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“I took tons of pictures, it seemed that the view would change for the better every 50 paces or so. By the way, Howth ... ” |
Tiring and short day today. I set out for Howth at 1030 AM ish. I got there, Howth Summit, at 1100 AM and found my way to the trail head around Howth Peninsula. It was very windy and rainy around the coast. The trail was extremely muddy at parts. The sky was clouded over but it was still bright out. I brought a liter of water and wore long pants and my snowboarding, water-proof jacket. The trail was well-kept despite being very muddy. I only came across one other person while walking who was on horseback.
It was horrible weather but the walk still had breath-taking views! I took tons of pictures, it seemed that the view would change for the better every 50 paces or so. There were clam shells lining parts of the trail, I guess birds brought them there to eat. At times the weather was so intimidating that I almost turned back. I figured this would be the only time I'd get to go so I pressed onwards. The trail dipped down to the Irish Sea so I decided to dip my hand in just because. Prior to going I took a shell for souvenir's sake. I guess the sea wasn't too happy about it and gave me a surprise wave leaving my soaked from the knees down...thanks. I took off my socks and continued walking. 2 hours later I was done and at the end of the trail.
I walked into town. An old lady stopped to see if I needed a ride, what a surprise! She looked about 80 or soand I assumed no trouble. She was going to my next destination: the train station so she picked me up. Her name was Patience, a local who normally only picks up females. She said that she saw my socks and figured I was lost/in trouble/far from where I wanted to be. We talked about Hawaii a bit and Ireland for more, but it was a short ride so we got cut off. What a sweetheart!
Turns out that she took me farther from my destination than I originally was but I didn't mind. I got more directions from the shopkeep at New Deli. I also bought a sandwich with toasted Ciabatta, pesto, roasted peppers, sausage, and tomatoes. It was good but not like yesterday's. I also had a half pint of milk. I walked for 30 minutes to the Howth Castle which looked deserted, empty, and uneventful. I continued to the west pier of Howth to see Nicky's Plaice where they fed fish scraps to the seals who lived in the harbor! They came right up to the men and ate the salmon skeletons from his hand! What a neat sight! Apparently, the population in the harbor has grown from a handful to around 25! They feed them daily multiple times. One seal could recognize me. I left after the feeding to walk around the pier. When I came back, there were people watching them. The seal eyed me out as I walked by, seeing if I brought the man back who had salmon. I felt special...
It was 230 PM and I decided to head back into Dublin. When I got back I found another guitar store and played for an hour or so. Then I went into Temple Bar to see if any sports were playing. There were none so I caught dinner at a kebab house. I then went to a pub and watched a rugby game between a New Zealand and Australian team. Talk about a man sport! 250+ lb machines charging around the field. I found it very exciting to watch and now hate the fact that footballers often take dives to gain penalties. In rugby, a penalty sometimes results in points so they're given less frequently. I stopped into last night's pub again and they were pre-celebrating tomorrow's rugby 6 Nations match between England and Ireland.
I tried talking to a couple of people but they were all off their face so I had a pint of Guinness and left back for the hostel. Anyway, nothing else to report. Tomorrow I'll just cruise around town and stop back at the bagel store and guitar shops! See you all later!
Lost item of the day: wallet
Found item of the day: cell phone
previous travel blog entry
mustlovedogs says:
trip sounds amazing. and the countryside looks awesome. it's great that you made a little salmon-loving friend too. =)