Christ on a Bike!

Sore from all our endeavors on the mountain, we weren’t too crazy about our class schedule this week because we were going to be visiting the Muckross House in the Killarney National Park (a 1 hour walk just to get there), Wednesday was a visit to the Ross Castle (30min walk), Thursday’s yew wood hike (4hrs long), and Friday’s boat tour/hike (3 hours). My body was not very happy to hear about all this walking, and when it came around to the visits, I walked as if my legs were noodles. I can’t complain too much, though, for the trips were well worth it all.

Muckross House, situated in the middle of the National Park, was a wedding gift to an American and Irish couple that eventually was donated to the country of Ireland after their deaths. The house is also famous because Queen Victoria spent three days there, which the family spent years in preparation for. We were able to see the trends of the time period that are preserved in the house, such as the heads of deer hanging from the walls (including the antlers of a 10,000 yr old giant Irish deer!) and the women’s parlor that had strange devices used to block the women’s faces from the fireplace so their wax makeup wouldn’t melt. The people who retain the house today also make sure to keep up their craftsmanship shops (pottery, knitting, etc.) as a way to preserve the original culture.

Ross Castle was a fascinating fortification to behold, and especially to experience. The Castle is located in the National Park as well, right beside a lake. It was specifically built in a manner to protect against cattle raids, with small slit windows to use longbows out of, and the stone spiral staircases that are built as such in order to disrupt the coordination of any soldier trying to run up it. The steps are purposefully built out of synch with one another and in a spiral to upset the human body’s balance. We got to see the main hall for dining and sleeping which of course only had enough furniture for the head of the house; everyone else was to find a spot on the floor. An interesting fact about the castle was that the owner of it lived in another house during a different time of the year, and when a tax was placed on roofing, the owner had the roof removed. The roof was reconstructed based on the architecture of a different Irish castle in order to restore it.

Thursday’s hike through the National Park was what most of us were looking forward to: Irish nature! We returned to the Muckross House to start (argghhh more walking), and suffered through the most boring presentation of protecting the Irish parks imaginable. Even one of our professors fell asleep in the back of the class (we have photo evidence). Thankfully, the lecture on stump treatments ended, and we met up with our tour guide Chris and his collie/shepherd mix Lizzie. The tour started on a path from Muckross House, but within a few minutes we were veering offroad into the woods. The first challenge of the hike was to walk through a tiny cave that would lead us to the yewwood. Not being a fan of dark, enclosed places, I grasped the jacket of my friend in front of me as we felt our way through sheer blackness. It was only a few minutes through (with Lizzie running in and out of fearlessly), yet it certainly gives you the appreciation of the people who first go through places like this. I caught my breath as everyone else filed through, and Chris led us across moss-covered rocks on a path that led us to the fenced off grove of yew trees. This Irish yewwood is only one of three in the world, and is protected by European law. The trees themselves have poisonous leaves, hence the fencing, but scientists are trying to protect these trees from extinction. Fun Fact: Due to the yewberry’s slimey consistency, they are known as “snottygogs”! We also came upon the ruins of a ring fort that was now known as a fairy circle. We had to walk backwards out of it so as not to upset the fair folk, though I was the only one who did so. Good luck to those who didn’t! We spent more time pushing through the bramble as the day grew colder, and finally made it to a craggy outcropping at the edge of the wood that overlooked the Upper Lake and the regal mountains. Eventually, we made it out of the magical yewwood, and the sun even greeted us as we escaped the dense forest into the clear grassy plains.

 
Finally, we ended our week with a boat tour and hike in the National Park. By this time, my legs had fully recovered from Monday’s mountain climbing, but we were faced with an even crueler adversary: the cold. The wind chilled us to the bone as we piled into three motor boats that took us to several islands on the lake. We first visited the ruins of an abbey which was cool for about 15 minutes, and then we all found alcoves to hide from the wind. The next two stops involved going against the wind while on our boats, so the water sprayed our already frozen bodies. When we landed and explored some of the ruins of an old building, our literature professor waited until the tour guide was out of sight before exclaiming: “Christ on a bike, it’s so cold!!” Our trip ended early as most of us were too cold to even eat food because it meant taking our hands out of our pockets. But of course, a 30 minute walk still awaited us to get back to the hotel, and our professors hung back to catch a ride with our tour guide as we students cursed their names while they drove past us. We reminded them that revenge is a dish best served cold, or in their case, very very cold. Let the plotting begin.