Bundoran, Donegal Ireland 4/13-4/15
I had the opportunity to go surfing for a second time this semester with the DIT Surf Team, again to the west coast of Ireland, but this time to Donegal in a town a bit bigger, Bundoran, the 12th best spot in the world to surf. Leaving on Friday evening, I filled my bag with loads of snacks and food (this trip I was determined to be fully prepared) and the team ate a bit of pizza. It was a four and a half hour bus ride but the time flew by and we stopped for Chipmongers (a shop that only sells chips, but will put a variety of toppings on top) along the way. We were a bit smaller of a group this time, only around 30 people and half of us were ERASMUS (students on exchange/study abroad), so we all chatted the whole way with one another, catching up because we had all just got back from our two week Easter Break off from classes.
When we arrived at the Rougey Lodge Hostel it was late but not quite dark yet because with daylights savings it was starting to stay light out later than 4pm. The whole surf group played Giant Jenga in the common room of the hostel after settling in and then we all went to THE pub in town, Chasin' Bull. The pub had live music to celebrate a wedding party, a hen (bachelorette) party and a stag (bachelor) party all at once and DIT Surf got to join in on it all. After we left the pub we, a few irish students and ERASMUS stayed up snacking and chatting until early morning, getting excited for the morning surf.
The next morning we had to be up early to surf around half 9 (9:30) and this time we were getting lessons so we could actually learn how to stand up and not just fall into cold water for two hours. Wet suits were still needed as the water was 45°/ 7° so we put on wetsuits, gloves, boots and hood, and got cool rash guards that were Roxy and colored bright pink. This time I got this amazing hood that had a pattern on the side that made me look like Robo Cop or a Storm Trooper so that made me feel a bit more confident that today I would actually stand up. After riding a van all in our wet suits for 20 minutes or so we came the bay we were to surf in that day. The van drove down onto the beach because it was so long that it was still a long walk from the van to the water. We were all put in a circle and taught how to properly place our feet, paddle, jump up, protect ourselves from the board and position ourselves on the board. After a bit of a jog and some stretching we went out into the water with the two surf instructors looking after about 15 of us ERASMUS. All of our toes were frozen numb after about 20 minutes, but we were all making progress so we really did not care. ( I learned that I was too far back on my board and needed to make sure the board was flat) After you go under the water enough times after falling off the board, the panicky feeling goes away and falling becomes part of the fun. That day I did more than get up on my knees, I managed to stand for a full second before screeching and falling back into the water. I had stood up though and that is what mattered to me. The surf company we went out with had cookies and hot chocolate waiting for us when we returned cold and wet from the sea.
The day was not even half over though so Camille and I decided to wander around town and down to the sea. Along the way we bumped into Jack and Nicky and they joined us on our adventure to the sea. We walked past a mini amusement park, which is home to one of the best music festivals in Ireland over the summer "Sea Sessions," but it looked like a ghost town when we were there in April. We bumped into some of the other ERASMUS (Milla, Sophia, Elijah, Muri, Stina & Lisa), but we kept walking. BIG shoutout to Jack here who found sea glass and made me incredibly happy - I have been wanting a piece of sea glass for ages, so he made my year, Thanks Jack.
We ended up going back to the hostel at high tide because we did not want to get stranded on this island we had climbed onto and did not want to miss dinner. The hostel served Chili Con Carne that night and it was warm and hit the spot, so much so that I ended up falling asleep on the couch for a bit. The night was young and we all got ready to go out on the town, we played another round of Giant Jenga and flip cup while we waited for everyone to get ready. We went to the one nightclub in the whole town "Club Paris," where we as the surf team of 30 people we half the entire population of the night club. After we left, we walked around town for a bit. At one point we were making so much noise a shop owner came out to see what the racket was about and ended up chatting with us and taking a group picture for us. None of us were tired though, so we went for a Sea Session of our own. We played music and sang Irish songs by the sea and eventually a few of us decided to go for a night swim. So we ran into the sea and ended up insanely cold and really sandy. After that we decided to head home but only after singing a few more songs and dancing our way home did we make it back to our beds around half 5 (5:30) am.
The next day was a rude awakening, at 9am, I was handed a cup of tea and ate a piece of bread with peanut butter (crunchy is better than smooth if anyone was curious) and we threw on bathing suits to run to the surf shop. After suiting up and riding the van back to the bay we stretched out and went for it. Today the waves were different, the wind was knocking them all around, the undertow was strong and the current was moving fast so the waves just kept coming at us from every direction. That also meant these waves had more power, and when I finally rode a wave it was the most amazing feeling in the entire world.
My favorite memory from this trip wasn't finally standing up though or the screaming and shouting Anika and I did when we both landed our first wave, but it was this wave that 10 of us had seen and lined up for, that we all caught, we all stood up, and we all rode in together. The progress was showing but it proved that despite there being over 6 different languages being spoken in the water amongst us that day, there was one that we were all beginning to understand together, the waves.
None of wanted to leave the water that day no matter how sore or tired or cold we were, the only thing drawing us back to the shore was cookies and hot chocolate. We all rode the bus back to Dublin later that evening and it was bittersweet. Goodbyes were waiting for us at the end of this trip and we all knew it, despite the AGM (Annual General Meeting) coming up. Congrats though to my first Irish friend Eimear Tuffy, she is President for this upcoming year and I know she is going to crush it. Hang Ten my Irish surfers and I cannot wait for the next opportunity I get to surf with all of you.
