Top 12 Myths of Ireland

Top of the mornin' to ye! St. Patrick's Day is loved by all people (especially those who drink) and with it, out comes the American-Irish fads. Green, leprechauns, 4-leaf clovers, "luck of the Irish", fake Irish sayings, and unending novelties. It's surely a favourite time of the year. I like this holiday for a particular reason: I'm part Irish (back 6 generations). But that's about as far as my liking of St. Patrick's Day goes bacuse the way Americans view Ireland and the Irish are actually quite different from what's actually true and I want to reveal some of the myths of Ireland that America believes.

1. They say "Top of the mornin' to ya". Actually they do not. One thing about Ireland is that it's much like America. Culture is different depending on where you're at in Ireland. In Dublin area, most people seem Americanised. They talk like us and use a lot of the same language (and younger people seem to have an Americanised Irish accent). But Ireland is actually heavily English influenced so they use a lot of British terms and words that we don't in America. But as far as greetings, "Hello" seems standard just like here. There are obviously variations like here in America. If you venture to Co Kerry and more out west, Gaelic is prominent and you may hear Dia duit, Dia duit ar maidin, and other Irish phrases.
2. Leprechauns are a typical Irish character. This is also false. Yes, the leprechaun myth started in Ireland, but isn't really a big deal there like it is in America. If you go to gift shops or touristic areas, you will see it for the sake of the tourists and in Dublin, there is a leprechaun museum for tourists, but that's about as far as it goes. Creatures like fairies, Banshees, and Demons are more of a thing over there than leprechauns.
3. "Luck of the Irish". If you have ever read any Irish history, you would know that the Irish were far from lucky. In the middle ages, they were more like the pawns on the chess board. They were pretty well used by whoever would recruit them. More recently speaking, They were associated with England, but decided to have their independance and fought for it. Later on, someone with power was bribed to rejoin England and it was kind of a cycle. Who they are associated with largely has been dependant on bribes. Currently they are a republic, but Northern Ireland is still a part of the UK, so Ireland is currently split. And have you ever heard of the Easter Rising? IRA? Potato famine? The Irish have a history of migrating because of famine, lack of work, etc. They have migrated to England quite a bit (as my family did), and many migrated through Ellis Island to America. That is why a lot of Americans have Irish heritage. Not to mention their crown jewels have been stolen. So in short, the Irish were not so lucky.
4. Irish/Celtic/Scottish are all the same. Far from it. The cultures of Ireland and Scotland are completely different. Yes, there are some similairities, but they are 2 different countries. The food is different, the accent is different, the language is different (Irish vs. Scotish gaelic not the same), the dress is different, the history is different. The islands are close, but they are not the same. And Celtic is a different thing altogether. Many people use Irish and Celtic interchangeably, but they are not. The Celts actually started in Germany and spend hundreds of years in Europe long before migrating to what is now the UK. They later on migrated to Ireland as the vikings. The Celts were actually a religious group, similair to the Druids.
5. They all eat corned beef and cabbage. In Ireland, they pretty well eat the same as we do in England, Europe, and America. They do have their traditional dishes, but it's not a regular meal. In fact, even in a large town like Dublin, most restaurants don't serve traditional dishes. You have to go to select pubs. Most (younger) Irish people have never even eaten traditional dishes (look up videos on Youtube of Irish people eating Irish dishes for the first time).
6. They are always drunk. Ireland has the same standards as America, if not stricter, about working while intoxicated. Drinking all the time is no more feasible as it is here in America. Yes, they do drink their share and drinking age is younger than in America, but the steriotypical drunk Irish is exaggerated.
7. Accents. Here in America, we have the idea that every Irish person has the same accent and that we know what that accent is. Actually what we have is an idea of their accent based on the movies which are most of the time, inaccurate. Like America, the accent is different depending and where you are. In fact, it seems that the accent differs between counties. But the steriotypical "leprechaun, top of the mornin to ya" accent is off. This video is pretty accurate as to the accents in Ireland. However, some of the words we think they use are pretty accurate such as lad, las, fish n' chips, craic, and slainte, though the use of language varies throughout the county.
8. Ireland is all green hills. There is half truth to this. First, it is very green. Everywhere I went in Ireland, I saw green fields and plains. Most farm fields are green, but they still have brown fields like America. Even in Dublin, you will see green fields and parks. And the green is a different shade from America. It has a distinct look, and to top it off, there are so many shades of green. However, it is not all hilly and mountainous as most Americans believe. They do have their highlands and hills, but they are relatively small compared to America's hills and mountains. Even at Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains, they are smaller than what Americans are used to.
9. The Irish have red hair. This is partly true. Generally, it's the same anywhere. Hair colour can vary, but what I've found is most Irish actually have black hair. I think depending on where you go, you will see red haired people and Irish people are known for having red hair, but not all of them and most have black hair.
10. The Irish have always been catholic. Since Ireland was actually a viking, Celtic, and Druid island, it was very pegan. When missionaries, including St. Patrick, came over, Catholicism started to fade in. Though, most of the people would not just adopt Catholocism and would generally mix it with their already practicing pegan religion.
11. St. Patrick's Day is big in Ireland. Yes and no. St. Patrick's Say is known to be an Irish holiday recognising St. Patrick. But it wasn't really a big holiday in Ireland like it is in America. I think it has mostly been an American holiday, something Americans can have to recognise the Irish and pretend to be Irish for a day. However, it has recently become a growing things worldwide, mostly as reason to get drunk and act like a steriotypical Irish, partaking in the myths of Ireland. Though Ireland is awesome so who wouldn't want to pretend to be Irish for a day?
12. The shamrock is the symbol of Ireland. Actually this is not the case. Although some Irish businesses, such as Aer Lingus Airline, have a shamrock in their logo, it is not the symbol of Ireland. Ireland actually uses the Irish harp that is kept at Trinity College as their symbol which is on their currency or anything official. The harp on the Guiness symbol is actually not a copy from the one at Trinity college, but is a seperate harp at the Guiness brewery. Nonetheless, the harp is more of an Irish symbol than the shamrock.

