The Irish Lifestyle has begun

It has been way too long since I last posted and I get so caught up in my day to day that I forget to blog. I ended up getting sick the night before the Achill Island race I was supposed to marshal as my stomach still was not used to the low amount of sugar in food here so sadly I did not make the race. I did not let this minor setback hold back enjoying my new home and I am already used to the chilly and quite rainy walk to and from college.

One of our walks through Castlebar led to stumbling upon some Chamber Music Irish Festival where I got the tastiest Candy Floss (cotton candy with a much better name)

The time has come for us to prepare for 2-3 days canoeing and camping on Lough Carra which I am both excited and nervous about as I am not at all an experienced canoer. My new friend Sophie was gracious enough to share her packing list and the WCU students that studied here last year left a pair of wellies that I will use for my time here.

The one thing I am still getting used to is how much slower paced everyones time is here because in the States we are all in a hurry and on a tight schedule. We got everything packed and loaded for our expedition and then sat around for an hour or so before we actually headed to our put in.

We only canoed a few kilometers the first day to get to our first camping spot and then our second day was over 10 kilometers to explore a castle and church.

Wow that was a fun trip, I really could not have asked for a better start to my school year with my fellow 3rd year outdoor ed students. I am exhausted after three days of canoeing and some great tent sleep (not sarcastic when I say I slept better on the ground then I do in my apartment bed where you can feel the springs).

The next few days I planned to just lay low but after a few days of recovery I did a bit of adventuring to Westport and Galway. Enjoy some breathtaking Irish scenery below