I had the opportunity to go surfing for a second time this semester with the DIT Surf Team, again to the west coast of Ireland, but this time to Donegal in a town a bit bigger, Bundoran, the 12th best spot in the world to surf. Leaving on Friday evening, I filled my bag with loads of snacks and food (this trip I was determined to be fully prepared) and the team ate a bit of pizza. It was a four and a half hour bus ride but the time flew by and we stopped for Chipmongers (a shop that only sells chips, but will put a variety of toppings on top) along the way. We were a bit smaller of a group this time, only around 30 people and half of us were ERASMUS (students on exchange/study abroad), so we all chatted the whole way with one another, catching up because we had all just got back from our two week Easter Break off from classes.
When we arrived at the Rougey Lodge Hostel it was late but not quite dark yet because with daylights savings it was starting to stay light out later than 4pm. The whole surf group played Giant Jenga in the common room of the hostel after settling in and then we all went to THE pub in town, Chasin' Bull. The pub had live music to celebrate a wedding party, a hen (bachelorette) party and a stag (bachelor) party all at once and DIT Surf got to join in on it all. After we left the pub we, a few irish students and ERASMUS stayed up snacking and chatting until early morning, getting excited for the morning surf.
The next morning we had to be up early to surf around half 9 (9:30) and this time we were getting lessons so we could actually learn how to stand up and not just fall into cold water for two hours. Wet suits were still needed as the water was 45°/ 7° so we put on wetsuits, gloves, boots and hood, and got cool rash guards that were Roxy and colored bright pink. This time I got this amazing hood that had a pattern on the side that made me look like Robo Cop or a Storm Trooper so that made me feel a bit more confident that today I would actually stand up. After riding a van all in our wet suits for 20 minutes or so we came the bay we were to surf in that day. The van drove down onto the beach because it was so long that it was still a long walk from the van to the water. We were all put in a circle and taught how to properly place our feet, paddle, jump up, protect ourselves from the board and position ourselves on the board. After a bit of a jog and some stretching we went out into the water with the two surf instructors looking after about 15 of us ERASMUS. All of our toes were frozen numb after about 20 minutes, but we were all making progress so we really did not care. ( I learned that I was too far back on my board and needed to make sure the board was flat) After you go under the water enough times after falling off the board, the panicky feeling goes away and falling becomes part of the fun. That day I did more than get up on my knees, I managed to stand for a full second before screeching and falling back into the water. I had stood up though and that is what mattered to me. The surf company we went out with had cookies and hot chocolate waiting for us when we returned cold and wet from the sea.
The day was not even half over though so Camille and I decided to wander around town and down to the sea. Along the way we bumped into Jack and Nicky and they joined us on our adventure to the sea. We walked past a mini amusement park, which is home to one of the best music festivals in Ireland over the summer "Sea Sessions," but it looked like a ghost town when we were there in April. We bumped into some of the other ERASMUS (Milla, Sophia, Elijah, Muri, Stina & Lisa), but we kept walking. BIG shoutout to Jack here who found sea glass and made me incredibly happy - I have been wanting a piece of sea glass for ages, so he made my year, Thanks Jack.
We ended up going back to the hostel at high tide because we did not want to get stranded on this island we had climbed onto and did not want to miss dinner. The hostel served Chili Con Carne that night and it was warm and hit the spot, so much so that I ended up falling asleep on the couch for a bit. The night was young and we all got ready to go out on the town, we played another round of Giant Jenga and flip cup while we waited for everyone to get ready. We went to the one nightclub in the whole town "Club Paris," where we as the surf team of 30 people we half the entire population of the night club. After we left, we walked around town for a bit. At one point we were making so much noise a shop owner came out to see what the racket was about and ended up chatting with us and taking a group picture for us. None of us were tired though, so we went for a Sea Session of our own. We played music and sang Irish songs by the sea and eventually a few of us decided to go for a night swim. So we ran into the sea and ended up insanely cold and really sandy. After that we decided to head home but only after singing a few more songs and dancing our way home did we make it back to our beds around half 5 (5:30) am.
The next day was a rude awakening, at 9am, I was handed a cup of tea and ate a piece of bread with peanut butter (crunchy is better than smooth if anyone was curious) and we threw on bathing suits to run to the surf shop. After suiting up and riding the van back to the bay we stretched out and went for it. Today the waves were different, the wind was knocking them all around, the undertow was strong and the current was moving fast so the waves just kept coming at us from every direction. That also meant these waves had more power, and when I finally rode a wave it was the most amazing feeling in the entire world.
My favorite memory from this trip wasn't finally standing up though or the screaming and shouting Anika and I did when we both landed our first wave, but it was this wave that 10 of us had seen and lined up for, that we all caught, we all stood up, and we all rode in together. The progress was showing but it proved that despite there being over 6 different languages being spoken in the water amongst us that day, there was one that we were all beginning to understand together, the waves.
None of wanted to leave the water that day no matter how sore or tired or cold we were, the only thing drawing us back to the shore was cookies and hot chocolate. We all rode the bus back to Dublin later that evening and it was bittersweet. Goodbyes were waiting for us at the end of this trip and we all knew it, despite the AGM (Annual General Meeting) coming up. Congrats though to my first Irish friend Eimear Tuffy, she is President for this upcoming year and I know she is going to crush it. Hang Ten my Irish surfers and I cannot wait for the next opportunity I get to surf with all of you.
