Mile 250- Showered, Laundered, and eating heartily in Riverdale

Hey everyone,

We're here in NY- living clean and comfortable for a bit at mom and dad Kranzler, in Riverdale, NY. The last week and change has brought cleanliness, satiation, and dear time with family- but we're itching to return to the trail and the mountains, and are busy preparing for stage 2 of our trip- the Pacific Crest Trail. Flight date is Monday, June 11th.

Tis been a bit since our last post- we still have to tell you about our last week in Ireland. In short- it was perfect. We got to see island life (human and other), coastal cliffs, tons of rain (of course)- and best of all, lots and lots of traditional music.

The week started with a failed attempt at seeing County Donegal- public transportation made life a bit difficult- but took a permanent turn for good when we spontaneously decided to hop on a bus to Galway. From that point on, the trip was much of a play-it-by-ear experience.

From Galway, we ferried out to the island of Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. We rented some bikes for Friday, and had ourselves a beautiful ride around the island. ...quite a change from walking everywhere but definitely alot of fun!

Inishmore's a pretty amazing place, all green, and majestically strewn with gray, stone walls. And speaking of sustainability- bikes are pretty much the tourist transportation of choice, and the island is filled with visitors biking around enjoying the scenery and taking the slower-than-car route to experiencing life.




Inishmore provided us with a lovely Shabbat. We took a long walk during the day, and watched a colony of seals spend their afternoon at ocean's edge. We sat watching them for a good long while, until an excited sheepdog sniffed them and darted into the water, barking away and scaring the seals off. In for the show were numerous birds, including some puffins in the distance.

On Sunday we returned to mainland. For the last few days, we rented a car, and snuck some peeks at areas we couldn't have seen otherwise. We spent an evening camped in the town of Westport, and were privileged to see and hear some truly beautiful music. Here's the way the pubs work: A handful of players jam together in a corner, and everyone else stands or sits around listening to them- it's a great energy, simple and no frills, the way music was meant to be.

There were two "sessions" in Westport: the first was with mostly elderly players (a pennywhistle player who looked well into his eighties), and a sophisticated looking young women playing the flute. At one point, an old, old man from the crowd began to sing a heartfelt ballad with his eyes closed- everyone was silent and listened. In Irish folklore, the greatest heroes and warriors also sang and played the most beautiful music. It's amazing how this culture values music and respects it!

The second session was in the back of the pub; there were three flutes, three fiddles, and two concertinas (small accordions) - it was amazing! It was very inspiring to see how the younger generation is still playing and enjoying the music of their grandparents and their grandparents' grandparents...




The morning after Westport we hiked up "Achill Head" to the highest coastal cliffs in Europe and peered down hundreds of feet to the crashing ocean below. The next day was spent in Connemara, the Burren, its peaceful wildflowers and perfumery, the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, and finally, the quaint town of Doolin- famous for its music (At one of the pubs, a small girl of about seven came along to "clog"(traditional dancing) for everyone- without a doubt among the cutest things we've ever seen).


Along the way, we stopped at a gift shop, and talked with an Irish sculptor for about an hour. We spoke about our being Jewish, his objecting to organized religion and preference for worshiping Nature, and the disregarded similarities between pagan and Jewish beliefs. The conversation eventually led to environmentalism and went on for the better part of an hour until the man realized that he was neglecting customers. All in all, it was just another of many amazing interactions we had with always-friendly Irishmen.

The next day we made our way back to Galway, then Dublin, checked into a hostel dorm-room for the quintessential backpacking-through-Europe experience, and headed out for a night on the town. We went to the famed "Temple Bar" and saw music of a more professional nature than what we had seen in the small towns. These guys were like a well-oiled traditional music machine, perfectly choreographed, completely tight and together. But in typical Irish fashion, they looked like anyone you'd pull off the street, and looked jolly-as-can-be as they jammed away.

In the morning we flew out of Ireland, and arrived in New York already dreaming of a time when we would visit next. Ahhh- what a trip. Amazing, fun, unbelievable- those words don't do it justice. Precious, probably is the only way to capture it.

Here we are in Riverdale, well rested, nervous and excited to head out to the High Sierra and our first multi-month adventure.

While here, we've nursed blisters, feasted on home cooking, chinese food and lots of ice cream. We've spent really nice times with Yannai's parents and Ravi and Avi, yannai's sister and her husband, and hung out a bit with friends. We've spent loads of time preparing- we bought 144 energy bars, and three meals a day for five weeks, to send ourselves as mail drops (boxes with supplies sent to a location ahead on the trail). To keep in shape (and make some extra cash), we spent three days gardening at the Kranzlers.

Tomorrow, we head out to Deep Creek, Maryland, to see Chana's grandparents. Monday, we're out to California.

And tonight- we're gonna hunt down some traditional Irish music in a pub or two in the Bronx.

Hear from you soon,

Love,

Chana and Yannai