After I got my lazy butt out of Dublin, I've seen some wonderful areas around Ireland. I traveled first to Cork (the second biggest city in Ireland), and while it's still a city it at least had some greenery and even a river flowing through it, so it wasn't grey and gloomy like Dublin.

From Cork I couch surfed a bit and bought a second hand bike in hopes to pull a similar whim bike trip like the one in Spain. I survived a couple days, about 150 kilometers, but the rain, wind, and a sharp pain in my knee put an end to that. I sold the my ride to a bike shop along the way and continued my travels by bus.

I've been couchsurfing since I left Dublin And seriously people, this is the ultimate way to go. Everyone I've stayed with has been really laid-back, generous, and extremely helpful in my travels (with the exception of one Polish woman who thought that just because I had a degree in Psychology, I could instantly be her personal therapist).

Most recently I've found myself in Dingle, a small peninsula on the South-West coast, a small artsy town, which reminded me quite a bit of Homer...plus a few more pubs, slurred thick Irish accents, and a live dolphin mascot that lives out in the bay called "Fungy".

I've been here several days now, and every day has been bloody brilliant. The weather's not always perfect, and I often times catch myself daydreaming of travels in South America or my soon-to-be return to Alaska, but my hosts have showed me a grand time. The first night I arrived they took me out to a cook book signing party in a local Ice Cream shop (products made exclusively of local Kerry cows), where they served samples of their exquisite treats: Champagne Ice Cream, Chocolate Truffles, Choco Chip Cookies, Meringues, Rich Hot Chocolate, and last but not least Blue Cheese & Roasted Shallot Ice Cream served on crackers. --something I may never have had the opportunity to try without Couch Surfing.

The next day I went hiking up in the mountains and in the evening we all went out to see a live performance by "Kila" a sort of alternative Irish Band, that played traditional Irish songs with a little sumthin-sumthin mixed in. Nearly everyone was up and dancing by the end of the performance. Brilliant! --the music and dancing was reminiscent of my paradise days in Montañita.

Today I went out to the beach and tried my rusty surfing skills in the Irish waters at Castlegregory. Apparently surfing is really popular in Ireland; on our way to the beach we passed at least a dozen cars with several surf boards strapped to the top. It's a very different thing to surf in cold waters, because you need a proper wet suit which restricts the movements a little bit. Luckily for me it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and all the equipment that I rented worked grand. I stayed out for a few hours, caught a fair number of waves, and loved the fact that I was surfing in Ireland.

Ok, now I think I'm up to date. While this past weekend has been bloody brilliant, just before this I was feeling almost bummed about being in Ireland. The crummy weather and homesickness was getting to me--that's right I, Aleta, was feeling homesick. For the first time in my life, I wished I was home in Alaska with my own couch to sleep on and my own friends who weren't strangers.

So folks, this is the beginning of the end of my trip. I have a plane ticket all lined up for Anchorage arriving midnight on May the 9th (which I think is Friday). I believe that I could happily continue on my journeys, maybe onto Africa or Asia, but I think this particular chapter will soon come to a close. I might stay around Alaska for the summer, and hopefully earn some money, while I wait on word from my Peace Corps status. Then hopefully, if I wish on my lucky charms, I will be able to work somewhere overseas as a PC Volunteer by next fall.

And that's about all I've got to say about that. So I hope to see some familiar faces when I return to the great state, & ciao for now-