/travel/ireland/Sucks to my ass-mar!
The weather here has been crazy delicious. Hot and sunny, but not too hot. I've got a bit of a sunburn (but don't tell anyone I admitted it!) from cycling this weekend -- Clare and I did a gentle ride to some beaches north of Dublin. We bought some food and had a picnic, and then headed inland for the return journey, to avoid the worst of the seaside winds. I have some nice sharp lines from my cycling jersey.
While we were there, there was a man collapsed on the sidewalk. I was rather more paralyzed than I like; he seemed to have a friend next to him that could barely stand, presumably from drink. I ended up just watching for a minute or two until someone came along and relieved me of my moral duty.
Last weekend we went down along the coast south of Dublin, through to Bray. On our way, we saw a little boat getting ready to ferry some passengers off to a little island. We decided to go too, and caught the next one across. The island had a Martello Tower from the times when Napoleon was a threat to the then-British Ireland. There were some further fortifications, including what appeared to be a giant cannon pivot -- a bracing point against the wall, with a rail with about a six-foot radius centered at the pivot, presumably so a wheel on a canon could enable it to turn nearly 180 degrees.
A few weeks
ago I went to my very first Rugby match. One of Clare's friends Claire
(yes, she has more than one friend Claire. Keeps me on my toes. :-) )
scored us free tickets. It was pretty good -- I actually found it quite a
bit easier to follow than I do when it's on TV. It kinda made a certain
twisted sense, even. :-)
On Thursday, I'm catching a ferry to Liverpool, then hitching a ride on MSC Malaga, a 34,000 dwt ("dead-weight tonne") freighter. That's about half the size of a "superfreighter", so it's quite a big ship. My reasons are environmental, and out of interest. The journey will take 7 or 8 days. Freighters take on a few passengers -- up to 12, otherwise they have to have a doctor on board. There's a proper passenger cabin, and food is included.
I'm much looking forward to 7 days without connectivity. I'll have my laptop, and a bit of work to do, but that will only last a day or two. Reading, writing, and maybe even some 'rithmetic, will have to fill the rest. I'm considering doing an experiment in Polyphasic sleeping while I'm on-board, but that will depend a lot on having enough to do. I probably won't do that, but it's an interesting opportunity.
To go on the boat, I had to get a doctor's note saying I was in good form. In Ireland, the health-care system has user fees -- 50 euro, wehether you're going for a big checkup or to get a little note signed, so I decided to get a physical. And after complaining a bit about coughing and stuff, he started asking a bunch of questions, and I ended up getting diagnosed with asthma. I've read a lot about it, and I'm pretty unconvinced about the whole thing. I have inhalers now, and I'm not convinced they're making a difference, but I'll give them a run-through and see.
So yeah, sucks to my ass-mar.
