Final Blog - Service Project

I was fortunate enough to have made many different connections with a lot of different people.  One of these connections was with JP, who works at Park Lodge.  I began to learn more about who JP was and what he liked to do through helping him with various tasks around the Hotel.  We would take about traveling, like which places were good and which places to never go to at all.  We had many laughs with JP, while helping him.  JP would ask his fair bit of questions, like what did we think of our last trip or where we were planning on spending our spring break and what we like about Ireland compared to the United States.  Through our various responses, we laughed and joked about why one was better than the other and then went about with another round of questions.  It was really nice getting to know JP and what he thinks about the world of politics, schooling, and generally who he is as a family man.  This trip would not have been the same, for me, if it wasn't seeing JP walking around working on something, and stopping and having a quick chat or him making a witty joke about what someone was doing or had said.  I feel that it was with this connection that a better understanding of traveling and what makes Ireland unique, that I was able to achieve.  Sorry about not having pictures for this blog as I was usually to busy working or just forgot to snap a couple of pictures ahead of time.  Since this is my last blog I will being arriving home this weekend so if you have any questions or are interested in hearing about my adventures please get a hold of me.

No more Travel Experiences to Come

Kyle Halsted

Week Eleven - Northern Ireland Trip

Pottery From Belleek

This week we took a trip to the Northern part of Ireland.  The Northern part of Ireland is part of the England and is somewhat separated from the Ireland as a whole.  The reason that I saw it is somewhat separated from the Ireland is because there is no border control or check points to cross, there is just an invisible line.  Our first stop was to Belleek Pottery.  This is an interesting Pottery manufacture in the sense that there are twelve different artisans that work on each piece of pottery.  Seeing how each piece of pottery has been made was very interesting.  I am not an artsy person so I was more interested in the history of the factory rather than the pottery itself.  Our next stop was to Ulster American Park.  This park gave a glimpse of how the Irish people lived before the time of the potato famine.  I really enjoyed the my time here learning about the history of early Irish Immigrants.  This was only the one half of the park the other half was about the Irish immigrants when they landed in America.  We got to see the transition they faced when getting off the ship at port.  The transition would have been very usual and different from the lives that they had previously been living.  For instance getting off the ship they would be surrounded by stores that would be selling all sorts of different things.  Our last stop was in the city of Belfast.  This city was one of the larger cities that we have been too, due to the fact that it is a large shipping port.  Many people have warned me about going into the northern part of Ireland and to be careful who I talk too and who approaches me.  But I have had the privilege to go to the north during a time when peace negotiations have been happening for many years now.  However I will note that the time that I spent in Belfast I felt a lot of tension.  This tension that I felt while in Belfast is due to how divided the city is because of religion.  The city has been separated into Protestant and Catholic pieces that are fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Fortunately for my fellow classmates and myself we were able to travel around Belfast and back to our home away from home with no trouble at all.

Queens University

More Travel Experiences to Come

Kyle Halsted

                  

Mural in the Titanic Quarter

Titanic Museum

Week Ten - Trip to WestPort and Croagh Patrick

Kylemore Abby

On our journey to West Port in Ireland we made a few brief stops along the way.  One of the stops that we made was to Kylemore Abby.  This is a beautiful estate in Connemara.  The monastery was build on the grounds of the home previously owned by Mitchell Henry.  The private home was transformed into the monastery in the 1900's by  Benedictine Nuns.

View from Croagh Patrick

The second stop that we made was at Croagh Patrick.  This is one of the mountains that Ireland has to offer.  The main purpose for Croagh Patrick is strongly tied to religion.  Many people climb to the top of Croagh Patrick each year to attend church.  At certain times each year there is an influx of people that visit this religious mountain to attempt the climb.  I was given the opportunity to climb it myself.  The climb itself was a very long and slow going process.  At the beginning of the climb when you first see the mountain it does not seem like it will be much of a problem.  The challenge begins when you have made it past this first quarter of the climb.  This is when the gradient of the climb begins to steepen and the further you go the steeper it seems to get,  but do not fret because there as some nice flat spots along the way to caught your breathe.  After you reach the halfway mark on the mountain yet another challenge presents itself.  This challenge is tackling the smaller loose rocks along the steepest part of the mountain.  The steepest part of the Croagh Patrick is last 100 yard to the top, which seem to be at a near vertical climb.  After you finish this portion of the mountain you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the Irish countryside.  Then you begin the final challenge of the mountain, which is to traverse back down the mountain.  The time that I was able to complete my ascent and descent of Croagh Patrick, took around 3 hours.  As everyone wander back into the bus after their climb we all sat with sore and tired legs to our final destination of West Port City.  

Bridge along the Greenway

During the second day in West Port, Zayne  and myself rented some bikes and rode them to the next town of New Port.  We took the Great Western Greenway, which is a path that is only open to people walking or riding bikes through the countryside.  The views that we say on this journey, were mostly of green pastures and lots of sheep grazing.  The greenway trail that we took to New Port was roughly 14 miles round trip.  As we finished our bike ride to New Port our day was pretty much over and we had to return back to our home away from home back in Spiddal.

 

More Travel Experiences to Come

Kyle Halsted

Monument at Croagh Patrick

View form Croagh Patrick

Mountain along our route

Stream along our route