Dublin Day 14: "It's like a desert out here."
As a celebration
to our final day of classes, the group got to go on a surprise boat trip to the
coastal city of Howth. We made a long trek to the ferry dock, boarded, and
trolled through the harbor on our way out to sea. Though the seas were a little
choppy, we all arrived alive and had an awesome day hanging out in the sand and
sun. What a perfect day to officially end the term!
The only hint
that we got as to where we were going was to wear layers, and to bring a little
bit of lunch. We had a hunch we were going to the beach, but we didn’t know for
sure until we were handed tickets for the Dart from Howth to Connolly. But the
method of transport to Howth remained
a mystery until we made the 45-minute trek all the way out to the docks at
Dublin Bay. We would be taking the ferry to Dun Laoghaire, and then on across
the bay to Howth! How exciting!
The walk there
was actually quite nice in itself. The sun was shining without a cloud in the
sky, which was unusual and amazing. We would have perfect weather for our trip.
But it was also great to see some different parts of Dublin on foot—the Custom
House, the Liffey, and the Samuel Beckett bridge (designed by Santiago
Calatrava, the same man who designed—you guessed it—the Calatrava Art Museum in
Milwaukee!). The breeze was cool but not too cold, my ankles were out and I had
my new shoes on my feet. I was ready for a day at the beach.
We boarded the
small ferry around 10:45AM, and it set off around 11. It took a long time to
troll through the marina and the tanker docks, which were full with oil, car,
and cargo tankers. I got to see the cranes unloading products up close, as well
as a huge, multi-decker ship used to transport cars. It was crazy to see cars
zooming out of the ship onto land, one after the other. It was like a scene
from a movie.
As stinky as
that journey was, it was actually missed by the time we got out toward Dun
Laoghaire. By then, we were out of the protection of the marina and getting some
residual swell from the choppy Irish Sea. The waves didn’t last long, though,
because we then moved right into the next marina in the cute little town of Dun
Laoghaire. We did not even get off the boat here, since our ultimate
destination was Howth. But some of the kids who got more motion sick decided to
get off and take the tram the rest of the way. They would be happy that they
did.
The remainder of
the trip was very choppy. As soon as we exited the protected marina, we had
another hour of swell navigating before we would round the corner into Howth. I
did not take any pictures along the way, because I was too afraid that the
waves would rock at the least opportune moment and subsequently throw my camera
(or me) into the ocean. Instead, I sat back and watched the landscape go by
from the top of the boat. As we rounded the bend toward Howth, the water calmed
and we got to see Ireland’s Eye—a small island with a Martello tower and also
ruins of an 8th century church. There was a field of beautiful purple
wildflowers growing on the grassy part, as well as some boats docked around it.
Though the old
church was used as a place of worship for Howth residents until the past few
centuries, the most interesting part about this island comes from the name. Apparently,
this was originally Eria’s Island—Eria
being a woman. But the name got confused somewhere along the line with Éireann, the Irish name for Ireland.
Then, when the Vikings arrived, they substituted the Island part for their own word for island, ey (or øy, as I learned in Norway!). From there, it became Éireann Ey, and eventually Ireland’s
Eye. Pretty cool!
Anyway, we drove
by the island and arrived in the Howth marina. The ferry docked and we walked
down the street toward our ultimate destination: the beach. All of us split up
as soon as we disembarked, so it was just a small group of us trying to wander
around and find the beach. The downtown area was quite nice, with a bunch of
little seafood shops, bars, and even a market. We decided we would come back
there after our visit to the beach, though. We really wanted to find the water.
After many
attempts to find the right path, we finally asked a Garda which was the best
way to get to the beach. He showed us the way, and also told us that there was
an even better beach with more sand just around the bend. So we walked on past
the beach populated with families and running children, which eventually opened
up into a huge sandy stretch with massive tide pools and a bunch of cool
animals. We saw jellyfish, snails galore, lots of birds, and even a couple
happy dogs along the way. The shallow water in the pools was warm, as was the
first ten feet of the ocean. It got pretty cold after that, but we didn’t even
care. We were happy to have found the beach at all!
A good forty
five minutes later, we decided we all needed to find a bathroom. After quite a
bit of searching, we finally found a public one at a pub called The Bloody
Stream—a very welcoming place, despite its macabre name. Once we all felt
better, we decided to head into the market area. It did not look great from the
outside, because most of the stalls were walled off by an enclosure especially
for the market. But as it was a Saturday afternoon, the market was at full
capacity, in full swing. The walls were actually a variety of permanent stalls
set up as ice cream parlors, crepe stands, and tourist shops. Then, inside the
actual market area, there were so many beautiful looking food and craft stands.
Food was all on the front and sides, and crafts were mostly in the back. I
scoped out fish and chips, but ultimately decided on a bowl of chowder as a
sampler to the famous fresh fish in Howth. It definitely did not disappoint!
My stomach
already full, I thought, why not go big? So I went back over to the churro
stand and bought some amazing, made-to-order churros. The method was crazy—there
was a dough dispenser hovering above a deep fryer, which then dispensed the raw
dough into the oil. The churros would thus come out in whatever shape the dough
landed in, which meant crazy curlicue bunches of cinnamon sugar goodness. They
were absolutely delicious.
A quick stop to
buy a little woolen sheep, and we were off to find a spot to sit in the grassy
area across the street. We only had a few minutes left to enjoy the beautiful
day and the beautiful city, so we basked in the afternoon sun and waited for
the time to walk over to the Dart station. Though the train was absolutely full
on the way back, we still enjoyed getting to walk back to the hotel and see
some more of Dublin up close. I didn’t really take many pictures, but I feel
like this day was supposed to be the final goodbye to Dublin and Ireland for
those leaving throughout the next days. We get to stay a whole week more here,
and then ten days in England, so we won’t be saying goodbye anytime soon. But I
was still thankful I got to see another part of Ireland that I would never have
guessed existed. It was a perfect day spent in a really cool place, and that is
really all I can ask for.
♥
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