The Sanders Family Travels Abroad for a Year

Good to have you along for our year long adventures in Ireland and other countries. We are working, playing, and schooling amongst our neighbors in Carna, Ireland.

Please use control + to enlarge the blog, the photos look much better this way. As of March 2011, google has improved the presentation of the blog, the photos show much better now.

Carna is along the west coast on Ireland, a little over an hour's drive from Gallway. It is a pretty rural area, and it is rugged and beautiful, physically and culturally.

We will keep you updated with our life, as we settle into a coastal home and integrate into the community. Greg is working in a Family Practice clinic, mentored by Gerard Hooke, whom Greg worked with a few years ago, for many years, in Arlington, Washington state. Gerard and his wife Amanda have settled into this area a few years ago, and are beloved by the community. The clinic was started by Michael Casey, who worked here solo for many years. He now has 3 clinics in Galway county, where he shares his time.

Our 3 children are in the local schools,where the classes are taught in the Irish language, with some English as well. We are exploring Ireland, on weekend drives. Also, periodically we are hopping over to the mainland Europe, for longer adventures.



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Currach, an Irish boat

















Photos, top to bottom:
  • Currach, Irish wooden boat
    Approaching a white sands beach
  • Captain Hooke
  • Another local beach, for good swimming
  • Stephen with some mackerel he caught
  • An inquisitive seal
  • Rocks meet the sea
  • Justine (l) and Amanda (r) at the Hooke's

We are living in a nice house, with a beautiful panoramic view of the sea. The sunrises and sunsets are quite colorful, and I will share some of these on future blogs. We can see many islands, and closer are white breakers crashing over the rocky shoreline. The famous, beautiful Aran islands are off in the distance. Big cumulus clouds can be seen coming from afar. Recently, we had the tail of a hurricane blow thru, it was raining probably inches per hour.

The house has 4 bedrooms. There is a fireplace that burned turf or wood. The radiators are oil eater heated, and the gas stove is lit by matches. We have long ago lost most of the hair on our match holding fingers. Justine has been enjoying the challenge of cooking and baking with the local available foods.We keep the lights off, due to electrical costs double the USA. We are awaiting Internet. We just got a pay as you go cell. The kids dearly miss their cells, and now want for Facebook! We are surrounded by sloping rock strewn fields covered with wildflowers, even in September. There are stone walled fences everywhere.
Recently, Stephen and I went out with Gerard in his currack. This is a traditional Irish rowing boat. It is quite sturdy, made completely of wood, by a renowned local boat building company. Gerard feels fortunate to have acquired this boat, as they can be hard to come by. The wooden oars are uniquely shaped, about 12 feet long. We used an engine, to motor around the local islands. Often Gerard prefers to row, going long distances. We fished with a hand line, with 5 individually feathered hooks. We jigged for mackerel, and Stephen would pull in sometimes 3 at a time. We stopped after getting a dozen. They were barbecued, quite tasty, with some heirloom Irish potatoes, and washed down with a Swedish hard cider. Gerard's wife Amanda cooked up quite a feast, for our first real Irish dinner. "Nice and easy" is one of many Irish sayings, repeated in this case as we weaved the currach slowly thru shallow waters, with giant boulders visible barely submerged. The water is clear and relatively warm, in the mid 50's taking advantage of a Gulf current, reaching all the way up to Ireland. There are some beautiful, absolutely empty, Mediterranean like beaches around the area. We saw a local fisherman fishing for Manta rays. Gerard related there are people who paddle their currach out 16 miles to an island area, fish, then paddle home. There are islands with only animals, one with goats, one with cows, and one with sheep. The latter island they would take the sheep out in the currach, throw them in the ocean, and they would then swim to the island, and eat the grass. Another island had some very wild cows, and periodically people would go out there to try to capture them. The cows would chase them and their dogs around the island. Finally, a gallant group caught most of the cows, put them in their boats, then tossed them off the boats to swim to the mainland. Gerard showed me photos of cows being tossed into the sea!
Our family had a wonderful visit with Gerard and his wife Amanda. They have fixed up and expanded their old Irish house. It has incredible light, and calming views of the countryside and the sea. The Hookes are a grounding force for our family, as we have moved from our secure life on Camano Island, to unknown lands, schools, home and job. Amanda is very calming, and this is reflected in her love of yoga, and in her photography. Her yoga studio is the 2nd floor of a building next to their house, with great vistas of the islands and flower speckled fields. It is a special room, quite meditative.
Gerard drew me a map of the region, as I will be taking call soon, and there are multiple neighborhoods over many square miles, without street signs. I will be making house calls during the nights, to see sick patients. There are various tricks to find the house, such as having someone blink their lights, or stand outside when you are nearby. I have readied a field bag, containing supplies for trauma, cardiac and other events.
















































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