Cold. Rainy. Windy. Galway.

Going West

I left Dublin with a heavy heart, because I knew that the Sleepzone Galway a) has no hammocks, and b) is a dry hostel.  Thus, my days of living like Homer Simpson are over (until I am back there next week).

No more of this until next week :(

 My last night in Dublin was interesting; I met a student from Brazil, and played pool with a Slovakian man named William.  He just arrived from Galway with his girlfriend, who has a job at an Italian restaurant.  William is a pizza cook and is looking for work in Dublin.  He showed me pictures of the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia (where my roommate is hiking) and told me about his brother, who is in the army and is in Washington for a NATO course.

I checked out at 9 and walked to the Busáras bus terminal.  It's a nice, clean facility (if you ignore the pigeons that live in there and stay out of the men's room) with buses going all over Ireland departing about every hour.

The bus to Galway was fairly empty, and the ride took about 3.5 hours.  There were lots of sheep, cows, and horses along the way, grazing in green fields around stone ruins.

Sheep

Halfway stop at Athlone

Welcome to Galway!  The weather sucks, but we have cheap fish 'n' chips!

I stepped off the bus at the Galway Coach Station.  There was a pigeon walking around in there, too.  After walking about for thirty minutes, I found my hostel.  The Sleepzone Galway has a large kitchen where you can make your own meals if you supply the food, plus lots of seating and, more importantly, plenty of power outlets for laptops.  I am living in an eight-bed mixed room with two guys from New Zealand and three girls from Toronto.  The girl have finished university and are backpacking.  The New Zealanders just arrived from Cork (my next destination) and seem to be backpacking/skateboarding their way across Ireland.  They are a long way from home.

The weather was really, really rotten, so I didn't see much of the town.  I only went out to buy a bag of bread and a jar of peanut butter (saving those Euros), and a couple of British candy bars (which are exponentially better than American candy bars).  The weather was sort of a blessing, since I am trying to finish two final essays before the break ends...  On my brief walk to the food store, I saw a small restaurant selling fish 'n' chips for 4 Euros (encouraging) and a lot of girls sporting Amy Winehouse hairdos (worrying).

This is yummy!

This is not!

To the Shore

The weather was nice when I woke up, so I decided to spend the day walking along the coast.

Walking through the pedestrian zone

The Spanish Arch

Wolfe Tone Bridge on the river Corrib

A docked boat at the mouth of the Corrib

A waterfowl splashing around inside an abandoned hulk

Looking into Galway Bay

People from the future

Wooo, look at me, walking on the left.

Shutter Ireland

As I was walking along the beach, I spotted this lighthouse on an island in the distance.  The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway.  I decided to go have a look. 

 The causeway is built on gigantic metal bolts, with a roadway and a raised path for pedestrians.

Weather conditions were indeed permitting

 Oh no!  I can't go here...

 Oh...hey, someone left the vehicle gate open just for me!

 Wow, I am pretty far away from the shore...this walkway is longer than I expected...

 But it turns out that they really don't want the public in there.  It's probably a nuclear silo, or a mental asylum, or a jail.

 So I had to go back.  Oh well.  I guess I can't see what's in the lighthouse after all.

Bye mystery island.

Oh, ok.  So that's what it was.  A sewage treatment plant.  Well that makes sense.

Way Far Out

Continuing on my walk, I entered the neighborhood of Salthill. 

Some of the people at this outpost were actually bathing.  It wasn't that cold out, but...still.

The Galway Golf Club.  Fun fact: it is built atop a burial ground for unbaptized infants.

Out on the coastal road...

Lunchtime at the Emo!

 About three or four miles out, I'd decided I'd had enough and started walking back.  As I was coming back into Salthill, I saw this great big storm cloud coming in from across the bay.

I had better take shelter somewhere.  This ice cream shop looks like a good place!

So I finished my ice cream, but it hadn't started raining yet.  So I continued on my walk.  Maybe I will take shelter in a pub next...oh but all these pubs are so expensive and OH MY GOD IT'S RAINING.  OH THIS IS JUST THE WORST.  AAA NOW I'M OUT OF SALTHILL AND WALKING ALONG THE COAST BY MYSELF IN THE RAIN AND OH GOD IT'S SALTWATER AND SAND.

Do not want

 But as I was reaching the edge of the city center, the rain stopped, and we got a nice rainbow.

Worth it