Well I've spent my entire time here in Ireland not writing in the blog and barely writing in my journal, but I guess that's a good thing and means I was enjoying my last couple weeks in Europe quite a bit. Today is my last day here in Castletownshend and tonight I start on my way to Cork to go to Scotland on Saturday. I've had quite a bit of fun here and I can honestly say that life here is quite a bit like living at home, except the scenery is way better out here.
For the most part daily life around here is pretty relaxed. I wake up about 8 or 8:30 and make myself some breakfast of whatever, usually eggs since the chickens seem to shoot out quite a few. Barbara's up then too and Reuben is up a little bit later and goes to school around 9:30. So we don't really start working until 9:30 or 10. I'll work about two hours, have some lunch, and work about 2 hours more after eating until 2 or so. Most of the work has been in the garden making boxes for vegetables and such and also preparing the land and making it level. Also weeding, I'm really good at weeding now. Also mowing the lawn and getting the cottages ready for guests and such. That's pretty much about it for work around here.
Most of the other time is spend just somewhat exploring on my own and playing with Reuben. I help him with his homework when he comes back from school and then either go to work on his tree house or whatever he feels like doing at the time. On Monday I actually taught him how to ride his bike! He was pretty proud of that (as was I) and now he's riding around like a madman! We're also in the middle of building a doghouse that probably needs to be finished today or else it never will be...
On my own I've done some exploring, but mostly just hung out since we didn't have a bike pump until early this week. The other day I went up to a place called Lough Hyne. It's a reservoir connected with the ocean that has strange tidefalls and gets different marine life because of it. There's also a huge hill you can walk up (takes about 30-45 min) and get great views from the top! I took a few pics to try and make a panorama so we will see how it turns out. Most of my time exploring though has been while I'm running and didn't have a camera, which was quite a shame. I've run between 60-70 miles while I've been here in Ireland and have had some of the most amazing views at different places, especially on the coastline. It's just too bad I didn't have my camera!
I've had quite a good time here though and can honestly say I'd come back in a few years or really recommend it to anyone who's looking for a place to stay in Ireland. Barbara does a fantastic job with her cottages and I told her that if every hotel/B&B kept their places as clean as she does I'd stay in hotels much more often!
I'm heading off tonight though to Cork, and to Dublin to explore there a little bit tomorrow. Sleeping in the Dublin airport on Friday night for an early flight to Edinburgh on Saturday morning. Train up to Inverness takes me to Loch Ness and the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday morning!!! Very excited for this race because it's actually the first race of any kind that I've had since my surgery last year on October 10th. It's taken a year but I'm definitely ready again! The forecast is for a low up in Scotland of below 30 degrees though, so it'll be quite interesting.
Monday morning I take the train back down to Edinburgh to explore there for the day/night and on Tuesday I come home! I'm excited and sad at the same time I guess you could say. It's been a fun 4.5 months here, but I miss not having to live out of a bag the size of carry-on luggage and also miss biking and Mexican food! The first thing I think I'm going to do when I get back is go for a bike ride and then head to Chipotle....Or maybe take a bike ride TO Chipotle!
Hope everyone is doing well at home...might get another chance to post but I might not. Take care and see ya soon!
Monday morining I'm
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Green, green, green.....and gray.
Alright so I've been in Ireland for about 5 days now and couldn't have asked for a better place to stay! My travels from Portugal started Tuesday the 15th with my sleeping in the Lagos bus station because my host wouldn't take me there in the morning at 6:15. It was too early for her despite her having nothing else to do that day so I slept in the cold at the bus station. Took the bus to Sevilla though, and then a train to Madrid. Camped out at the Madrid airport on Wednesday night and flew to Dublin Thursday morning. After a train to Cork and a bus to Skibbereen I finally made it!
My host here is Barbara and her 8 year-old son Reuben. Barbara runs Barbara's Cottages (www.barbarascottages.com), which she built herself over the last four years. Quite an accomplishment to do all on her own and the cottages are definitely well put together. Check out the website for pictures!
