Uggh, someone in my room in the hostel brought a cold. Hosteling brings with it the risk of contagion; colds spread through hostels like a convention. I have a scratchy throat now, one way or the other it’s all in my head, but I don’t feel well. I’ve caught a cold on other trips; my second trip to England I caught a cold from someone I met the first night.
I asked at Information for an EirCom office (to fix the SIM in my phone), and they found an office in one of the Galway suburbs, 15 min away by cab -too far. Walking around the inner city pedestrian district, I found an office about three blocks from the hostel. The cell phone initially failed to pick up the configuration, and they resolved the issue in short order.
After my phone update, I wandered in and out of a number of shops before heading to the local cathedral. The cathedral didn’t begin construction until after WWII, but I found it interesting to see what a cathedral can look like when effectively brand-new.
Navigating my way back after visiting the church I noticed a theatre on the map, and stopped there to find something interesting to do this evening. Tonight they had a one-man show, “The Man in the Woman’s Shoes”, performed by Mikel Murphi. The brochure reported (unsurprisingly) rave reviews, and I purchased a ticket.
Returning to the hostel, I hung the tent fly up to dry in the en-suite shower, and draped the tent around the room. I used that time to email hostels en-route to confirm they remain open, and check general availability. I spent part of today trying to solve what I refer to as the “travelling cyclist problem”. Not only must I plan short and long routes each day, but what happens several days out when I change my destination on the fly, or a destination fails to exist. One hostel closes the day after I cycle through; timing issues never dealt with before due to off-season.
Mikel Murphi put on the most brilliant, amazing, stunning performance I’ve experienced. The play both simple and complex, serious and hilarious, I could see elements of John Lithgow and Robin Williams in the performance, as well as characterizations clearly Mikel’s own. A fun evening.
I turned all of my laundry over to the hostel tonight. I have washed everything only by hand for a very long time, and everything desperately needs a machine wash. All of my laundry – currently typing while wearing my rain pants and jacket.
30 km from the hostel, I cycle tomorrow to one of the few calendar-worthy castles in Ireland I haven’t visited. Then weather (which I might be under) determines how far after that.
I love Galway, and would love to go back sometime. There was a hoof and mouth disease outbreak when I was there, so opportunities for off-road exploration were zilch. I would most like to go back to the Arans. I only got to see Dun Aengus from the bottom of the hill, and Inishman is still on my bucket list.
Ever told you about the time I returned to US Customs from Ireland? I ticked the checkbox for “Have you been on a farm?”. When the Customs guy asked to confirm my form, I replied,”The whole country is a farm”. When he asked if I had actually been on a farm, my response was, “Does being chased across a field by cows count?” He was not amused.