So now you know the truth behind some of the myths of Ireland that so many Americans believe. There are obviously a lot more, but this also gets person to wonder how many steriotypical views we have of other countries that are false. Hmmm.

Gear Review: North Face Terra 65

As promised, I have thoroughly tested my North Face backpack and believe that I have an accurate idea of how well the pack holds up. When I was in Peru, I put the pack through a lot of rugged tests, not to mention bags get beat up when travelling anyway, and it seemed to hold up well. It, first of all, survived the flight which tests it's durability to begin with. With the excessive use when hiking (over 40 miles), and enduring all sort of weather (wind, rain, sun, heat, cold, extreme altitudes), it has experienced a rugged test.


I want to systematically go through this review and look at it's:

• value for the money
• overall construction and features/comfort
• durability
• suitability for it's intention

Value for it's money:
The North Face Terra 65 is, I believe an obsolete pack, in that it has been replaced by a newer model. I bought this pack for $110 on sale at a Dick's Sporting Goods. Pricing on the internet can range from $120 to $180. I believe this is a reasonable price for what you are getting. The durability, features, and ease of use are well worth the price as you will see later in this post.


Overall construction and features/comfort:
This is largely based on opinion (in my opinion). I give it a 4.8 out of 5, but others may not because everyone like different features. I prefer a simpler pack over one with many pockets. As far as construction, I feel that it is a sturdy frame. The pack is an internal frame with the standard 2 aluminum slats. The pack is made of a thicker nylon that is water resistant. I don't believe it is marketed as "water resistant" but I found this to be the case when I encountered rain. Pair it with a rain cover and you probably won't need a pack liner (if it's newer). The one downside to the construction that I experienced was the thickness of the material. The thick material adds durability, but also adds weight and when you are hiking long distances, it is remarkably noticeable. Overall, the pack has a top loading design with drawstrings and 2 buckles for the lid. However, it does have a side zipper to access the interior without opening the lid. There are also 2 thick Velcro straps for trekking poles (one on each side) and the standard 2 ice ax loops. I like the 2 compression straps on each side which do an excellent job and compressing the pack as well as holding gear.


