First Anniversary

Over the weekend, Socs and I celebrated our first year anniversary as husband and wife. We wanted to do something special other than a "regular" dinner out or weekend trip. Socs was able to find a great place on the other side of Ireland that would suit both the occasion and our personalities. Enter Delphi Mountain Resort.

It was a long trip (3 hour train ride and 45 min taxi) but well worth it. The place was situated in between mountains, near rivers and the only fjord in Ireland. Our activities: surfing, hill walking, biking and generally enjoying the Irish countryside.

We went biking a few hours after arriving to explore the place and make full use of our time there. Socs does not know how to ride the bike, but she managed after much encouragement from me.

I was a little disappointed in the surfing since we were given beginner's foam boards instead of the surfboards we were used to, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I was able to stand up a couple of times and survived the relatively colder waters of the Atlantic (it was a sunny day so it wasn't Irish cold). The waves were pretty huge and powerful too, and although we were way past where the waves broke the white water still had the strength to push the boards. It was weird wearing shoes (required for safety) during surfing, it actually hindered me for a bit but it was a good learning activity to possibly continue surfing here in Ireland.

We initially wanted to climb the hill near the resort but we were both a little tired and was promised a good day the following day so we decided to explore the area by foot. Following the road we walked for a couple of hours, testing both our gear and taking a bit of pictures.

On the day of our departure, we woke up early and immediately left to climb up the hill. It is definitely different from climbing back home or in Vermont. There are no trails and we had no map or guide. I was a little apprehensive about climbing so we set mini destinations on the hill. We never managed to get to the peak, we were walking diagonally instead of vertically, but we did get to a decent elevation (around 150m) and enjoy the view. And we made it back for breakfast to boot!

A scenic taxi ride later, we were back to reality of the 3 hour ride back to Dublin.