Co. Donegal, Ireland
12 Days on the northern tip of Ireland
The First Help Exchange
Donegal was my first traveling experience by myself. It was both terrifying and wonderful. I stayed with Gaja, who was a homeowner with a spare bedroom and who needed a little graphic design work for her newly opened cafe in Downings. It was a neat little cafe with woodwork everywhere. They had bought what was previously a bar and turned the front room into a cafe. The back of the house was a massive pile of old bar items that needed clearing out. So one day me and my new friends Jaric and Darren cleared out all of the junk and privately reopened the pub! Pool table, a few beers, and a sunny afternoon.
Dunfanaghy
This is the tiny town where I stayed while with Gaja. A few houses, a beach, a golf course, a church, and a pub is about all there is there. It was the perfect place to break away from everywhere I had ever lived. It was quiet (outside of the pub on a Saturday night). Oddly enough, one of the only things I really remember specifically about these few days is driving around with Jarek listening to a sampler CD he had that had Young Folks on it well before it made it big in the states. This song will always remind me of Ireland.
The one downside of this place is the drive to get here. I took a bus to arrive from Belfast that was just under 6 hours, and when I left for Cork the bus took about 13 hours. To be fair, Cork is about as far away as you can get on that island, but still. Be ready to drive!