Barbara and Reuben are great though. Work here is pretty light and involves mostly a few hours in the morning and then helping Reuben with his homework after he gets home from school. So far here I've mowed the lawn, dug up some potatoes, strimmed the tall grass around the garden, and worked in the garden quite a bit just in general. On Friday Barbara's nephews came over from Scotland for a couple nights and I hung out with them over the weekend. We went to a few pubs and a nightclub on Saturday night and each time I go out to Skibbereen I like it more and more. It's really a cool little town. I've met quite a few people here, definitely more in the first 2 days than I did my entire trip in Portugal.
Barbara's friend Joe took us fishing on Sunday, caught quite a few Mackerel and some nice, big Pollock. Had a great time though and got some amazing views while on the boat! I've been running quite a bit here too for the race and I've been getting to go some amazing places that I keep stumbling upon just by accident. The scenery out here is so fantastic with just endless green!
More to come later!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Portugal Recap
Alright then here are a few of my Portugal pictures for those who want to see...make sure to check out the Spain ones below too!
First one is of sunrise one morning. Second is a view of the beach we lived near from the cliffs above. Third is of the great little dog Lucky, always ready for someone to throw him a ball and never gets tired! Fourth is of a beach in Lagos, the nearest town, and fifth is of the great unspoiled beach we lived near, hardly any people whatsoever! Kind of a shame, but I didn't really take many pictures from Portugal. I've got a good video of where I stayed at, but can't post it. Ireland update coming soon!
First one is of sunrise one morning. Second is a view of the beach we lived near from the cliffs above. Third is of the great little dog Lucky, always ready for someone to throw him a ball and never gets tired! Fourth is of a beach in Lagos, the nearest town, and fifth is of the great unspoiled beach we lived near, hardly any people whatsoever! Kind of a shame, but I didn't really take many pictures from Portugal. I've got a good video of where I stayed at, but can't post it. Ireland update coming soon!
Recap of Spain, Portugal
Alright so where to begin....Ireland is absolutely great! It's much more than I thought it would be and certainly more beautiful. In case anyone wants to look me up, I'm in a tiny town called Skibbereen in the very southwest of Ireland. It's a really nice small town where everyone in the area knows EVERYONE. No street names or street numbers here, the post people just know who lives where. But I'll get to Ireland in the next post (hopefully tomorrow, no promises). First I'll try to post up my pictures with some short descriptions from Spain and then Portugal. Hope you like them!
So as for Spain from top to bottom, just a quick description. 1) Kristian and I at the beach condo in Almerimar, 2) Kristian getting attacked by Serena, 3) Me eating snails, 4) Maja and Pjuskiis, and 5) Part of the great view from where we lived in Spain in the Alpujarras. I'll do the same thing with Portugal, then a little about Ireland!
So as for Spain from top to bottom, just a quick description. 1) Kristian and I at the beach condo in Almerimar, 2) Kristian getting attacked by Serena, 3) Me eating snails, 4) Maja and Pjuskiis, and 5) Part of the great view from where we lived in Spain in the Alpujarras. I'll do the same thing with Portugal, then a little about Ireland!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Well......
I'll keep this short because I really don't like posting without pictures and I'm sure most of you don't enjoy reading as much without pictures.
Today is my last day in Portugal, and I'll save the details for when I get back home I suppose. My time here has been nice...but interesting also. To sum it up though, I was here about 4 days, my host Susie had to go to Spain for 5 days, and I have been here another 4 days before I leave tomorrow. The area here is beautiful with the great beaches and perfect weather everyday. Overall I think this HelpX left a little something to be desired though, like I said I'll save the details for back home. I have had a good time experiencing it all though. Nothing is ever a mistake in my book, only a lesson to grow and learn about myself.
Off to Ireland tomorrow! Staying with my host Barbara and her 8 year-old son Reuben in a tiny town called Castletownshend on the south coast. Leave there on October 2nd and then to Scotland for the Loch Ness Marathon! I've been training pretty hard for that and it should be a good one.
While this post is pretty short though, I'll try to list all of the cities I've slept a night in just to get a feel for how I've been traveling around and the places I've seen. I figured it'd be interesting for all of you to see as well...
