Connemara

When we got back from Portugal we had the opportunity to explore a bit of Connemara, the mountains and beaches just to the west of Galway. We stopped at Kylemore Abbey, checked out the peat bogs, walked abandoned beaches, and picked bags of delicious wild berries.

Take yourself back to the days of yore (August) and imagine me writing this:

Yeah! Mom and Dad arrived today! Kelly and I surprised them at the airport after they were delayed dealing with the traditional Mieske family custom of lost luggage. They were promised their luggage would be delivered to Galway within the next day. We took the scenic route back to Galway, following the coast road, showing off our favorite surf spots, beaches, and small towns. We stopped in Doolin for their first Irish pub experience and weren’t disappointed. The seafood chowder, mussels, and Guinness lived up to their reputation. With Mom dozing in and out of conciousness, we made our way through the Burren National Park and into Galway.
Now I’m at work for the rest of the week and the three of them can enjoy Galway city and the Aran Islands until we head for Dublin and Portugal on Friday.

Portugal

Okay, again take yourself back to August:
Back from Portugal on the weekend, we had an amazing time. Mom and Dad’s luggage arrived on Friday night and after a 15 minute repacking job (and realizing some things were stolen, grrrrrr) we were off to Dublin. Found our B&B, had a nice pint in a pub then to bed for our 5:30 wake up call.

After some technical difficulties and turning the flight around back to Dublin, the ground crew fixed the plane and we were really off to Porto. Our bags actually did arrive and we hopped in the car and headed south to our town of Pedrogao (Ped-RA-go), halfway between Porto and Lisbon. The house that we rented was right on the ocean and the beach spanned for miles.

Just inland from the beach were miles and miles of pine forests, great for running.

We had a fantastic week touring around central Portugal. We spent a lot of time on the beach, at the markets, and touring around the small towns. The wine was great, the Port even better, but I think I was the only one who loved the Portuguese food.

Jenn, this post is just for you....hope it doesn't give you nightmares!!! Take a good look (laugh) because it's limited time viewing...I swear it doesn't look as bad in real life!!

What else can you do with tupperware??!!

Sorry for the lack of blogging everybody! This summer has been busily rolling along and I’ve been neglecting the site.

Summer has been a madhouse so far. Kelly went back to Canada for 3 weeks and I stayed here to teach and work on my masters. While she was away I got in some hiking, surfing, rugby and lots of cycling.

Kelly returned to a job at the university doing a research project on the treatment of high blood pressure and writing a paper on high altitude medicine. Unfortunately, at the beginning of July Kelly injured her ankle in a tag rugby game. She damaged ligaments, tendons and her calf muscle and followed all of that up with a blood clot later in the summer. So… lots of time in hospitals, in a cast and on crutches. It has been 7 weeks now and she is still on crutches and in a cast. 2 more weeks at least…

Practicing sitting still...thank goodness for a removable cast!!!

Otherwise, the summer has been great!! Here are some highlights of the Irish summer so far (other than work and masters)

Ring of Kerry – 180km cycle around the Ring of Kerry in a day. The weekend after Kelly destroyed her ankle we were set to head to Kerry with a group of friends for a charity cycle. Poor Kell was limited to crutching around and drinking wine with her girlfriends.

Glencoaghan Horseshoe – Had beautiful weather for a big hike in Connemara National Park with a group of friends. Lots of elevation gain and loss, great rock, amazing trail! Will go back for sure.




Achill Island camping – Surf trip up to Achill Island with a gang of friends. Beach camping, pubs, roast meat on the BBQ, and some great coastal hiking.


Momma Oldring visit – Although we’ll take her under any circumstances, it was really nice to have her help out when Kelly got out of the hospital. Not only the company for Kelly while she was laid up (not really, the active little beaver) but she was constantly cooking, cleaning, and making our lives a general pleasure during a very stressful time. She was lucky enough also to catch the end of the Galway Arts Festival and the beginning of Race Week. The city was buzzing with visitors and the streets were packed.



Summer BBQ’s – Lots and lots and lots of meat roasted.

Tag Rugby – Irelands version of softball or coed soccer. Two social nights a week, playing non-contact rugby (with flags instead of tackles). Every season they have a fancy dress night and our theme was “Fame”. Oh yeah, we won the league.

a little aerobics on the pitch!!

Our team captain Eddie

This guy is not on our team but clearly deserves a spot on the blog...hilarious!!

