got out of Belfast a little later than I wanted and missed the early train. I got the late morning option to Newry, Ireland - arriving around 12:30pm. I then took the bus to Newcastle - where I intended to spend time hiking in the Mourne Mountains. This area is said to be one of the best outdoor areas on the east coast of Ireland. Problem: rain and heavy, dense fog.

I wanted to climb this mountain peak with an elevation of 2,700ft. Only thing is - I could not see the mountain. I was talking with some of the folks at the tourist info office. They turned me off on the idea of going up because the trail was not really pronounced and I could get lost, etc. I obeyed and just roamed the town in the cold rain for a while. Although I enjoy pushing the limits, I would also consider myself pretty conservative when it comes to risk-taking. I always say: "I'll scuba-dive at 60ft during the day in the open ocean, but I won't scuba at 120ft, at night in a cave". I've sky-dived, hang-glided over the ocean, spalunked in several caves, and scuba-dived --- but all were done with some safety factor in place. (except for maybe the hang-gliding - my safety factor was that the people from the Amazing Race jumped from the same spot we did)

After my cold hike, I grabbed a bus back to Newry and then the train to Dublin. I must say that I'm adapting well to most things so far - except, not having a car. This feature REALLY brings down my efficiency. I'm so used to getting in my car and knocking out so many things in very little time. On this trip, I'm reliant on buses, trains, and my legs. All nice options - but this is taking some time for me. I'm spending alot of time at bus stations and train stations. On the positive side, it's forcing me to chill, and I get time to do further research and read. I'm currently reading a book about D-Day in preparation for my upcoming trip to the beaches of Normandy.

I forgot to mention a couple interesting things about Belfast. Belfast is where the Titanic was built. We went by the ship yard and it was pretty interesting. I guy on the tour asked: "Why are you so proud of a ship that sunk on it's maiden voyage?" The tour guide said: "It was in good shape when it left here" Maybe if he talked with the ship builder from Cobh, Ireland, he would not think the same. My buddy told me the other interesting thing about Northern Ireland. Van Morrison - who sings "Brown-eyed girl" is from here. Back in 95/96 timeframe, President Clinton visited Belfast at the time of the peace talks. Supposedly the streets were electric and Brown-eyed girl was blasting for all to hear. Perhaps my buddy had a couple pints under his belt at that time and perhaps he was in the prescence of a brown-eyed girl. Not sure - just assuming.

I have an aggressive plan in place for tomorrow to do a southern loop by train and explore a few smaller towns. Because of this, I have a 7:20am train out of Dublin. When I arrived tonight, I didn't have a hotel. I just wanted something close and cost effective. I found a small internet cafe across the street from the rail station. I did a little research, found that there was a hostel 1 block away. No single rooms - just multi-person dorms. My thoughts: "I'm not scared - bring it on." So, I checked in for 14 euro (about $18-$19) - and got placed in a 8 person dorm room. This is only my second hostel ever AND my first dorm room in a hostel. I walk in the room and there's this super-hot foreign babe there. Not bad - we'll see how things go. The other outstanding thing about hostels is: free Wi-Fi and free breakfast. I'm not up for social acitivy tonight - so it should be interesting to see the end result of this show. We'll be back with reports tomorrow. If I can sleep at 10,000ft in a 30 person room atop Mt. Ranier - this should be a piece of cake. Or so I hope.........