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.



Thursday, September 30, 2010

Galway Hookers













Steve and I recently went for a beach walk, below our house. It is fairly rocky, with some car sized boulders. There were no beaches here, but there are some Mediterranean quality ones near by, awaiting a future walk. The rocks can be quite slick, I saw someone in clinic who sprained his ankle, on the seaweed. I did not see any seaweed "haircuts", yet the Guinness remains in good supply. Steve found a driftnet float, wedged deep between two big rocks. It was made in Denmark. Lost where? Interestingly, it had a mainly metal composition. I don't know if it floats, or if it anchors the net?

We first saw the famous Irish wooden sailboats on this walk. They are more commonly known as Galway Hookers. They were warming up for the Kilkieran festival, in an adjacent community. These beautiful, locally made boats are often over 100 years old, and still going strong. I have met local people that own, build and race them. It is quite a tradition, as these are unique boats. They have a distinct silhouette on the water. On our return from the beach walk, we visited a neighbor, a friendly white horse.

Later, we went to watch the boats race. There were a dozen or these majestic 40 footers. They were originally used to haul supplies to the offshore islands. Apparently, the boats were not used much, until a few decades ago, there was a proud local effort made to revive their tradition. Now, they are quite popular, and there is a racing circuit, on the western Irish coast. They go to different areas, depending on the season, and weather. They are locally based, where builders still work on them. I met one boat worker who plans to make his own soon. He won one of the races. There was a good crowd, of young and old, watching the races from the shore. Many cars had stopped along the road, to watch. Dr. Hooke went on one of these races a few years back, where emotion got the best of a skipper, and 2 boats collided, with a bow shredding another boat's sail. I noticed an ambulance stationed nearby, but no collisions were had today.
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