A few weeks ago, more precisely 9th October, I went for my first kayak trip! Which was amazing I don’t remember that much the details, but I’ll try to write as much as I can remember.

Well, it started with my team (again, they are amazing) and they found this deal for 13€ a half day kayak or something alike. Nice deal, for irish standarts, so we bought several tickets for us

Ireland is a very peculiar country, amazingly green (I wonder why…) and with very few metropolitan areas, I think the fact that Ireland has just 5 million people explains the fact, therefore things that we would assume as normal like phone coverage, isn’t that good outside the cities because they just don’t need it (that much), and the place where we have been is like a black hole, no civilization

We went for sea kayak, though it was a bay and the website says that it’s seal’s watching kayak or something alike…, however no seals But a lot of fun As I said before, it was my first kayak experience, so the first minutes I had to manage how to deal with the pedal, the kayak, with myself on the kayak, etc. Really funny and at first seemed quite hard, but it isn’t

When we all managed to deal with the kayak and the pedals, we started our tour throughout the bay, that bay has a few isles quite small, so we headed to one of them. The one, according to the girl at the kayak place, that would be more likely to find seals…, nop…, no seals And I not even reached that isle. And why not? Because some things only happen to me

I was quite far away from the dock, and close to the isle, however the wind was quite strong and against my route…, what happened to me? My pedal broke in half!!! I had to options:

• Keep my path, and fighting against the wind
• Going back and ask for a new pedal

Guess I chose the second one, and it was REALLY hard! With half of a pedal is really hard to move a kayak and going straight with it, even worst when the wind is pushing you to the rocks and you really can’t rest nor even for a few seconds. I don’t know how long did I take to reach the dock, but it was really hard!

When I reached the dock, I asked the girl for another pedal and she gave me another broken one…, but that one I could see that was broken. I immediately said no to that one, and she said that that one was the only one for adults left…, not I took a smaller one for kids :X Ok, better a smaller one than another one broken!

When I went back to the bay, my colleges were already heading to the second isle, which is closed to the dock, so I went straight there! And now pedaling seemed really easy…, after several minutes pedaling with half of a pedal, even a pedal for kids it’s easier to handle if not broken!

That morning was really amazing, the next days we all were totally sore…, but the fun totally worth it!

After the kayak we went back to Cork, a stop for lunch in a small town (without phone coverage), and then home! The Kayaking 2nd part should be soon, scheduled for 13th November Let’s see, that one seems even more promising :D

Versão em Português:

Se há coisa que todos sabemos, é que nunca se sabe quando o pior calha a nós. Desta vez calhou à minha familia, mais concretamente com a minha avó. Na semana passada recebi a triste noticia de que a minha avó teve um AVC, se é complicado saber que alguém que nos é bastante querido está mal pior é saber que não tem as condições necessárias para um acompanhamento minimamente digno.

A minha mãe tem passado tanto tempo quanto possível no hospital a acompanhar a minha avó, mas infelizmente também é ela que acaba por ter de a limpar, de lhe dar comida e de lhe dar os tratamentos básicos. Não existem pessoas suficientes (auxiliares) no hospital para prestar uma assistência devida a todos os doentes, por mais que queiram não têm tempo para tantas pessoas e acabam por tratar os pacientes como se fossem objectos. Não por descuido ou por falta de humanidade, é mesmo porque não podem mais.

Eu pensaria desta forma se visse alguém a ser tratado dessa forma, alguém a quem apenas limpam o corpo com uma toalha sem sequer passarem com água ou um toalhete. Se visse alguém ser tratado assim ficaria revoltado com as pessoas que fazem este serviço, mas elas não têm culpa. Simplesmente não existe gente suficiente para tal.

Alguns membros da minha familia têm assistido a isto, e essas pessoas trabalham imenso e mal têm tempo para pensar o que fazer a seguir. Não há tempo para delicadeza, todos precisam de assistência AGORA!

O nosso Governo cortou nisto. O nosso Governo cortou na NOSSA SAÚDE. O nosso Governo NÃO corta nos gastos internos, nem corta no número de representantes. O nosso Governo NÃO QUER SABER! É revoltante saber isto, mais revoltante é saber que a minha familia está a sentir estes efeitos na pele, e eu aqui à distância. Quando os interesses do Governo estão acima da saúde pública, algo está bastante errado mas ninguém diz nada e ninguém faz nada. Sempre soube que estamos na cauda da Europa, mas sempre pensei (erradamente) que Portugal não era um país de terceiro mundo. Obrigado por estas décadas de má governação.

English Version:

Everyone knows (or should) that bad things can happen to everyone. This time was my family’s turn, more precisely my grandma. Last week I got the sad news that she had a stroke, that’s sad enough but can be even worst when the basic health care doesn’t work.

My mom spends most of the time at the hospital as expected, but doing much more than it was supposed to. She’s the daughter, and of course she want’s to help taking care of her mother, but she isn’t helping at all, she’s doing other’s people work. Not because they don’t want to work or because they don’t care, they just don’t have enough time to do their duties with the minimum care. They just do what they can.

I would think this way if I saw what my family sees, they do the very basics, they clean with a towel and they even don’t use water. That’s not their fault, they just don’t have enough people to do their work “humanly”. These people work hard and they barely have time to think or to rest, nor giving a care to the patients, it’s just sad but that happens in Portugal.