The shoulder straps and hip belt are thick and well padded and never had an issue with them. As with most packs, the shoulder strap system can be adjusted depending on the size of the user. The shoulder straps give great flexibility to adjust it to fit perfectly. However, the waist belt only has the standard adjustment straps and nothing to finely adjust it. I didn't personally have a problem with this, but my body type fit it well. I hiked 30.8 miles in the Andes and didn't have any issues with the suspension system. I found them to hold up quite well. My only complaint is when hiking that far (particularly if there's lots of stairs), the waist strap can loosen slightly.


As far as features, I am very happy with this pack! There are 2 pockets on the face of the pack that are roomy and offer plenty of space. The 2 side pockets are mesh and stretch significantly to hold water bottles, snacks, etc. Both sides of the waist strap have large packets to hold snacks, GPS, etc. Most packs have smaller pockets, so I was impressed with size on this one. The lid only has an exterior pocket that is large and zips all the way around the lid. This made it easier to organize and find items quickly instead of trying to dig through a pocket with a small mouth. The inside of that pocket has a mess pocket that I found great to hold items that may be needed but not immediately.


The pack does have a water bladder pocket on the inside with only one exit port on the right side. I did not use this on my Peru trip, but have used it. There are 2 elastic pieces on the straps of the pack that I use to run my water bladder tubing through to hold it. I also used one to hold my watch/thermometer.


I am impressed with the sleeping bag pocket, the mouth is large and the compartment is large itself which is rare for a pack. I actually found it to be too big for the bag I brought to Peru. The divider between the man compartment and sleeping bag compartment can be loosened to make one large compartment.


I think overall, it is a comfortable pack. I felt the weight I was carrying, but that is usually the case with most packs, especially at high altitude. I never has issues with comfort of the pack during my whole Peru trip.


Durability:
I found the pack to quite durable, but I don't think I would give it 5 stars in this area. The material holds up to wear better than I expected. I think if you let it undergo excessive abrasion, it would wear through, but it seems to hold up to normal use exceptionally well. The zippers are large and don't bind up, even when the pack is stuffed. The straps and suspension also holds really well. I had the compressions straps cinched down TIGHT and they held up very well. My only complaint in durability would be the seems at the top of the pack. When it has any moderate amount of weight, the seems over the frame seem stressed and I was a little nervous as to whether they would hold up. They did well, but I don't like when a seem is overly stressed. I think the stress points could have been reinforced better. One of the pluses, though, is that it holds up well as a seat when you stop to rest. I would lay it down on it's face and use it as a seat and it didn't show any wear after that.


Suitability for Intention:
This is the summary of the whole review and believe this pack passes my inspection incredibly well! The pack is 65 litres which was just the right size for my trip. But of course, it's important to find a pack the right size for what you need. North Face does made a Terra 55 if you need a smaller pack with the same construction as this one. I have to say, it held all of my gear quite well and was easy to organize everything in it. I would say it is suitable for oversees trips like I took and for multiday hikes. I did not have a tent, food, stove, or cooking supplies with me so I cannot accurately say it works well for a self contained trip. with that being said, I did have excessive things with me that were specific to travelling Peru and was able to pack extra clothes and luxury items since I had the extra room. I believe it would hold tent, small stove, solo cook set, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, change of clothes, food, and maybe even a backpacking chair in the main compartment if you pack it right ( I have had it packed for self contained trip, but have not taken one of those trips with this pack yet). I do believe I will use this pack for my Appalachian Trail trip. As I stated before, it is a simple (and slim) design which I think makes it easier to pack and with the slim design, helps to avoid over-packing.


Altogether, I am very happy with this pack. If you are looking for a good pack that will hold up to the elements and lots of abuse, I think you have found what you are looking for. But as I mentioned, pack design is a personal preference and it may or may not suit you needs. I was able to adjust it to fit me perfectly, but some people with other body types may have issues with it. Overall, a good pack!

How Was My Trip?

How was your trip? What all did you do? What was your favourite part? Naturally, when I come back from my big trips, I am asked many questions about the trip and what I thought of it. Of course, each trip is different and unique, but they all kind of have something in common. This post is about my Peru trip, but can actually be universal for all of my trips. 

