In the morning, I had to bike to UCD to catch the bus because it was a program put on by the Office of Study Abroad so it was run differently from some of the others. I had paid my 5euro deposit earlier in the week which I got back later in the day. I was able to get on the bus with no problems after being worried for two days that I had no received a confirmation e-mail and might not be able to go. So I relaxed and listened to my zune during the hour-long bus ride.
We saw a little bit of country Ireland and went through a few small towns but saw mostly farm land with lots of sheep. We got off the bus at the tourist center had a little bit of free time to go to the bathroom and stretch before we could watch the promotional video and look around the visitor's center display.
The video told us all about the coming of Christianity to Ireland and several important saints who helped the fledgling religion on its way. It also talked about the establishment of "monasteries" which are not what we think of them as being today. They were often small villages with churches, battle towers, and small huts all devoted to the education of young people in both religious and secular lifestyles. We then were able to look around the displays and saw how life in the monasteries was lived and even saw a miniature recreation of what one might have looked like. After this, we waited around for a couple of hours, eating lunch, playing tag, climbing trees, and venturing a small way into the woods towards the river to take some pictures and generally just do some frolicking.
We were then hastened back to the visitor's center to meet with our tour guide who was very nice and I believe his name was Peter. He took us to the front entrances gates of the Glendalough Monastery and led us inside to see the ruins. It was mostly a graveyard by now, centered in the Wicklow Mountains National Park and open free of charge but in relatively good state due to the fact it was made from stone. In the monastery sat the remains of a chapel where the monks would have lived, a cathedral where everyone in the surrounding areas would have come to pray and learn, a 130ft high Round Tower which served many purposes including landmark and bell tower, and many many gravestones.
There were celtic crosses everywhere, obviously, and it was not as eerie as I would have expected, although it was the middle of the day. In the village there was also the Wishing Stone which was a large stone cross and legend tells us that if you can reach your arms around so they touch then you are able to make a wish and it will come true before you die. I obviously could not do it given the fact that I have a small arm span. Morgan was the only one who tried and succeeded in this particular endeavor. After viewing the monastery and contemplating the kid-napping of several lambs who were in the field beside it, we next followed the guide up a back road which wound along a branch of the river. We climb up the backside of one of the mountains and were immersed in greenery. A rooster could be heard which Shannon thought was a coyote and that was quite a good laugh. There was a staircase in the mountainside which although unexpected was quite welcome at this point. We made it to the half-way point and took a quick rest, everyone stopping for pictures and water.
We then trundled onward and the Lower Lake came into view, most took some pictures of this but after we had passed it, we came up the Upper Lake which was far superior. It sat, nice nestled between the mountain and a stream could be clearly seen running down the mountain into it.
We followed the winding road down to the walk beside it and finally came to the shore line where a number of families and dogs! were playing and enjoying the sunny day. I also happened to meet some German sheep whom I had my picture taken with because I couldn't believe that they were there!
After this short stop, we climbed the next mountain and followed it upwards and came to a mediocre waterfall. I was far more impressed with the one I saw as a kid at Castle in the Clouds in New Hampshire. But nonetheless, it was a view. We walked upwards, past this and rounded around to cross over a branch of the river and begin our descent. We walked past the Upper Lake, continued on past the Lower Lake and finally ended up on the same path that me and the other Bentley girls had previously explored. And so we made it back to the visitor's center with aching feet and a hard thirst.
We climbed back aboard the bus and thankfully I had taken my motion sickness medication that morning and I was able to sleep the whole ride back. Once off at UCD, I climbed back onto my bike and headed home. While not the most exciting of trips, certainly worthwhile. It may not be at its best right now, but I cannot deny the quiet beauty that can always be beheld in Ireland.
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