So. For five years Kelly has been laughing at my hilarious wit and basking in my intellectual prowess. To celebrate our 5th anniversary, we found some flights to Italy, YEAH! Our original plan was to find a 4 day backpacking trip but when Kelly destroyed her ankle she felt that she couldn’t do a long distance hike with a cast and crutches. She wanted to but the doctors said no.

So, we flew into Treviso, just north of Venice, rented a car, and headed north into the Alps. After our first pizza, cappuccino and gelato we found our B&B in the tiny village of Nebbiu (pop. 200). That afternoon we went for a nice drive to check out the area.

That night we asked our host for any recommendations for dinner. He mentioned 2 options and we opted for the one closest to our B&B, The Sky Bar Trattoria (Or Ski Bar Trattoria, depending on where you read their name). As soon as we walked in the owner came up and welcomed us with open arms. We didn’t have a reservation but he found us a table anyway and was excited to have two Canadians visiting. As there were no menus, the owner simply asked us what we wanted. ???? When we paused he suggested either the traditional pasta starter followed by a meat dish or he would bring us samplers of typical dishes and a main meat dish (vegetarian for Kelly of course). We opted for the samplers and he proceeded to bring us 4 starters each with a light red wine to suit the dishes (everything from pancetta, olive plates, ravioli with beet root, pasta with pancetta, polenta with mushrooms au jus, ). It was really nice, as he’d come to the table to talk about each and every course; it’s ingredients, it’s connection to the local people and what specific area of the north it was from. When we were just about stuffed he brought the main dishes, a beautifully baked cheese for Kelly and deer for me (I had it finished before discovering it was Bambi), again, with a different wine to suit the food. With no menus, amazing plentiful food and bottomless wine, we began to be concerned about the bill. I knew I had about 120 euro in my wallet and Kelly had another 50 so we hoped we could cover it without Visa’s help. After desserts, cappuccinos, and aperitifs I went to pay the bill. 65 euro. Total. For the best dinning experience of our lives!! That’s 2 starters and a bottle of beer in Ireland!! (Okay, slight exaggeration). Needless to say we made a reservation for the next night, how could we turn our backs on such a great experience?


The next day, after a lazy breakfast, we went up to a refugio that our host recommended. Situated at 1600m Kelly had a beautiful patio to read her book, bask in the sun, and drink coffee while I went for a run. We had an amazing lunch then headed to a lake to cool off. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny in the day with a thundershower in the evening or during the night. Unfortunately the clouds came a little early that day so we went for a cappuccino and a gelato beside the lake. Pretty rough.





Our B&B host was an absolute wealth of local knowledge. He directed us to refuges, great running trails, and obscure little villages.

Sunday morning, after another lazy breakfast (and another breathless, air-sucking, high-altitude run) we made our way towards our next accommodation, stopping at interesting little villages along the way. This village, , is known for its murals and traditional way of living. It was a fantastic place to take photos of the local people, smiling and enjoying a social Sunday afternoon.








Cortina is a beautiful little town, 8,000 people in the summer but balloons to 30,000 in the winter season. Seeing all the ski lifts and terrain its easy to see why. The town itself is a really posh mountain town (host of the 1978 Winter Olympics) and it was really fun enjoying a cappuccino, window shopping and checking out every outdoor shop we came to.



After Cortina, we headed to the pass where we were to catch the cable car up to our next destination, Refugio Lagazoui (2752m), perched on top of a high mountain cliff in the heart of the Dolomites. We spent the afternoon in the sun, having lunch, playing cards while enjoying mountaintop cappuccinos and cold beer. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and we missed what could have been a spectacular sunset during dinner. C’est la vie.

The cable car up to the refugio

Euro style his and hers hiking gear!!!

View of the refugio from a nearby peak

But sunrise would be a different story. I awoke at about 4am to use the bathroom (darn cold beers and wine) and out the window was a gorgeous view of the Big Dipper and the sun peeking up in the distance. I went back to the room, grabbed my camera and tripod and headed out to photograph. I thought I’d just snap some quick shots and head back to bed but the sun started coming up and I was mesmerized.

look for the big dipper!!

Let it be known that even though we tried to have a slow weekend, Kelly managed to crutch a million miles through hilly, cobblestone villages, mountain trails and endless outdoor shops. She’s got calloused hands and a strong leg that should be in the Olympics. If crutching were an Olympic event, no question she’d medal.

