I cross a bridge no longer than the lengths of a few cars, its purpose almost frivolous. And yet I find myself to be wrong. No matter how small the detachment, how short the bridge between two lands, you can find a world away from this world so quickly and simply. Accessed by a road bridge from the Currane Peninsula in County Mayo, Achill Island is Ireland’s largest island. While the country is one large island, Achill Island is merely a miniscule piece of its whole. Littered in Megalithic tombs, forts and ruined watchtowers, I begin driving through this piece of Ireland trapped back in Continue Reading
Lessons on Achieving From Prehistoric Humans in Ireland
Reasons to travel usually boil down to wanting to see this, a need to experience that. Many travelers want to meet people different from what they know, find meaning in foreign languages, sample tastes palettes have never tickled or simply to get away, to feel displaced. Until I set foot on the Brú Na Bóinne site in Ireland, I didn’t realize I had cast aside and neglected one major reason we should all travel. Located in County Meath, Brú Na Bóinne is composed of three main prehistoric sites, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. On my visit, only Newgrange was open for viewing. I usually resist Continue Reading
Carrick-a-Rede, Northern Ireland Wishes You Were Here
I begin the one-kilometer trek out to cross the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, one of the most well known attractions in Northern Ireland. After leaving the sun on the Giant’s Causeway just down the road, I was hopeful for the same weather here. I have no such luck as a sea mist hangs over my walk. I keep looking and looking to see this rope bridge in the distance, dangling in the wind, but nothing by a few sheep enter my view. I finally reach a man in a bright red jacket, with the National Trust. He sets up here to make certain no one falls into the 23 meter deep, 20 meter wide chasm below, Continue Reading
The Unexpected Benefits to Solo Travel
Before I left for Ireland, I knew there would be benefits to traveling solo. These benefits I likened to a new-found independence, ease in social situations and confidence. While I didn’t assume these positives would come out of solo travel, they were aspects to traveling I suspected I would gain. In the end, I did find a new sense of confidence. I also discovered just how much more independent I could be. Talking with strangers became much easier for me after a month of solo travel. However, there were a few surprises in the solo travel department. Perhaps you have traveled solo and found Continue Reading
The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland Wishes You Were Here
A pile of stones is never just a pile of stones in Ireland. It is a facet of history, a connection to times long since past, someone’s former home. On the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland, the landscape is speckled with homes and forts of residents who might have just grunted to communicate, too preoccupied with getting food and surviving and nothing more. The Dingle Peninsula rests above the famous Ring of Kerry. It has a quiet over the Ring of Kerry as it lacks the steady stream of tour buses. There are tour buses making the Slea Head Drive, but they are few in number. The peninsula centers on Continue Reading
The Churches in Europe Wish You Were Here
With Easter Sunday just days away, I am reminded of all of the houses of worship I have seen. In Europe, one church after another starts to blend together, especially if you are on some whirlwind tour. Regardless, these spaces evoke a silence and calm away from the rest of the world. Even if you aren’t a religious person, you can appreciate the architecture, history and peace that comes while sitting in a pew. St. Kevin’s Church, Glendalough, Ireland St. Kevin’s Church in Glendalough Ireland has that rugged appeal. The saint set up a monastic site here around 570 A.D. In the Continue Reading
A Little Taste of My Travels in Ireland
I had an old map of Ireland with me on my month in the country. After each drive, I would highlight my route in green, perhaps reflecting my greenness in solo travel or the country’s predominate color. I wanted to get a sense of where I started and where I ended up. When I got home, I unfolded my map. Being so fearful of driving on the left side of the road on my first day, I had to give myself a pat on the back for traveling full circle in Ireland, both literally and figuratively. I conquered a number of fears in Ireland, traveling solo, driving in a foreign country. The list goes on. I Continue Reading