The Portuguese Government decided to cut on the Health System. They cut on OUR HEATH! The DIDN’T cut on their internal costs nor the number of representatives. Our Government doesn’t CARE. It’s frustrating knowing this, more frustrating is knowing that my family is living this and I just can’t do a thing for them. When the Government’s interest are above the public health, something is REALLY wrong! And nobody do a shit. What’s more sad is that I was naïve thinking that Portugal was “just” behind all Europe, we are a 3rd world country attached to Europe and just that. Thank you for these decades of bad management.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k81Lt-qAv7A

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8HOeMfcrpM

What’s better to mark another International Music Day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOl4vwhwkW8

I watched this while I was running Quite impressive and amazingly right What’s life without fun?

My closest friends, and now some colleges of mine, are aware of one of my precious gifts…, I have the ability to make myself invited to almost everything Not always I am well succeeded…, but I still keep trying Well, today was more or less the same, I heard some colleges of mine planning a hiking trip and I asked if I could join them, immediately they said yes and that was the start for the amazing day I just had

I knew nothing about the hiking, I asked nothing about it! I just knew I should buy some hiking boots…, and I did it! If it was one month ago, I would stay at home…, thankfully now I can spoil a little bit myself and I did it, I bought one of those boots that just saved my day today! Several times!

I woke up at 7am, everything already packet and some food on the fridge just waiting to be picked and packed, I prepared some scrambled eggs and ate it along with a tomato…, usually I just drink milk at breakfast but I thought I should eat something more…, heavy? And I started my trip the other 11 fellows! About one hour until the bottom of the “hill”, yes, I thought it was hill walking…, and I knew I was nearby Killarney, which I have never heard before so it was the same for me…, I was nearby “X”.

We started the climbing…, holy mother of gosh! The first stage was so steep!! But in a kind of concrete, which wasn’t that bad…, or not…, the way back we wish we had no concret at all! But well, let’s proceed! The view is just amazing, I was all the time magnified with the view, in respect of irish culture and sightseeing, I am totally a virgin so maybe that’s why I was, so repeatedly, saying “wow”! I became kind of boring after a while, but I don’t care! It was really WOW!

After the first stage, we arrived nearby a lake, and then the mud bath! We had to pass through a bog, that was the first time I thanked for every single cent I payed for my boots…, I totally bury my leg until the knee and it didn’t got wet! The same I can’t say about my pants…, I was wearing jeans (what a smart move for a hiking day) that after that moment became the “shitty” jeans…, not that wet though, but kinda of full of mud…

The the first hill, it was totally ok, no problem at all just a little bit steep but nothing like the warm up stage. From the top of that hill I saw what I thought it was our goal…, and I said “I can’t do that!! It is fucking high!!!” I am so naïve…, that was just the first of three peaks!! Also the hardest, but well…, it was REALLY HARD!!!

The first peak I think it took almost a quarter of our time to get there, we arrived there around 1pm if I can recall exactly and then we had lunch there. Carrying around 5lts of water didn’t help as well…, it was a really hard first peak! A lot of sheep and photos in between and climbing climbing climbing…, funny thing is that we took the hardest path and we only realized that when we were coming back and we saw the proper trail…, from the top we had a better view from what we should expect by then

The second peak…, well, first we had to go down from the first peak, but through the other side…, we didn’t climb peaks just for fun, that was really the trail to get to the top of the third peak. Something I forgot to mention, we had 3 dogs with us, two big ladies and a tiny man They were part of our fun, and they are really energetic! Oh gosh…, sometimes I wished I were a dog…

As I was trying to tell, the second peak, not that hard as the first one, but quite “sharp”. Both sides of the hill really steep and we had to ensure we did it safely, I think that is what makes that peak harder, not the path itself but the safety of it.

Then the third and last peak…, it was the easies that one, quite bigger and only our tiredness made it harder because the trail isn’t hard at all. On the top, I finally found out where I was…, Carrauntoohil, nothing just the highest peak in Ireland! What a great way to celebrate my first month in Ireland! And then…, talking about Ireland…, rainy weather…, that wasn’t pleasant at all and made the way back more challenging!  The rain wasn’t harsh, but the foggy yes…, that kinda of freaked me out, the first (now the last) peak was really challenging and now slippery…, yes, I was really afraid of what I could expect now.

The way back was really easier than I thought, of course we already knew the path, even foggy we could see the next 10m so it was enough not to get lost nor last minute surprises, as I said before, the way down of the first peak was easier because we did it through the proper trail, still hard for our tired bodies, but easier. The mud bath was changed, from the top we saw another path around the mud which we tried. Kinda of watery, but better than mud and no surprises at all. We did it around the lake, which was great because the dogs could swim and getting clean After that, the last break where we ate the last food The only part left was the warm up steep trail of concrete…, it really didn’t help because it’s hard to break while going down and the ground was really harsh which also didn’t help to the more than tired legs…

I was so happy when I felt straight land again! Happy, wasted and with an almost smilie on my face Not a big smilie because nor my facial muscles I could move after that long day…, 7 hours and a half hiking! Oh, I love my new and already dirty boots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KN9UL_E3Dc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quZuGOcmVQ0

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