We had a nice relaxing day on Sunday, slowly heading back to Treviso. Nice pizza lunches, more gelato (and more gelato) and some grocery shopping (parmasean cheese, coffee, polenta and dried mushrooms) on our way to the airport. At the airport we barely made the flight, as the check-in agent wouldn’t let Kelly on the plane without a doctors note. They held us back until about 10 minutes before departure while this agent sought permission from Ryanair. I guess we were luck y that the departing agent in Ireland swept us through without a note or we would have missed our holiday. The good news is that in all the rush and chaos at the Treviso airport the agent forgot to charge us the 25 euro check in baggage fee.

We’ll definitely go back (the flights work really well from west Ireland). It was great to go and see the area, getting an idea for the adventuring possibilities when we revisit. Multi-day backpacking, via ferratas (special climbing routes), high runs, wonderful people, plus amazing food and drink await our return.

Yeah! Mom and Dad Mieske arrived today! Kelly and I surprised them at the airport after they were delayed dealing with the traditional Mieske family custom of lost luggage. They were promised their luggage would be delivered to Galway within the next day. We took the scenic route back to Galway, following the coast road, showing off our favorite surf spots, beaches, and small towns. We stopped in Doolin for their first Irish pub experience and weren’t disappointed. The seafood chowder, mussels, and Guinness lived up to their reputation. With Mom dozing in and out of conciousness, we made our way through the Burren National Park and into Galway.
Now I’m at work for the rest of the week and the three of them can enjoy Galway city and the Aran Islands until we head for Dublin and Portugal on Friday.

Spring Break! Yeah! Kelly had a much deserved break in the semester and I was able to take some holiday time around Easter so we search for cheap flights and found…Tunisia? Where the heck is Tunisia? ( A small Arabic country on the northern tip of Africa, )
We had a night layover in London which gave us a chance to have a nice dinner in Soho and walk around the city centre. It was pouring buckets but we had a nice walk around anyway. Saw the usual: Soho, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament Buildings, London Eye, The Thames. We got soaked but it killed time and shortened out sleep in Gatwick Airport.

When we arrived in Tunis we soon realized that our bags hadn’t. This was Kelly’s first French workout as the baggage people spoke little (read: no) English. We found that to be the case all over the country (except the creeps in the souks, later on that): everyone speaks Arabic, 65% speak French and 1.2% speak English. Thank goodness for Kelly’s French immersion as my French skills are tres petite.
So our bags were lost. We had planned to head south to camp so this threw a wrench in our plan (not to mention the lack of deodorant, warm-weather clothes, road map and clean undies). Visa told us they’d cover us to buy what we needed but the fashion districts in Tunisia are very few (read: none).

We decided to head to a village north of Tunis for the night, Sidi Bou Said (City Boo S-eye-eed), we found a place to get some clothes, toiletries and a nice place to stay for the night. The village is beautiful, spectacular whitewashed architecture overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We had a delicious couscous dinner (which would become a pattern), some wine (which wouldn’t become a pattern), and walked around the village.

The doors of Tunisia.

The rooftops in the Medina of Tunis.

The next day we checked the airport for out bags, no luck. We arranged to have our bags forwarded to a small airport in the south when they arrived and pressed on with our plan. C’est la vie.

El Jem. One of the best preserved Roman coliseums in the world, also the site where they filmed the movie Gladiator. This place was crazy, you could go anywhere from the upper stands, the arena, to the slave and animal quarters directly under the arena. It was pretty eerie walking along the dark corridors, imagining listening to and feeling the vibrations of the 40,000 spectators screaming for blood above your head.
They were filming a movie in town, which lead to some pretty funny photos.

Then on to Matmata and the pit-dwelling locals. The people have carved their homes in to the earth and many continue to live this way. We stayed in a “hotel” that had been converted from one of these dwellings.

Sunrise

Some of you may recognize the architecture from the movie Star Wars. This was where Luke Skywalker grew up and the famous scenes of him, before joining the Rebellion, were filmed here.

The Force was stong with Kelly.

Before continuing on we stopped at a weekly market. The children giggled and followed us around. While the adults were warm to us foreigners it was evident not many tourists pass through. All of the arranged tours are self sufficient and head straight to the desert without stopping anywhere. It was nice to have our own car to stop at these little spots and explore.
Still no bags…

But we forged on to Ksar Ghilane, an oasis settlement/camp/shanty/ on eastern side of the Sahara Desert. To reach it you needed to drive 100km south into the desert, crossing sand drifts and passing the odd Land Cruise convoy. Our little compact car wasn’t intimidated though; she ploughed through the sand with ease. We were planning on camping here but found a decent place where we could stay in Bedouin style tents. There was a natural spring that you could swim in which was pretty surreal and we organized a camel trek into the desert. The weather was hot but you’d get the occasional sandstorm so the scarves were necessary. Nevertheless, we ended up with sand in every orifice, which would remain (and increase) for the rest of the trip.