Pisa, Italy (Couch of apartment)
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Orte, Italy
Venice, Italy
Purbach, Austria
Budapest, Austria
Frankfurt, Germany (Train Station)
Damiatte, France
Carcassonne, France (Car)
Avignon, France (Soccer Field)
Montpelier, France (Train Station)
Girona, Spain (Airport)
Tutzing, Germany
Malaga, Spain (Airport)
Lobras, Spain
Figueira, Portugal
I think there may have been a couple cities I left out, but it's been quite the ride! Hope everyone is well at home, pictures for sure from Ireland!
Today is my last day in Portugal, and I'll save the details for when I get back home I suppose. My time here has been nice...but interesting also. To sum it up though, I was here about 4 days, my host Susie had to go to Spain for 5 days, and I have been here another 4 days before I leave tomorrow. The area here is beautiful with the great beaches and perfect weather everyday. Overall I think this HelpX left a little something to be desired though, like I said I'll save the details for back home. I have had a good time experiencing it all though. Nothing is ever a mistake in my book, only a lesson to grow and learn about myself.
Off to Ireland tomorrow! Staying with my host Barbara and her 8 year-old son Reuben in a tiny town called Castletownshend on the south coast. Leave there on October 2nd and then to Scotland for the Loch Ness Marathon! I've been training pretty hard for that and it should be a good one.
While this post is pretty short though, I'll try to list all of the cities I've slept a night in just to get a feel for how I've been traveling around and the places I've seen. I figured it'd be interesting for all of you to see as well...
Pisa, Italy (Couch of apartment)
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Orte, Italy
Venice, Italy
Purbach, Austria
Budapest, Austria
Frankfurt, Germany (Train Station)
Damiatte, France
Carcassonne, France (Car)
Avignon, France (Soccer Field)
Montpelier, France (Train Station)
Girona, Spain (Airport)
Tutzing, Germany
Malaga, Spain (Airport)
Lobras, Spain
Figueira, Portugal
I think there may have been a couple cities I left out, but it's been quite the ride! Hope everyone is well at home, pictures for sure from Ireland!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Back to the Stone Age
Alright here's the quick low down while we still have the sun up for power.
1) I'm here in Figueira, Portugal on the south coast inbetween Lagos and Sagres.
2) There is a secluded, untouched beach here in a national park just 5-10 minutes walk away with no hotels, not a whole lot of people, and it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
3) We're running on solar and wind power. I haven't asked (Susie doesn't like questions) but I don't think we're able to run more than a combined 100 watts at a time...think about it and you'll understand how little that is. The computer plugged in is about 60-65 watts. I think I'm back in the stone age.
4) Also have rain water here with gravity doing the work for pressure. Bottled water for drinking, but everything else is from stored rain. My shower is a camping bag that you put on the roof and it comes down on me. Also using the good old-fashioned compost loo.
5) Susie, my host, is an amazing cook, one of the best I've ever met. She knows so much about different foods that it blows me away. We eat only organic vegetarian and it's delicious.
6) Didn't know this before I came, but the south coast of Portugal/Spain is one of the windiest places on Earth as far as I can tell. There is a constant 20-30 MPH wind blowing all the time.
That's it for now, if I tried to post pictures the house might explode, so I'll wait until Ireland. Having fun here, hard to believe it's already been 3.5 months though.
1) I'm here in Figueira, Portugal on the south coast inbetween Lagos and Sagres.
2) There is a secluded, untouched beach here in a national park just 5-10 minutes walk away with no hotels, not a whole lot of people, and it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
3) We're running on solar and wind power. I haven't asked (Susie doesn't like questions) but I don't think we're able to run more than a combined 100 watts at a time...think about it and you'll understand how little that is. The computer plugged in is about 60-65 watts. I think I'm back in the stone age.
4) Also have rain water here with gravity doing the work for pressure. Bottled water for drinking, but everything else is from stored rain. My shower is a camping bag that you put on the roof and it comes down on me. Also using the good old-fashioned compost loo.
