Blogging about the Bog

The Emerald Isle... a lot of our delegates figured out today why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. True, it's green - very green... and the 180 days of rain contributes to that green. It didn't really rain, but we thought it was going to for most of the day.

We started off with a hike... a 1 1/2 hour hike through part of the town and some forested areas. We saw a Catholic Altar Rock, which was a rock used as an altar for Catholic masses in the 1850's when Catholicism was outlawed in Ireland because the King of England made the Church of England THE church.

We had been warned that the ground would be slippery...muddy... and indeed it was. The question was, who would fall. We only had two - Kris and Tina. I think everyone clapped... Kris and Tina felt honored. :) You should have heard the laughter, not at them falling, but at everyone trying to get through the trail. We reached the high point of the trail and had some incredible views looking out over the city and the surrounding areas.

We learned that Ireland has no mosquitoes, poison oak, or poison ivy. So we weren't worried when we held on to bushes and shrubs as we gingerly made our way through the muddy, sloppy, grueling, slippery trail. Do you get the picture? Another interesting fact we learned, the townspeople pay no money for their water! None... they actually collect all their extra water and even send some other places! Wouldn't we all love that? Green lawns, beautiful green lawns, are everywhere.BubbleShare: Share photos - Powered by BubbleShare


Next stop: A peat moss bog. I think most of us had heard of these, but we didn't really understand them until today. We were met by some Irish men who worked the bogs. In two groups, one gave us a history of immigration and the other showed us how families worked the bogs. It took 3 people, one to cut the peat, one to shovel it out of the area, and one to spread it in a single layer to dry. It takes one year for the peat to "season"... meaning it's ready to burn. For our work, the peat goes to help the senior citizens. Tina won the prize for getting stuck...her foot got stuck in the muck...and trying to pull her foot out, well, it came out ok...out of her shoe! She got another clap!

Lunch was next - a cold lunch on very cold, wet, picnic tables. We had gone back to the community center to pick up our box lunches, and that's where we ate. We survived.

Next stop: Gaelic football. But first, as we were walking to play, Sam stopped us and told us to smell... it was the smell of burning peat. Remember, even though it's summer, if this weather was at home, you'd think it was winter.

Gaelic football... three locals came out to teach us. Gaelic football is a combination of volleyball, basketball, and soccer because you have to serve, dribble, and kick the ball. Our group did great and had an awesome time playing.

We changed our muddy shoes, storing them under the bus with our luggage, and drove about 2 hours to our next stop.

Tomorrow is another outside day...we're hoping and praying for sunshine, or at least drier weather! I should be able to post again tomorrow...thanks to Alex C. I haven't seen any computer access here, so I'm glad Alex brought this along.

Believe it or not... tomorrow marks the half way point of our trip! Time flies when you're having fun!