So what did I think of it? First of all, Peru is awesome and if you get a chance, I encourage you to visit South America at some point. I think one of the joys of travelling to other countries is experiencing the culture. Everywhere I go is different and it's a real experience when you kind of leave your own culture behind and experience theirs, it makes for a better trip. 

One of the fun challenges I had was the language barrier. They speak Spanish in Peru and even though a lot of the locals speak English, it's generally not very well. If you travel overseas, I encourage you to learn at least the basics of their language. It puts you out of your comfort zone a bit, but I had a great time trying to communicate with people in Spanish. The real challenge was when they couldn't speak English and you have no clue what they are saying. Then, you resort to non-verbal language to communicate. I would have to say that one of my favourite aspects of the trip was trying to talk to the locals. 

If you had to ask what my second favourite part of the trip was, I would have to say meeting the people there. You don't really have to worry about someone judging you because as you meet other travellers, they are just on the same mission as you are. I met quite a few people from all over the world and it's fun to learn a little about their country (and maybe a little of their language). I really enjoyed meeting the Irish person in my group and having a conversation in Irish with her. 

The people you meet overseas are a joy to get to know. But more than that is the bond that is created. When I joined the hiking group I went with, I first saw 15 strangers, but by the end of the 4 days, we were a family. There is just something about accomplishing something challenging, such as the Inca Trail, together and spending that quality time together. By time we had to split up at the end, there were hugs and tears by many of the people in the group because of the bond that is made. It's awesome getting to know people like that and experiencing things with people. 

Lastly, the sights were amazing! As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, pictures, and even words, don't quite capture the sights. The mountains, the landscape, the feel of the different air and climate, and the sights of the ruins. It's something you just have to experience for yourself. And when you accomplish something challenging like the Inca Trail, it just makes the sights that much more rewarding, not to mention many of the sights you can only see by hiking there. 

I highly encourage you to take at least one high adventure, foreign trip and I can guarantee you will want to go on more. 

The Final Countdown to Machu Picchu

Our last day was a busy one. Everyone was excited about it! We woke at 4:20 to pack up and move our backpacks so the porters can tear down the tents. We went straight to the checkpoint that we were to clear and left our bags there with one of the guides. Otherwise, we would be in the back of the line and not get to see the ruins without hundreds of people in the way. 

Some of us went back up to camp for breakfast: omelettes and tea. We ate fairly fast so we could get back to the line where we waited about an hour. When the gates opened, the race was on. We were almost at a jog to get to the Sun Gate first, before the other groups. Most people fell behind when we reached the steep staircase. In fact, we were so fast, our guide said it normally takes and hour and a half to get there and we did it in 45 minutes. 

We were excited when we saw the ruins of the Sun Gate. And there it was, from the Sun Gate, we could see Machu Picchu. It had the same look as I had seen in pictures, but pictures obviously don't do their justice, we sat and enjoyed the view for a while until everyone else arrived. Our guide took pictures of the group with Machu Picchu in the background before we continued. 

It didn't take long to arrive at the ideal picture spot, where most Machu Picchu pictures are taken. Our guide gave us a little history on the tomb that was next to the picture spot before we kept on hiking. 

We finally arrived in Machu Picchu and our guide let us spend some time taking pictures. We had to go to the ticket gate and store bags because the park won't allow large backpacks. When we were there, more people started to show up. You could easily see the difference between the types of people there: the smelly people who experienced the Inca Trail an the clean people who rode an hour on a bus. 

We all met our guide and he took us through the ruins and gave the history of each spot. The day started out warm and sunny, but halfway through the tour, it began to rain. It seemed like the rain stopped by time the tour was done and our guide gave us 2 hours to explore and explore we did. I was going to tell you all about the things we saw, but Machu Picchu is something that can't really be described in words, or pictures. You just have to experience it yourself. 

After Machu Picchu, we were to take the bus to Agues Calientes for lunch. We also had the option of hiking an additional trail to get there. The three Getmans and I were the only ones who did the additional hike, which was rewarding. When we arrived at the restaurant to meet with everyone else, our guide bought us our meals and drinks for doing the additional hike. 