5) Susie, my host, is an amazing cook, one of the best I've ever met. She knows so much about different foods that it blows me away. We eat only organic vegetarian and it's delicious.
6) Didn't know this before I came, but the south coast of Portugal/Spain is one of the windiest places on Earth as far as I can tell. There is a constant 20-30 MPH wind blowing all the time.
That's it for now, if I tried to post pictures the house might explode, so I'll wait until Ireland. Having fun here, hard to believe it's already been 3.5 months though.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Hasta luego España.....Olá Portugal!
So this kinda sucks not being able to post pictures and it definitely makes this blog less interesting, but I guess I have to deal with it....hard to describe what's going on here though without really seeing it.
Kristian and Maja have a place that they own on the coast of southern Spain in Almerimar, very close to Almerìa. Last weekend we went down there for a couple days and it is absolutely great. Right next to the beach and on a clear day you are able to see the mountains in Africa! The only thing not great about it was the humidity...take 95-100 degrees and add in 85-90% humidity and it's just ridiculous. It was nice to be there for a couple of days though and enjoy it all. Kristian and Maja even took me out to a nice restaurant to celebrate their anniversary with them. They are absolutely some of the nicest hosts I've had while in Europe.
This past week we worked really hard on getting the infrastructure for the electricity installed. Right now we are on solar and generator power and Kristian and Maja finally got the papers for electricity after so many months and so we worked on building a house for the circuit breakers and also digging trenches for the cables and everything else that is needed. Hopefully they will have real electricity here in a week or two!
I've had a great time here in Spain though and I'm sad to go. What's interesting is that I'm starting to really not care about the main tourist attractions and big cities and instead I'm more focused on really living how people do out here and seeing what it's all about. I'm really only like an hour away from Granada here but I never got to see it because I was really having so much fun in the mountains. I'm sure I'll be back to Spain and to "Cortico Medico" to visit the mountain bike hotel when it's finished and I'll see the big cities, but for now it's really great to just take everything in like a local would.
Next up is southern Portugal where there is even less luxury. I'm staying with a woman west of Lagos in a national park very close to an unspoiled beach, definitely a change of pace from the mountains. She uses wind/solar power and rain water but everything seems to have been established for a few years and I think I'll be helping with smaller jobs around the place. Internet will be limited I'm sure so I'll post if I can, and hopefully some pictures this time!
Take care everyone, be home in a month!
Kristian and Maja have a place that they own on the coast of southern Spain in Almerimar, very close to Almerìa. Last weekend we went down there for a couple days and it is absolutely great. Right next to the beach and on a clear day you are able to see the mountains in Africa! The only thing not great about it was the humidity...take 95-100 degrees and add in 85-90% humidity and it's just ridiculous. It was nice to be there for a couple of days though and enjoy it all. Kristian and Maja even took me out to a nice restaurant to celebrate their anniversary with them. They are absolutely some of the nicest hosts I've had while in Europe.
This past week we worked really hard on getting the infrastructure for the electricity installed. Right now we are on solar and generator power and Kristian and Maja finally got the papers for electricity after so many months and so we worked on building a house for the circuit breakers and also digging trenches for the cables and everything else that is needed. Hopefully they will have real electricity here in a week or two!
I've had a great time here in Spain though and I'm sad to go. What's interesting is that I'm starting to really not care about the main tourist attractions and big cities and instead I'm more focused on really living how people do out here and seeing what it's all about. I'm really only like an hour away from Granada here but I never got to see it because I was really having so much fun in the mountains. I'm sure I'll be back to Spain and to "Cortico Medico" to visit the mountain bike hotel when it's finished and I'll see the big cities, but for now it's really great to just take everything in like a local would.
Next up is southern Portugal where there is even less luxury. I'm staying with a woman west of Lagos in a national park very close to an unspoiled beach, definitely a change of pace from the mountains. She uses wind/solar power and rain water but everything seems to have been established for a few years and I think I'll be helping with smaller jobs around the place. Internet will be limited I'm sure so I'll post if I can, and hopefully some pictures this time!
Take care everyone, be home in a month!
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