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Ireland Travel Experience
Eurospring was everything that travel should be. From a holding pattern over Detroit, driving off the map in Ireland, to getting lost in Paris, not everything went as planned. For that, I'm thankful. Where there was enough structure to make it safe and worthy of college credits, there was more than enough freedom and time. It allowed participants to indulge in the wanderlust that was instilled by history and literature. I spent days where nothing happened except wandering around Oxford, and others where focused goals such as museums and theatres were found.
If every moment had been planned, as happens sometimes on tours, I would not have had the great experience that I did. The tests that came allowed everyone to learn, and to cultivate both their confidence and problem solving skills. The peak of this testing for me was the trip to Ireland, taken by myself and five others. Freedom was given completely for 5 days, to do as we pleased, and we had decided to brave the capricious whims of the Fates to explore the Emerald Isle.
From the planning stages, there was trouble. Finding lodging for each night over there proved to be difficult, though not impossible. Calls were made, reservations were placed, and the sense of plans solidifying came on us as step by step we came closer. The snag was with the car rental, and getting that figured out. Through Herculean efforts on everyone's part, it was reserved. But if they would hand it over to us once there, well, the devil was in the details. Namely details on ridiculous requirements that the car rental company had put in place. Those details, as troublesome as they were, paled in comparison to the penultimate trial that waited on the horizon. Little did we know, that on that day we set out, our patience and endurance would be sorely tested.
The day began and we trekked down to the train station in Oxford. We were almost late, as a girl going was a tad bit later than was desirable. We made it there on time, and we began to feel the whims of fate. The first train we got on was immediately cleared due to technical difficulties. We had to get off once again. There was some chagrin at this, but then it was found out that the train wasn't really the right one in the first place. It seems that ours was running about five minutes late. After that was cured, we took off on the RIGHT train.
We made a few more switches, and then the fatal error crept in. Our plans seemed to be all for naught. At a middle train station, we mistook what it had said on the board. The train passed us by, while we were yet moving to the platform. Sadness took us, and we despaired. Well, I should say we despaired, until the next train came by roughly 10 minutes later. By that time however, we had missed the one and only train to our ferry location.
We arrived at the station where the missing train had already left. After dealing with the bureaucracy of the train employees, it was decided we were on our own. The six of our group, and an older Irish woman, who kept trying to make it known that it wasn't our fault, and we shouldn't have to put up with this from the train companies. Due to the finagling between myself, the old lady, and the employees, we found out about 15 minutes later that there was nothing we could do in regards to the trains. We were on our own.
Thus the Great Cross Country Taxi Journey was begun. We ran from the station, and hailed the first cab that could seat seven people. We tossed our baggage and began the roughly one and a half hour ride. It was cramped, crowded, and exhilarating. We sped over hill, under bridge, past cars and trucks. We sped down declines, and up inclines. We slowed down to the speed limit when a police car passed us, but as soon as was safe, the speed rose dramatically once again! Our journey was indeed nerve wrenching, as the time of the ferry's departure edged closer.
Then we crested the last hill and began our descent into the bay. We had made it only five minutes late! The ferry was still at the dock! Smiles and congratulations were shouted, and happiness flowed. Only to be abruptly crushed. The fates lifted us up, only to smash us on the cold reality of the ferry slowly pulling away from port as we pulled in. The profanities would have made the roughest sailors blanch in fear and run weeping to his mother.
But being the people who would never give up, we made our way in to speak with a representative from the ferry company. Apparently this happens quite a lot, due to the unreliability of the train companies in England. As such, they bumped us up into the speed ferry tickets. Normally such a bump would have cost about one hundred dollars more, but it cost us nothing. Also the speed ferry made the trip in about half the time as the normal ferry. It seems that fate would not have the last laugh at all.
Once again, spirits rose and smiles blossomed. We boarded the fast ferry and made our way to Ireland. Along the way, we passed the normal ferry that had left us behind. Pictures were taken, and the middle finger waved rather prominently at the boat as we passed by. Then the final test reared its head when we arrived in Ireland. The car rental.
We went there directly from the ferry, having no transportation otherwise. Once there, it was found out to our delight that we would not have to have the thousand dollar safety deposit. The condition was that we had to buy fifty dollar insurance, but that was nothing compared to the hurdle that was raised before us before. We left happily, the six of us packed into a mini-van.
As we left, staring out at the hills that were greener than any I've seen before, the sense of victory was palpable. We had made our goal, overcome obstacles that might have stopped others, and were now exploring a dream that many of us had held for a long time. We showed the fates that regardless of their tricks, we had the endurance and the skills to make things turn out in the end.
That is what travel is all about. Learning to deal with the unexpected, and turning the bad things around to good things. Most of all though, travel teaches you to look back on bad happenings with a sort of happiness that was definitely not present for the majority of the time.