We took camels into the desert to explore a Roman outpost. One must have had to screw up pretty badly to get stationed out here.

Obligatory feet in the sand photo.

The oasis.

Camel saddle.

We had planned to spend a few days here but without our bags we weren’t as self-sufficient as we hoped for. As they were supposed to arrive in Tozeur that day (still another 300km away), we thought we should collect our things (or deal with the mess if they hadn’t arrived).
En route we stopped at a few more towns to see the markets, dunes, and camels. When we got to the airport it was a ghost town. Only a few planes arrive each week from Tunis, Lybia, or Algeria but the people at the airport were extremely friendly and our bags were there (YEAH).

Goat heads. Instead of neon or posting menus, Tunisians display the dead goat.

On to the little mountain town Nefta near the Algerian border. We found a spot to camp in the oasis in a families yard. The family was great, they cooked us dinner, visited with us (in very broken French), and learned how to play cribbage. Great night.

Waterfall near the oasis.

This is the old town of ____ 500m away from the Algerian border. We went for a nice hike but weren’t too comfortable being so close to the border as a few weeks previous an Austrian couple were kidnapped by Algerian Al Qaeda members in the south of Tunisia. Beautiful canyons and landscape. They filmed the English Patient here.

The Roman ruins at Dougga.

After dinner in Le Kef we were trying to find these hot springs out in the country to camp near. We had read that their were some Roman baths about 30km out of town but couldn’t find any signs, the road was rugged and it was getting late. Concerned we were lost, we stopped someone and asked in broken Arabic if we were on the right road. He confirmed that we needed to continue down the road and we’d find it.

When we arrived at a dead end, we saw the ruins and a young man came out of a “farmhouse” near the baths. Luckily he spoke French so we could ask him about camping in the area. He said it was too late for us to set up camp and we should stay with him and his family in the house. Well the house was one room with a mattress on the floor and two single cots, doubling as couches. His parents welcomed us in as were pleased to have us. They brought out food for us (pasta with a lamb knuckle sticking out of it) and insisted we eat and try a desert they had made for a recent holiday (pine cones boiled with sugar). After dinner they told us we could bath and we didn’t have to separate into the men’s and women’s baths as there was no one around so late.

So we got to enjoy 1900 year old original Roman baths to ourselves! UNREAL! The place was amazing and the experience was unforgettable.

After soaking ourselves silly the woman, who had kicked her husband God-knows-where, showed me to one of the cots (her son on the other) and Kelly was to share the mattress with her. We brought our sleeping bags but the woman would have none of it, Kelly and her shared blankets. The woman fussed over us all night, reaching up to dry my hair with my scarf, tucking Kelly in any time she stirred. I don’t think Kelly slept a wink with all the attention.

The next morning we got up, had another bath (separately, with the locals, another crazy experience), and our hosts took great pleasure dressing us up in their local garb. Me with wool coat and rifle, Kelly with scarves and make up.

Watching for Algerian raiders.

An idealic spot to sit and drink 25cent lattes.

Making the children laugh.

We lived on fresh fruit and couscous the whole time.

Then on to Kairouen, the third holiest city of Islam. This place was famous for its medina, Great Mosque, and its carpets. We bought a carpet, got hassled by vendors, walked around in the evening until the whistles at Kelly and the attention became annoying then returned to our hotel. *Often (read: all the time) there are no women out and all the men sit around drinking coffee. Off the tourist track, we attracted a lot of attention, much of it positive but the odd time negative.*

Sunset from the rooftops of the medina.

The courtyard of the Great Mosque.

Fabric Man. We bought some great hand cloths from him.

Finally to Sousse.

We thought, for our final night, we’d check out Sousse back on the Med coast hoping to get some sun and beach time. As it was overcast, we headed back to the medina and the souks. My irritation level with the pestering was growing and we were now in a tourist town with very aggressive vendors. Kelly, often one to push my limits, insisted we needed to find a particular gift and so the hassling continued. One of the vendors (who I turned down a few times) didn’t appreciate my snappy, smart ass dismissal of his offer to buy some shitty plastic shoes. He told me he’d kill me. We got to leave the market after that.

The morning that we were leaving was sunny and beautiful…of course. We enjoyed dinking lattes by the sea until the last possible moment before we had to head to the airport.

Amazing trip.