From Eireann to Cymru

Or "From Ireland to Wales"

On one of those days, i swear, on one of those days it’s going to happen. I’ve been insanely lucky so far and i guess border line careless as well - booked everything on/for the last minute, leaving almost no time for errors or delays and sometimes just plain counting on my luck.

I had a definite plan that i will arrive in Roslare harbour about 20 minutes to spare, having enough time to catch my nightly ferry from Ireland to Wales. The bus-driver was genuinely surprised: „You are actually hoping to make it to the ferry?“ It turned out that in reality the bus arrives in the harbour later than promised in the schedule and all i was left with was staying hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed. On top of that i fell asleep in the bus and the driver had to wake me up and yell „RUN! You have 10 minutes left!“. I don’t know how he managed to get to the harbour before the ferry departed, maybe he stepped extra hard on the accelerator (which i am very grateful for). The bus-drivers in Ireland are generally the nicest folk i’ve ever met – very helpful and extremely kind. I guess they’re not as underpaid as their Estonian counterparts. While i was running towards the terminal building, a guy came running out of it yelling at me already on the half of the way that they have been waiting for me, quick quick quick now! Somehow i doubt that Tallink people wait for the late passengers at the docks.
So in the end, made it again, but i’m telling you, on one of these days ..

I needed to charge my mobile phone on the ferry, so i asked from the reception guy if i can leave it with him charging. He was very ok with it but warned me that i need a special adapter for the plug. I emptied my adapter bag on the table, but he only shook his head sadly. I was puzzled, i pretty much had all the on-this-planet-used adapters with me, so what special adapter could i possibly be missing? After i took a quick look on the wall-plug it turned out that as a matter of fact i didn't need any adapter at all, because the ship was originally from Finland and therefore equipped with the same electrical plugs we use in Estonia.

My first point in Wales was a small harbour town called Fishguard. I arrived there some time after midnight and spent the next hour walking in the darkness and pouring rain, trying to find my way out of the harbour and then to my hostel. I arrived there around 2 am and got in the fight with the owner who was endlessly pissed that i came so late, though i had previously written him that i'm coming with the night ferry. It is about a 30 minute walk from the harbour to the hostel, but add to that a total lack of lights and any directional signs in the harbour area and the rain thick enough to soak me in 30 seconds so that my glasses needed wipers to even see the road, not to mention anything more detailed - add all that and a 30 minute walk turned into an hour of confused yet jolly wandering. I was jolly up to the point the owner started screaming on me for being so late, this kind of dampened my spirits a bit. We were going at it when at some point during our heated argument i realized that i was this close (showing 2 mm distance with her fingers) from getting thrown out on the street altogether, so i shut up and went to have a shower instead. This was the first time during my trip when i really lost my patience and let something stupid like that ruin my mood. Not going to let it repeat again, this journey is far too precious for me to waste my energy and time on keeping a grudge. Unfortunate side-effect of my rather wet midnight walk was that i got sick afterwards, with a proper fever and all. It’s lonely to be sick when there’s nobody to take care of you :(.

Me and the owner made up the next morning, he turned out to be a pretty cool dude, who had even traveled in Estonia about 10 years back. And i guess he felt a bit guilty for the night before because he offered me laundry-service for free and made a point of changing the directions on the website emphasizing: „In case of darkness and rain – take a taxi!“. I was room-confined for the next day because all my belongings (including clothing) were still wet and i had nothing dry to wear. I was even drying my camera under a radiator. So i spent a day sitting in my sleeping bag, which due to somewhat waterproof wrapping was the driest thing i owned at that point. I thought it to be wiser not to go out in wet clothes and with a fever, unless i want to get a pneumonia too.

So i never really got to see the town of Fishguard, but i doubt i missed much. It was just a logistical point along the way and some points are better used for recuperating and self-analysis (read: excessive iPod listening).

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My expenses in Ireland, 3rd-8th April 2009 (not counting Belfast):

transport - 50 euros

food - 48 euros
drink - 3 euros :)
hostels - 67 euros
sightseeing -
souvenirs - 23 euros
internet + phone cards - 14 euros
other - 21 euros

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226 euros, which is 3537 EEK

(1 euro = 15,6466 EEK)