During lunch, we collected a large tip to give our guides and one of the girls gave a thank you speech to our guides and gave them the tips. Our guides gave us our certificates saying we survived the rugged Inca trail. I passed mine around and had everyone sign the back. One of the girls got all of our contact information on the back of hers and will add us to a group on Facebook for us to share our pictures and videos and stay connected. 

After lunch, we were able to leave our backpacks at the restaurant and walked to the hot springs. About 9 of us hung out in the hot springs for about 2 hours to loosen our muscles. 

We hurried back so we could get our backpacks. On our way back, we ran into the Germans who were staying in Aguas Calientes for the night. I kind of wished I would have decided to stay as well. It was a neat little town.  We gave the Germans hugs and were able to say our goodbyes before heading to the train station. 

On the train back to Ollantaytamba, I met 2 others from America and 1 from England. We talked most of the way. In Ollantaytamba, we got our bus and headed 2 hours back to Cusco. I think most of us slept on the way back. 

We were dropped off at the plaza and all agreed to meet for dinner the next evening (where only 3 of us showed up). I had a long walk to my hostel where I checked in, then walked back to my old hostel to retrieve my bag I left there during the hike. I stayed at Pirwa hostel when we got back and I didn't care for it as much. It was a little more upscale, but wasn't busy like I'm used to and didn't seem to be intended for backpackers. 

The whole trip has been amazing and, as our guide said, a trip I'll never forget. I will do a part 2 to this post to sum up what I thought of the overall trip. 

Last day in Cusco:

Easy day

Waking up on this day at 5:20, I had lots of energy. I slept great and when we opened the tent door for our coffee, we had an awesome view of the mountains. After tea, we packed up and went to breakfast which consisted of soup and omelettes. During breakfast, our guide stressed for us to take our time today and enjoy the sights. 

The day started as downhill, then started back up. The day was challenging, yet seemed easy. I think we all had our hiking legs by this day. Most of the hike was along the side of a mountain and through rainforest that was awesome. We saw many ruins throughout the day. At one point on the trail, there was a fork in the road where we could continue to climb 98 stairs to get to another Incan ruin site. Most of us left our packs at the bottom with one guide and went up with the other guide, who gave us the history behind the site. Afterwards, we were able to explore around. 

From there, we hiked to another ruin and just pass that was a spot for a break. This is where most groups ate lunch but our guide knew of a better place, so we snacked as our guide showed us how to get water out of the moss that we saw in the jungle. It was warm this day, but did have occasional drizzling. 

It didn't seem to take long to reach another summit where we had a great view of the whole mountain range, the Urubamba River, and Agues Calientes. I was first there and a porter met me with some Chicha Morada, which was amazingly good after a hike. There, we had lunch of ceviche, soup, alpaca, quinoa, pimiento rellano, Jello, and tea. This was to be the last lunch the chef makes for us, so he went all out. I think the fact the we are the last group of the season influenced a big lunch. 

We all had the option to either hike from there to camp, or take the long way to a huge series of terraces. The hike through the jungle was awesome and before we knew it, we were at the terraces. Our guide said we were one of the few groups where everyone took the long way, especially since this was to be our longest day, distance wise. We put in 18 km. 

Camp was right next to the restrooms which was nice. When I got into camp, I took a short nap before tea time where we had popcorn, cookies, wontons, and tea. 

After tea time, we didn't have much time before dinner, our last with the porters. After tea time, we all got together and came up with a big tip for the porters and the chef. 

Dinner consisted of a beef dish. After dinner, the chef came in with a farewell cake. Yesterday was one of the porters bday, so we called him in and made it also a birthday cake. The guide found a match that we used as a candle and sang to the porter. We decided to cut the cake in half and gave a half to the porters. 

After cake, we rearranged the dinner tent for a final get-together with the porters. One of the guys in our group is fluent in Spanish and gave a speech to the porters, thanking them for everything they did for us on the trail. We presented the tips to the head porter who divided it up and gave our tip to the chef. We also took our remaining coca leaves and gave them to the porters. After that, we were able to say our goodbyes to the porters before going to bed.